Soccer fight leaves victim's car damaged

Saturday, Jan. 3

Back-alley brawl

4:53 p.m., 1500 block of Second Street

Fight: Having been notified by a pedestrian there was a fight underway behind a nearby business, an officer arrived to find a black male on top of a white male engaging in fisticuffs.

A verbal command to cease and desist all hostilities went ignored, and as fists continued flying the officer donned his gloves in the presence of bloodshed. Grabbing the black male by the arm and issuing more verbal commands did not render the winning brawler compliant, so the officer kneed him in his torso, causing him to turn his attention away from his co-combatant, who took the opportunity to scamper away.

The subject was placed in handcuffs and pinned to the ground until backup arrived. Refusing to accept medical attention from an arriving EMS team, he was then placed in a patrol vehicle and transported to Sarasota County Jail. He was charged with resisting without violence for ignoring lawful commands given by a uniformed officer and had to be forcibly removed from his co-combatant.

The status of the white male was unknown at the time of the incident report.

Sunday, Jan. 4

All’s well that ends well

2:30 p.m. 2700 block of Palmedelia Avenue

Fight: The victim of an alleged assault said an unknown juvenile male entered the property and, for an unknown reason, began to engage in hand-to-hand combat. It is noted the victim is a special needs person who was unable to answer basic questions, but had also suffered an obvious head injury in the scuffle.

An officer spoke with a witness reporting the incident who said he didn’t see anything, but when he heard the altercation he told the victim to come inside as the aggressor continued to argue and yell at both individuals.

An officer contacted the victim’s mother at her residence who said she wished to prosecute. Canvassing the area did not yield discovery of anyone fitting the assailant’s description. However, at 4 p.m. the victim’s mother called to advise the subject was spotted and the reporting officer responded to the scene. He said the victim had taken his cousin’s bicycle, and when he refused to communicate with him he became angry.

Adults convened and agreed that both boys should apologize to each other in lieu of further criminal action.

A red card offense

9:30 p.m., 3500 block of Huntington Place Drive

Criminal mischief: A man who was playing soccer with a group of friends in the neighborhood against another group with whom they were familiar, but were not friends, said an argument broke out during the game between he and an opposing player. Shortly afterward, the complainant discovered the windshield of his vehicle was smashed and all four tiers deflated. A fellow soccer player said he observed a shirtless male with a metal water bottle that appeared to be damaged on one end, arousing suspicions he may be a suspect.

Confronting the man about the damage, a physical altercation occurred. Once the fight was broken up the suspect left the area with his crew in tow. A witness who filmed the incident appeared to show the suspect being held back, but breaking free and attacking the victim.

The complainant said he wished to press charges for the battery and would be able to identify his assailant. As of the time of the report, the reporting officer had not received the video of the altercation, which was needed to identify the subject. The case had been inactivated pending suspect identification.