Beach City Still Reeling From Holiday Melee

Police and city officials wondered Tuesday what more could have been done to stem Fourth of July melees that included the burning of furniture in the streets and the hurling of firecrackers, bottles and rocks at officers and passing cars.

More than 50 people were arrested in the city’s downtown area during three hours late Monday night. In all, 139 arrests were made through the day for a variety of offenses, including public drunkenness, resisting arrest and failure to disperse, police said. Police also impounded about 250 bicycles from riders who lacked city licenses.

At times, the scene was reminiscent of the trouble on last year’s Fourth of July holiday, which resulted in more than 40 arrests.

Krysten Olson watched the action unfold Monday night from her front yard at Olive and 11th streets.

“People walked a couch down the block and lit it on fire,” she said. “People were cheering it on. There were about 200 people going down the street, drinking and throwing fireworks.’

The trouble started about 10:30 p.m. when about 500 people gathered near Main and Olive streets. Police arrived and dispersed the crowd, which then broke into several smaller groups and spread throughout downtown, Officer Mike Corchoran said.

“It turned into a game of cat-and-mouse,” Corchoran said. “We would split one group up, and then there would be two or three other things starting up. We had to do that for more than three hours until we dispersed all of the problem people.”

At one point, a water truck was used to clear stubborn revelers from downtown streets, police said.

“We decided to dampen their spirits, and basically it worked real well,” Corchoran said.

Corchoran said this year’s disturbances appeared to be much more calculated than last year’s.

“Last year was like one big thing, and this year was more like a myriad of little things,” Corchoran said. “I think what’s behind it is that people are almost expecting something like this to occur. So, you have individuals who flock anywhere where there is potential for recognition and notoriety.”

Determined to avoid a repeat of last year, the city’s entire 230-member police force was on duty through the weekend at a cost of $100,000.

“I think the cops did the best that they could,” said resident Tim Wuerfel, 26. “They are outnumbered every year. The biggest problem is that so many people come to this area. A lot of these people get together, and they think they can do whatever they want to do.”