Boat ramp brawls kept Bradenton Beach police officers busy over the Memorial Day weekend.
And BBPD Sgt. Lenard Diaz says the incidents have prompted a meeting between local law enforcement, the U.S. Coast Guard, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office to brainstorm solutions for problems at the often-overcrowded South Coquina Boat Ramp.
“It’s becoming a problem out there,” said Diaz. “You have large numbers of people trying to pull their boats up, there’s alcohol involved, the temperatures are high and with the liquid courage, tempers are flying.”
Officers responded to brawls May 24 and May 25 involving large numbers of people, intoxicated boaters and little information to go on.
Officers were dispatched to a “large fight in progress” May 24 with reports of bottles and other weapons involved. Upon arriving to the scene, an officer was flagged down by a man with blood dripping from a laceration on his face, the report stated.
An EMS team was called for the man, who said he was “jumped” by unknown suspects. The man said his best option was to lie on the ground and protect himself from the kicks and punches.
Officers made contact with a woman, lying on the ground “lethargic from alcohol” with a pool of blood under her from a split lip. She gave officers a similar report. She was taken to a hospital for treatment.
The woman’s husband was interviewed and said they got into a fight with a group of people who beat him and his wife.
Another man, apparently involved in the same altercation, said he observed the fight from his car. As he exited, he was pushed, punched, then threatened with a knife. His ear was nearly cut in half during the scuffle.
Diaz said despite the number of victims interviewed at the scene, no one was able to give a description of the assailants.
Diaz said there are no suspects, but he was told by one witness the fight was instigated by one group yelling racial slurs at the other.
“Alcohol was a huge factor in it,” Diaz said. “And everyone has different story.”
Another fight occurred May 25 at the ramp. This fight, however, involved minors and underage drinking. Two people were brought to the ramp unconscious from alcohol consumption — one of them 14 years old, the report stated.
The group of teen and 20-somethings got into a fight on Jewfish Key, the report stated.
Diaz said the altercation on the key fell outside the BBPD jurisdiction and, if officers had responded, they would have been outnumbered.
Diaz said the U.S. Coast Guard responded to the fight on the key and Bradenton Beach officers handled another physical altercation between the groups that spilled over to the boat ramp.
“Hopefully we can figure something out. We’re having a meeting next week to see how we can curtail the problem,” said Diaz.
He said he hopes to have more assistance by July 4, another popular boating holiday. The south boat ramp is taking on more traffic than usual due to the North Coquina Boat Ramp’s closure for repairs.
In Regards to boat ramp, I think this boat ramp is not patrolled correctly, I feel that people are not safe there, there has been numerous incidents there every weekend! People should be aware that have small children, we actually came upon this that Sunday, and were horrified by the scene! And in addition to this, there was another bad gang related fight (per the police) across the street. I think tourist’s and others should be aware! We witnessed a brutal attack, that was brought on (in our opinion) by a group of people partying with their jet skies there all day. Unfortunately it’s not a safe location. Hopefully the police and others actually do something about it and patrol the area better so this type of situation doesn’t continue!
With regard to incidents happening at boat ramps on Anna Maria Island, I feel it would benefit everyone if there was a sign posted at each boat ramp, giving INSTRUCTIONS on the use of boat ramps. For example; Please remove your trailer and water vessel from the ramp once you have it pulled from the water. I have watched many, many times, when the trailer has been pulled out of water and the vehicle and trailer sit at boat ramp while the driver fiddles around, and is not courteous to others waiting. Sometimes, they just stand around talking and ignore others waiting for use of boat ramp and when you say anything they get in your FACE!!