11 arrested, 3 police officers injured in fights at South Jersey community event

Mayhem broke out Saturday night at the usually family-friendly annual Gloucester Township Day with more than 500 juveniles and young adults converging on the event and breaking out into fights, resulting in 11 arrests and five people injured, including three police officers, police said.

“The lawless[ness] of groups of unsupervised juveniles and young people acting with total disregard for others ruined a great family-oriented event which has taken place to raise funds for the Gloucester Township Scholarship Committee for over 40 years,” Police Chief David Harkins said in a statement issued Sunday morning.

As families were waiting for the drone light show to begin around 8 p.m. Saturday, crowds of young people were dropped off at the event in Veterans Park and began gathering in groups near the basketball courts, police said.

At around 8:40 p.m., the groups began fighting each other and running recklessly through the crowd. Police said officers quickly responded and made two arrests for disorderly conduct. But the groups remained hostile and disorderly, prompting a call for additional Gloucester Township police officers and aid from surrounding Camden County police departments, according to the statement.

Because of the “volatility of the situation,” the drone light show was started early, said police, who promptly dispersed the crowd after the show ended. Large crowds moved to the nearby Marketplace shopping center on Chews Landing Road, where multiple fights broke out, police said. That triggered a call for more law enforcement help, including from the countywide EMS Task Force and the Gloucester Township Police Special Response Team. In all, nearly 100 officers were on hand, police said.

Fighting continued for the next two hours in the shopping center parking lot, police said, with many of the participants, believed to be from outside the township, wearing black clothing and wearing medical-style masks to cover their faces, police said.

While police were attempting to disperse that crowd, Ronald Jones, 33, of Camden, rode his bicycle at a high speed into a group of officers, knocking one to the ground, police said. He was arrested and charged with aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, attempted escape, and disorderly conduct and was being held in Camden County Jail, police said. The officer sustained minor injuries.

Another Gloucester Township officer and one from Clementon Borough were injured as they attempted to break up a fight, police said. Their injuries were also minor, police said.

Two juveniles also were treated at the scene for minor injuries they told police resulted from being assaulted.

Of the 11 people arrested, two were adults. The other adult was Kevin Coleman, 18, of Pine Hill, who was charged with disorderly conduct and released, police said.

The nine juveniles arrested range in age from 13 to 17 and include two girls. All were charged with disorderly conduct and released to a parent or guardian, police said.

The incident was declared under control at 11:04 p.m.

Harkins said officers “showed great restraint when dealing with violent and agitating groups. … I am thankful that more injuries were not sustained to officers, the families attending the event and even those involved in this disorderly conduct.”