Basket-Brawl Spills Onto NYC Streets

Starts With Foul At High School Game, Spreads Into Times Square, Subway

(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.

[beehive21-2009]

Boys and Girls letting off steam,high energy colliding,lots of fun for the kids.

[pollinka]

lots of fun for the kids

[braniff77]

School safety officers beating kids? I guess we'll be hearing from Reverand Al soon. I'm guessing he won't mention anything about the safety of the other spectators, or the people on the street who were ducking gunshots, or the visitors in Times Square who had to get away from marauding packs of kids.

[chail1]

Since when did basketball become a boxing sport.
Where is the parental control why do we need armed gaurds at a High school event. have things gone that wrong that we will need to call in the national guard to keep peace in a sporting event??

[reena6]

I guess New York is loving to be sued by all these different people for the b.s. the officers do in their name....Keep on paying out instead of reprimanding your officers!

[theusa1st]

more degregation of society...still seem to be sliding into a cesspool. Some people just shouldn't have children if they can't bring them up right.

[abigail70]

"School safety officers beating kids? I guess we'll be hearing from Reverand Al soon. I'm guessing he won't mention anything about the safety of the other spectators, or the people on the street who were ducking gunshots, or the visitors in Times Square who had to get away from marauding packs of kids."

LOL.. I couldn't have put it better myself!

[jolsonbear]

Free at last
Free at last

[bond00721]

Idiots--everyone involved. Just idiotic, stupid, juvenile, dumb and moronic. All the parents and kids involved need to sit in a jail cell for a week. And the kids suspended for a week. What a bunch of idiots.

[rohink-2009]

I guess New York is loving to be sued by all these different people for the b.s. the officers do in their name....Keep on paying out instead of reprimanding your officers!
Posted by reena6

Sure, it was a peaceful happy time. Everyone was holding hands and singing kumbaya, and the big bad police decided to come in there with batons to create chaos. Let me guess reena6, you're a college graduate.

[gramto7]

I guess New York is loving to be sued by all these different people for the b.s. the officers do in their name....Keep on paying out instead of reprimanding your officers!
Posted by reena6


I do not understand just how this is the fault of the police officers. Would you explain this to me?

[rohink-2009]

"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.

Anyone with half a brain realizes that what you see on video clip does not show you the whole story. I can guarantee there was a before and surely an after.

[olebd]

It all started with the killings over the fancy sneakers and then gangsta rap was infused into the sport. Badda-bing, badda-boom it's the Wild West all over again except the cowboys are gang banger teen punks from the inner cities.

Who let the dogs out indeed.

[phil-in-fin]

WHHHEEEEEEEEEE!

Look at me, mom!

I'm T.V.!

What a bunch of losers!

[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!!

[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??

[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.

[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".

[zootallures2]

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

[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.

[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.

[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

[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.

[griking]

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