Norwich brawl raises concerns as authorities continue to investigate – NBC Connecticut

“I just saw everyone start running in one direction and stuff,” said one person describing what happened Saturday night.

A charity basketball tournament in Norwich ended in chaos over the weekend after a brawl broke out in Jenkins Park. According to Norwich Police, between 10 and 20 people were involved in the brawl, which led to calls from several local police departments.

“The story is going around that it was gang activity, that gang members were fighting – no, it was teenagers fighting over a girl. At one point it looked like there was more to it, but there wasn’t,” said one person who was there.

According to police, during attempts to de-escalate the situation, more of the hundreds of participants in the event joined the fight.

“It got pretty big, it got pretty violent, but we broke it up and when Norwich police arrived they escalated the situation rather than deescalated it,” said one attendee at the event.

Some of those present believe that officers used excessive force against the crowd and individuals.

“I just didn’t think they needed seven police officers for one person,” said one event-goer.

That person is 23-year-old Jayden Jarmon, who police say punched someone in the back of the head.

As authorities attempted to make an arrest, Norwich police said Jarmon put an officer in a chokehold and began hitting him in the head with his hands and knees.

For this reason, the police used punches, drug spray and a taser to arrest the man.

Others present did not agree with the police’s statements.

“They’re trying to make it seem like he hit police officers,” said one attendee at the event. “I didn’t see it personally, a lot of other people said they didn’t see it personally.”

The video included in the story above shows only a portion of what happened Saturday night.

Norwich Police plan to release bodycam footage of the incident in the near future. Police could not be reached for comment on Monday.