Week in Review : MAJOR EVENTS, IMAGES AND PEOPLE IN ORANGE COUNTY NEWS : AT THE SCENE : Huntington Beach City Council, Shaken by Riot, Orders Inquiry

There were different versions of what started the riot.

One youth told a reporter that three girls behind the bleachers at the Op Pro Surfing Championships in Huntington Beach had slipped off parts of their bathing suits in front of a crowd of men.

Police later said that the men had done the removing and that it was not clear whether the girls had consented. Police moved in, the crowd of men drove them back and the riot erupted.

Officers streamed into Huntington Beach from neighboring areas to reinforce the local police. A police helicopter swooped in low over the crowd to discourage fighting, but it had to retreat quickly after being hit by a barrage of bottles and a beach umbrella.

The surfing contest was over, but the organizers faked an additional surfing heat to keep spectators in the bleachers and away from the fracas.

Before it was over, 12 people were injured, including six officers, and 13 people were arrested. Bottles and rocks rained upon police and civilians. Cars were overturned and burned, and a lifeguard building was broken into and looted.

There was immediate talk of police brutality and of ending the annual surfing competition.

Two days later, the City Council met. After 2 1/2 hours of emotional testimony in their packed meeting chambers, the council appointed a committee to study the riot and how to prevent another.

“I’m sorry,” Mayor Robert P. Mandic Jr. told the audience. “I feel frustrated. In my heart, I don’t know what else we could have done.”

Some called for ending the contest, while others pleaded that abandoning the event would punish innocent fans rather than the rioters.

One contingent complained that police had indiscriminantly attacked rioters and bystanders alike. A Police Department spokesman said, however, that only four complaints about police behavior had been received.

By contrast, the spokesman said, there has been an outpouring of residents’ support for the police, including donations of money and flowers, “which is unprecedented for this city, let me tell you.”

By week’s end, police announced they had identified eight people believed to have been involved in the burning of police and lifeguard vehicles. The identifications had been made from television news footage and photographs from private citizens, officers said.

“There’s a lot of fellas we’d like to put in jail,” Sgt. Larry Miller said. “We’ll make the arrests as soon as we can put our cases together.”