Basket-Brawl Spills Onto NYC Streets

(CBS/AP)  Teenagers brawled in the stands at a high school basketball game at Madison Square Garden on Sunday night before police cracked down on the melee, which spilled into the streets.

It all started on the hardwood, with a foul, when a Lincoln High School player was pushed by a Boys & Girls High School player, but thought the foul had been committed by another player and nearly got into a fight with him on the court before referees separated them, reports WCBS-TV's Brendan Keefe.

The two Brooklyn schools were battling for the Public Schools Athletic League's AA division city championship.

A WCBS-TV camera crew inside the arena caught images of fights breaking out in the stands, including a girl slapping a boy, who in turn hit her. Other boys then jumped him, and police intervened.

The

news video (video)

also showed police swinging batons at someone who cannot be seen.

"The teen in the brown jacket is pulled over by school safety officers and though he doesn't appear to be resisting, four officers start beating him, two officers striking him with their batons several times," reports Keefe.

The police said the incident was under investigation, but had no further comment on the footage.

Police said shots were fired as the crowd moved from the Garden to Times Square, and then into a subway station, where cops and teens continued to clash. The NYPD called in reinforcements, including officers on horseback, on scooters and in riot gear.

No injuries were reported. Twenty-one people, mostly teenagers, were arrested, police said. Some were charged with disorderly conduct or resisting arrest and one was arrested on a riot charge.

A 17-year-old male was arrested at a subway station on a charge of criminal possession of a weapon. He was not the one who fired the shots, police said.

[griking]

Al Sharpton won't get involved in this one because the police officers weren't white.

[vargaspit]

young males from the age of 23 to 35 killed. Why ? probably because they were trying to live the lives of the rappers or athletes doing. Lets stop being the cause of our problems and start organizing and show other that we too can succeed in life outside of being a niger rapper or a niger athelete or you can say the new form of UNCLE TOM. Pretty soon the hispanics will be more educated, and on their way to pass us in numbers and education. What a mess.

[vargaspit]

We call all blame the animal like traits of our kids on Rappers and athlettes who say its o.k not too respect anyone, its o.k not to go to school and study or try to suceed in academics rather than sports. They say its o.k to kill people, to resolve diffirences with a gun, to deal drugs, to belittle woman, to act first and think later. Rappers and Athletes should take their god giving talents and make a diffirence in the world, help make things right, show a path of rightiousness. But no these individuals decide to show what greed makes you wish for a world that 80% of the time is rented for the video or rented for the month. They show all their money in gold, diamonds, cars, clothes etc etc. They dont show the reality of it. That they rented the cars, the house etc etc The ones that have been successfull and bought all of their bling bling all they show is that greed will make you forget eveything and make you think this world is perfectly fine. Do you see what is out there? Do you see that these people need to change in order for us to get back to being role models to our kids. Making grow into honest law abiding people. Otherwise we will just keep on killing each other. Niger on niger crime that is the plan to have us be the cause of our misfortunes, lack of education, act and live like animals. Just last night in my county 4

[rf35]

The mother of the kid who got hit by the guards is probably crying and telling everyone how he did nothing, while privately thinking "thank God, now we can bring a lawsuit and move to a neighborhood with a better class of hoodlums".

LOL!! No doubt! I just hope this doesn't turn into another Rodney King-style fiasco where only select footage is shown to make it appear the cops were in the wrong.

[rohink-2009]

The mother of the kid who got hit by the guards is probably crying and telling everyone how he did nothing, while privately thinking "thank God, now we can bring a lawsuit and move to a neighborhood with a better class of hoodlums".
Posted by Braniff77

You're right. Here come the lawyers to see to it that the poor innocent bystanders are "Compensated" for their suffering. Lawyers along with the ignorant victims are surely the downfall of this society.

[zootallures2]

Why bother with the sports games? Just have a big fight to see who wins.

[braniff77]

The mother of the kid who got hit by the guards is probably crying and telling everyone how he did nothing, while privately thinking "thank God, now we can bring a lawsuit and move to a neighborhood with a better class of hoodlums".

[force1233]

Thank god the cops were called in to beat these guys down! Since their parents can't control their lawlessness, some one has to allowed. I would guess that more than half of these thugs will eventually end up in prison anyway but somehow it will be everyone else's fault but their own! These kids nor their parents understand the meaning of the word responsibility.

reena6...get a life, the cops are just doing the job the parents won't.

[nyckate]

reena6 - are you for real?? THugs starting rights in a VERY crowded volitile gigantic Madison Sq. Garden which when it hits the streets erupts in mayhem and gunfire - and you blame the NYPD?? What the heck is wrong with you??

[last121868]

reenal6:
Sometimes it is better to keep your thoughts in your head and let people think you are stupid than to grab a keyboard and PROVE IT!!