POLICE AND SECURITY QUELL DISTURBANCE by; Rick McCann
SAN JOSE, CA. JULY 6 2007------About 100 members of rival groups from San Francisco and the North Bay caused mayhem at the Raging Waters park late Fourth of July afternoon, engaging in a handful of fights inside the park and in its parking lot, according to San Jose police Sgt. Nick Muyo.
Officers arrested between four and nine men, all from out of town, and dispatched 19 units to restore order, according to Muyo. Before the fights broke out, police also responded to a report of shots fired at the park.
The trouble began around 4:40 p.m., when about 40 members of the groups first encountered each other inside the South White Road park, which had a capacity crowd. A fight began inside the wave pool section and was broken up by off duty San Jose police officers working at the park, according to Brett Petit, marketing coordinator for the park's corporate office.
"That's unusual to happen at that park," Petit said. "We haven't had those sort of problems in recent history."
The off-duty officers arrested four men, one of whom was treated for minor injuries by park paramedics and sent to a local hospital as a precaution, Petit said. He added that the park has its own security force and always has off-duty police officers on site.
Petit said there were no other disturbances reported inside the park, which closed at its regularly scheduled time. Petit said security in the parking lot is the responsibility of the city, not the water park.
Around 5:10 p.m., between 50 and 100 members of the rival gangs met again in the parking lot and started several fights, Muyo said. One police officer got caught up in the middle of the melee and used pepper spray in an attempt to break up the crowd. The officer made repeated calls for emergency assistance, and a total of 19 units responded. Five men, all from San Francisco, were arrested for battery.
"We don't know if they met there by design, or if they met there by chance and realized they were two rival groups," Muyo said.
Around 2:40 p.m., police responded to a report of shots fired at the water park. The officer who first arrived at the scene made contact with a group of about 12 men who fit the description, and arrested one person who was uncooperative, Muyo said.
"We don't have any shooting victims. We're fortunate that nobody was shot," Muyo said. "Again, a lot of them fled once the police started rolling in."
Officers arrested between four and nine men, all from out of town, and dispatched 19 units to restore order, according to Muyo. Before the fights broke out, police also responded to a report of shots fired at the park.
The trouble began around 4:40 p.m., when about 40 members of the groups first encountered each other inside the South White Road park, which had a capacity crowd. A fight began inside the wave pool section and was broken up by off duty San Jose police officers working at the park, according to Brett Petit, marketing coordinator for the park's corporate office.
"That's unusual to happen at that park," Petit said. "We haven't had those sort of problems in recent history."
The off-duty officers arrested four men, one of whom was treated for minor injuries by park paramedics and sent to a local hospital as a precaution, Petit said. He added that the park has its own security force and always has off-duty police officers on site.
Petit said there were no other disturbances reported inside the park, which closed at its regularly scheduled time. Petit said security in the parking lot is the responsibility of the city, not the water park.
Around 5:10 p.m., between 50 and 100 members of the rival gangs met again in the parking lot and started several fights, Muyo said. One police officer got caught up in the middle of the melee and used pepper spray in an attempt to break up the crowd. The officer made repeated calls for emergency assistance, and a total of 19 units responded. Five men, all from San Francisco, were arrested for battery.
"We don't know if they met there by design, or if they met there by chance and realized they were two rival groups," Muyo said.
Around 2:40 p.m., police responded to a report of shots fired at the water park. The officer who first arrived at the scene made contact with a group of about 12 men who fit the description, and arrested one person who was uncooperative, Muyo said.
"We don't have any shooting victims. We're fortunate that nobody was shot," Muyo said. "Again, a lot of them fled once the police started rolling in."
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