New Jersey nightclubs are generally places where a large number of people have congregated to have fun for the night. Given the number of people in a nightclub at any given point and the fact that alcohol is served, the potential for a disagreement or a fight between some of the night club attendees is a foreseeable event.
Most of the time nightclubs have security employees — commonly referred to as bouncers — who prevent or stop a fight before the fight gets out of control and police intervene. If police intervene in a nightclub fight, there is a greater potential for someone to be taken into custody under assault charges no matter who allegedly started the fight.
Earlier this month, a fight broke out at a New Jersey nightclub. This particular fight was larger than potentially expected by the nightclub employees and the local police were contacted regarding the incident. The nightclub fight included almost 20 people and took place at approximately 2:10 a.m.
The police report indicates the fight began with a hostile congregation of about 20 people prior to the police arriving. When the police arrived, they attempted to disperse the group of people. As the police were trying to separate the crowd of people, individuals in the group took it to a physical level.
Since the group of people was so large, the fighting quickly became a riot situation. During the riot situation, a police officer was injured and was taken to a local hospital for his injuries.
Specifically, six people involved in the nightclub incident were arrested. All six people have been charged with rioting and two of the six people face an addition criminal charge for aggravated assault on a police officer.
Source: New Jersey Herald, “Authorities: 7 arrested during NJ nightclub melee,” Jan. 21, 2013