Police: Officers Surrounded, Assaulted While Breaking Up Fight In New Jersey
PAULSBORO, NJ. (CBS) -- Police officers responding to a large fight in Gloucester County, New Jersey were surrounded and assaulted Saturday while trying to arrest those involved, according to the Paulsboro Police Department.
The office of the Chief of Police in Paulsboro released a statement Sunday.
"Officers from neighboring jurisdictions responded to the request for assistance and assisted our officers with restoring order," the statement read. "Of those involved most were young adults and juveniles."
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Several arrests were made, but authorities said additional arrests were pending through identification from the officers' body worn cameras.
"Fortunately, with the aid of the body worn cameras our officers will now have the ability to identify those who were fighting and those that failed to disperse when ordered to do so," the statement read. "There were additional disturbances throughout the evening, however our officers were able to quickly arrest those involved and calm those that gathered to watch."
Authorities said in light of the incident, the police department will increase the number of officers on patrol for the near future.
In his statement, Chief Marino urged parents of the young adults and juveniles involved to speak to the children about the harm this type of act does to each other and the neighborhood.
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The chief went on to address the amateur video recordings being posted to social media.
"While it's your right to video tape and place on social media people at their worse or the ugliness of fights, it's these same videos that continue to stereotype a town and its residents. It is simply irresponsible to post these incidents; doing so only helps to drive copycats wanting their three seconds of air time while eroding the core values of this town and its hard-working, law bidding citizens," the statement read. "Our stakeholders (residents, council, churches, schools, businesses) have a strong, respectful relationship with this police department and we will continue that partnership as we combat crime and those set out to do harm to our police officers and this town. (Paulsboro Pride)"
There was no immediate word on what sparked the fight or on any injuries to those involved.