Brawling Party-Goers Pelt Lone Deputy With Rocks and Bottles

A lone Ventura County sheriff’s deputy trying to break up a brawl in a Camarillo neighborhood was pelted with rocks and bottles, prompting the Sheriff’s Department and California Highway Patrol to send an additional 21 officers to the scene, authorities said Sunday.

The incident occurred about 9:30 p.m. Saturday at Glenn Drive and Barry Street, and grew out of three large parties that were held in the neighborhood of primarily single-family houses, Sheriff’s Sgt. Rick Alaniz said.

Deputies were first called to the area about 8 p.m. when neighbors complained about noise from the parties and people drinking in public, Alaniz said.

At that point, the people at the parties, which included children and older people, were very cooperative with the officers, he said.

An hour and a half later, several fights broke out between party-goers on a dirt lot in the neighborhood, Alaniz said. About 100 to 150 people from the parties, including those in the fights and onlookers, were involved in the ruckus, he said.

A single deputy who happened to be patrolling the area was hit with rocks and bottles when he tried to break up the fights and disperse the crowd, Alaniz said. The deputy was not injured.

After the deputy called for backup, the reinforcements, including three canine units and an officer armed with a video recorder, poured into the area.

Alaniz said officers made no arrests because it was impossible to tell who had thrown the rocks and bottles and because the crowd dispersed peacefully once the additional officers arrived.

He said the canine units were not brought near the crowd. But he believes that the sound of the dogs barking was an impetus for the party-goers to return quietly to their homes.

In addition, Alaniz said, “people knew that we were videotaping them,” which he said discouraged the crowd from disobeying deputies’ orders to disperse.