VIDEO: Fans in an all-out brawl at Arizona Coyotes vs. Boston Bruins game
TEMPE, AZ (3TV/CBS 5) -- Newly released body-cam video shows the chaotic moments as police officers tried to break up a large brawl at an Arizona Coyotes vs. Boston Bruins game last December.
Chris and Rachel Bergman say it was just like any other game until a couple of minutes in when they noticed a few fans that were several rows up began making comments to people sitting next to them. “I’m speaking with this man and he says if they say one more bad thing about my daughter we are going to have a problem,” said Chris. “The Coyotes fans eight rows up were speaking bad about the daughter, don’t know what they said but it irritated the dad.”
The video, recorded on Dec. 12, 2022, shows a large group of Coyotes and Bruins fans falling over seats while swinging at each other as officers rush forward. One officer grabs a Bruins fan and puts him in handcuffs. “It was those guys over there, it was them,” he tells the officer. “He wasn’t doing anything,” another person says, coming to the man’s defense. The officer then handcuffs another man pulled out of the group before escorting him out of the arena.
The man tries to tell the officer that another person attacked his daughter. The girl tells police that the scuffle broke out when someone hit her brother. “He hit me in the face and that’s when it escalated,” she said. The father tells the officer that it was another man’s fault. “He hit my daughter,” he said. “It was that kid right there, in the red shirt.” The officer then tells him they’re trying to get both sides of the story to see who started the fight.
During the brawl, the man says another person bit the tip of his finger off. “I highly recommend you need a doctor... it’s off, like the tip of your finger, you have to go,” said the officer. “Is there any way to see if the tip is over there?” the man asked. “My partner is going to look for it,” the officer replied.
Chris says a security guard came to their section once the fight was over and asked if anyone saw a finger. “We look around all at each other and this guy in seat eight row one goes ‘I got it’ and we go what?” he said. The person then handed over the finger to security, who put it in ice.
Officers continue speaking to witnesses while the father remains handcuffed with his daughter. “It was this guy over there,” the daughter gestures to police. “Everyone who was with him in the back row behind him. Everyone behind us was like ‘they’re hitting her in the head.’ They’re decking me in the face. They’re throwing punches. I was literally like ‘whoa, whoa, whoa, let’s calm down.’ They decked me in the face, knocked me out. I fell back, and it escalated becuase of course, my dad and my brother aren’t going to let someone hit me,” she said.
Five people were cited for the fight. Nashaknik Allen Shontz, who is accused of biting off the man’s finger, was arrested for aggravated assault. One officer had minor injuries while trying to break up the fight.
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