In the midst of screams and flying neon bowling balls, blanketed in dark confusion by flashing strobes and black lights, a bystander was hit over the head by a chair while trying to break up an all-out brawl at a bowling alley Friday night, according to court documents.
It was just after 10:20 p.m. on Sept. 8, when every on-duty East Longmeadow (MA) police officer was called to a reported fight between eight people at Shaker Bowl bowling alley at 168 Shaker Road, the documents said.
Multiple people were standing outside the alleys doorway and pointing inside in a frantic manner, the first officer who arrived, Officer Zackery Poremba, stated in his report.
I walked through the door and saw absolute chaos, the officer wrote, according to court documents.
Bowling balls were scattered across the alleys with broken plates and smashed furniture strewn about next to multiple people lying on the floor, with one in a fetal position in the middle, the documents said.
In the middle of it all was what the officer believed to be about 10 to 15 people swarming each other in a violent fight, the documents said. The absolute chaos made it difficult for the officer to see anything as he made his way through the alley toward the crowd, court documents said.
Once in the middle of the brawl, the officer spotted two 19-year-old Springfield women standing slightly back from the main group, court documents said.
He said he saw one of the teens pick up an orange bowling ball with two hands, lift it above her head and prepare to throw it at someone in the crowd, court documents said.
The officer ran over to the woman and pushed the ball out of her hands, then took her down to the ground, court documents stated.
As he handcuffed the woman, the other 19-year-old was standing over him, the officer stated in the documents. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted her pick up the same orange bowling ball above her head with both hands, the documents said.
The officer said he was scared the standing 19-year-old was going to try to beat him with the ball and he wouldnt be able to protect himself from the ground, the court documents said.
Poremba tackled the woman to the bowling alley floor before she could throw the ball, the documents said.
That 19-year-old later said she wasnt trying to attack the officer when she picked up the ball, and said another person was trying to attack her while Poremba was handcuffing the first woman, the documents stated.
While Poremba was placing the teens into custody, fellow Officer Nicholas Ottoson went to help him, but a bowling alley staff member stopped him and said there was a person whod been involved in the fight and trying to walk out the door, the documents stated.
Ottoson went over to a 21-year-old Springfield woman and immediately put her in handcuffs and sat her down on a bowling lane bench, the documents said. Numerous people surrounded the woman at the bench, including her boyfriend and cousin, the documents said.
She had a cut on her lip and her knee was bleeding, the documents stated, and she screamed at her boyfriend, Get the f*** out of my face, get the f*** away from me, the documents said, and she frantically cried as she asked Ottoson why she was in handcuffs.
After the officer told her a witness had seen her throw a chair at another woman, the 21-year-old said, They threw a chair at me first, according to the court documents.
[A] man stated hed been at Shaker Bowls counter trying to get the attention of a staff member to help him unstick his bowling ball when he saw the fight break out in the alley, the documents said.
He chose to step in and try to help the woman he saw being attacked, the documents stated, but said he was hit in the head with a chair during the fight by the 21-year-old woman.
The man continued to try to break up the fight, but the 21-year-old kept coming at him, the documents said, even yelling at another man to try and hit him for her. The man said he recognized the woman because he saw her in handcuffs after the fight, the documents stated.
Both 19-year-olds, who police said had blood on them, were checked out at the scene by the East Longmeadow Fire Department in the parking lot and declined to be brought to the hospital while officers investigated the scene, the documents stated.
A witness told police the two 19-year-olds were the ones who started the brawl and that the 21-year-old woman had thrown a chair, the documents said, adding that multiple punches were thrown.
The investigation and multiple witnesses revealed the two teens had started the fight with the 21-year-old, who is believed to be a family member, the documents said. The 21-year-old woman was also arrested for her involvement in the brawl, the documents stated.
Both 19-year-olds were charged with disorderly conduct, assault and battery and assault with a dangerous weapon, according to court documents.
The 21-year-old was charged with two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, one count of disorderly conduct and one of assault and battery.
The three whose names have been withheld given the nature of the charges were arraigned on Sept. 11 in Palmer District Court. A judge set pretrial conditions of release to stay away from Shaker Bowl and from each other, the documents stated. Their pre-trial hearings are scheduled for Nov. 21.