Glendale Police releases new details surrounding weekend incident at Glendale skating rink
GLENDALE, Ariz. (FOX 10) -- Glendale Police officials have released details surrounding an incident at a skating rink venue in the city that happened on Saturday, and resulted in one person who was taken to the hospital.
In a statement released Monday by Sgt. John Roth, the incident began to unfold at around 9:43 p.m. Saturday, when an off-duty officer working at Great Skate radioed in, saying there were about 200 kids being involved in a disturbance. Five minutes later, an officer called in additional units for multiple fights.
Police say about 27 officers responded to the scene, after multiple 911 calls were received by business staff and residents seeking police help. Phoenix Police officers also responded to the scene for reports of a shooting that was later found to be false.
Glendale Police officials say the multiple parked police vehicles were damaged during the incident, including a car that is personally owned by one of the officers who was working off-duty at the business. One person was taken to the hospital for a non-life threatening injury from the altercation.
According to a statement posted to Great Skate Glendale's unverified Facebook page on Monday, the venue was hosting an all-night event at the time, and a group of teenagers, described as a "small group" by Great skate officials, showed up at the facility.
"These few teens not only disrespected other teens in the building but also police officers, security and our staff," the statement read, in part. "The behavior of the few troublemakers this past Saturday night are not reflective of the usual crowd that we have at Great Skate."
Click here if you can't see the Facebook post
Great Skate officials also say those who took part in the incident on Saturday are now permanently banned from the facility. Meanwhile, Glendale Police officials say their Professional standards Unit has not received any complaints from the community regarding the tactics or performance of their officers on Saturday night.
Meanwhile, Alyssa Martinez said she is waiting for an explanation from police and Great Skate as to what went wrong, during what was supposed to be a fun event for her daughter.
"Simple fun all-nighter," said Martinez. "I've been before as a kid. I thought everything was going to be fine, and at 2:30 in the morning, I get a phone call my daughters crying. I hear screaming in the background. She says my eyes are burning. I've been pepper sprayed."