Six arrested after Jersey City street fight where police used pepper spray, batons - nj.com

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JERSEY CITY — A street fight involving dozens of people Tuesday evening ended in six arrests after officers used pepper spray and a batons in a ugly and chaotic scene caught on video.

The fight near 30 Boswick Ave. began with 20 people and grew to approximately 100 within minutes, according to Jersey City Public Safety Director Jim Shea.

During a press conference at the city’s Public Safety Headquarters on Wednesday, Shea said police officers who initially responded to the scene called for backup after a civilian pulled at one officer’s duty belt where a weapon was stored.

From there, video footage shows officers striking people with batons and using pepper spray to end the melee.

The Jersey City Police Department has reviewed body camera footage from the officers and the incident remains under investigation. Shea said he did not know what precipitated the initial fight.

Jennifer Morrill, a spokeswoman for Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez, said Suarez’s office has been in communication with the Jersey City Police Department about the incident.

“The initial investigation is being handled by the Jersey City Police Department Internal Affairs Unit and as is standard for all use of force incidents will follow the normal course of review,” she said. “As this is an internal affairs investigation, no further information can be released at this time.”

The first 911 call was made at 5:16 p.m. for a 20-person street fight.

“Within 60 seconds a second call came in for a street fight involving 50 persons and then 40 seconds after that another call, a third call came in for a street fight now involving 100 persons,” Shea said.

Six officers came to the scene during the initial response and tried to disperse the crowd. Shea said an officer was attacked by a male juvenile who pulled at the officer’s duty belt and appeared to try to take the officer’s weapon. Two other officers tried to place the individual under arrest, but he resisted, as did two females who engaged as well.

Another officer tried to help but was bear-hugged by a man identified as Dashawn Muhammed. The officer fell and another man, Roland Gregory, approached and went “on top of” the officer, Shea said.

Officers began to use pepper spray. When the civilians did not back off, one officer used his expandable baton to hit two individuals in the arms, legs and buttocks, he added.

A witness told The Jersey Journal the incident began when an altercation between two groups turned physical and spilled into the street. The crowd had started to disperse when police arrived, shortly before officers “attacked one man,” he said.

“It got out of hand from there,” the witness added.

“This situation is very unfortunate, and it has to be a moment where we heal as a community because right now folks feel as though they’ve been violated and that’s not a good position," added Chris Gadsden, a civic activist and former city councilman.

Jersey City Police Chief Michael Kelly said his officers acted appropriately and showed restraint.

“Of all of the video that I’ve seen on social media, police video body cam, our police officers acted with great restraint and used exactly the force necessary to bring this situation to a close,” Kelly said.

Muhammed and Gregory were both arrested on charges of aggravated assault on a police officer, disorderly conduct, obstruction, resisting arrest and failure to disburse.

Latia Gregory, the other adult who was arrested, faces an obstruction charge.

The city did not disclose the names of the other three individuals who were arrested because they are juveniles.

Those who were arrested were released with court dates and refused medical assistance.

Two police officers were treated for pepper spray exposure and another two were treated for lacerations, bruises and bloody noses, Shea said.

Mayor Steven Fulop praised the city’s use of body cameras as an important tool for evaluating incidents such as this one.

“We take the relationship between our police department and our community very, very seriously,” he said.

In a statement Wednesday afternoon Jersey City Councilman at-large Rolando Lavarro urged calm and patience from the community as the incident is investigated further.

“The video is deeply concerning on so many levels, and even more so given our current state of emergency with the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said.

“Coronavirus crisis or not, we all have to redouble our efforts and pledge to address the root causes that allow for such an incident to explode on our streets,” he added. “We all have to acknowledge that generations of neglect and outright racism have led to the conditions that we have today."

The following video contains some graphic language:

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Six arrested after Jersey City street fight where police used pepper spray, batons - nj.com
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