A Bout of Bad Judgment

It shouldn’t have taken extreme foresight to predict that an afternoon of “extreme fighting” bouts and drinking followed by a punk-rock concert and more drinking would lead to violence.

Yet after precisely this volatile combination turned bloody last weekend in the parking lot of Dakota’s Mesquite BBQ & Steak House in Simi Valley, everyone involved quickly found someone else to blame.

The fight promoter said the restaurant management shouldn’t have booked such aggressive music for the pumped-up crowd--and should have pulled the plug when the promoter’s security chief warned that the crowd was getting out of control.

The restaurant management said the fight promoter should have obtained a city permit and made sure police were poised to step in if necessary.

Simi Valley police said they would have been better prepared to control the situation if either of the above had applied for a permit and explained exactly what activities were planned and how many people were expected.

What’s not in dispute is that the event ended badly: two Simi Valley men hospitalized with stab wounds, several others treated for lesser injuries and a Palmdale man in custody on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon.

The promoter’s hired security team was able to keep the peace among the crowd of 700 throughout an afternoon of extreme fighting--a few-holds-barred hybrid of boxing, wrestling and martial arts that has been outlawed in several states. But when the professional fighters cleared out and a local punk band began to play, violence flared.

Better communication all around could have prevented this mess. At least it would have ensured that enough police were standing by to keep things peaceful. Even better, if all of the involved parties had fully discussed what the event would entail, someone just might have pointed out the obvious:

Extreme fighting plus extreme music plus extreme drinking is an extremely bad idea.