Week in Review : MAJOR EVENTS, IMAGES AND PEOPLE IN ORANGE COUNTY NEWS. : COUNTY : Arrest Total Climbs in Beach Riot’s Aftermath
Videotapes, photographs and interviews with witnesses to the violence that erupted during a surfing contest in Huntington Beach during the Labor Day weekend led to eight more arrests last week.
They bring the total of arrests in the Aug. 31 riot to 30, police said.
Police attributed the arrests largely to community cooperation, especially from people who had cameras and videotape equipment at the Pro Op Surfing Championships.
It was at the end of the event that a group of men reportedly tried to yank bikini tops off several women and then clashed with police. The fight turned into a riot as people overturned police cars and set them on fire and threw bottles and rocks at police.
Some witnesses have questioned whether police used excessive force, but others praised police action.
A committee headed by Huntington Beach Mayor Robert P. Mandic Jr. is considering changes in next year’s five-day surfing event. Options include not holding it on the Labor Day weekend, traditionally one of the biggest beach weekends of the year.
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