Berkley Days canceled early due to teens fighting
BERKLEY, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) - "We've been here 35 years, and there's been nothing like this before," said Paul LeVeck.
LeVeck is a Berkley resident who lives next door to the location of the Berkley Days festival. He said he was disappointed it had to be canceled early due to crowd control concerns.
"It's sad because only the kids are going to suffer," Leveck said.
LeVeck is referencing the fact that part of the proceeds from the Berkley Days festival is donated to several charities that help children.
C.J. Skerbeck is co-owner of the company that provides rides and equipment to the weekend festival. Skerbeck said the event was going great until a handful of unruly teenagers ruined it for everyone.
"Ninety-nine percent of the festival was great, everyone had a good time, and we have a little glitch where we need to work on security," Skerbeck said.
Lt. Andrew Hadfield with Berkley Police Department said that a small group of teenagers caused a huge problem during the festival, which led to the decision to cancel the festivities on Sunday.
"And it's unfortunate other people wanted to destroy that fun just to bring some nonsense to Berkley," Hadfield said.
Hadfield said reports of gunshots sent people running in a panic. But said those reports were false.
"There were no shots fired. I'm not sure where that report came from. It was in the area where I was standing, and other officers were standing, and no one heard anything like that," Hadfield said.
LaVeck is confident that the festival will continue next year, and organizers and police will figure out how to keep the event safe for the community.
"I am sure they will bring it back, but they'll probably have some meetings to discuss it because it's too important not to bring it back," LaVeck said.
Organizers say refunds for tickets purchased online will be issued over the next two business days.