300 Arrested in Huntington Beach in Effort to Avert Violence
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HUNTINGTON BEACH — Helicopters thumped overhead and police swarmed downtown in a remarkable show of force Thursday as Surf City sought to celebrate Independence Day without the holiday violence that had become the city’s unwanted trademark.
Police arrested more than 300 people for a variety of violations and used loudspeakers to disperse crowds of revelers from a downtown stretch of Main Street. At one point, police in riot gear swiftly cleared out a boisterous and rowdy group that had been throwing firecrackers and starting fistfights.
The result seemed to be what authorities were hoping for: The disturbances were less serious than those that had marred previous Independence Day celebrations.
More than 200 police officers patrolled Huntington Beach by air and land to prevent a repeat of the violence that had become a troubling holiday ritual.
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