SIMPSON BAY--Police patrols were called to Sunset Beach Bar on Monday evening to intervene in what they say was four men assaulting an on-duty security guard. Eyewitnesses and camera footage say differently.
Staff and visitors informed The Daily Herald that the four men had been having drinks and enjoying themselves at one of the tables inside the bar on Monday evening. They were loud and made themselves “the life of the party” by dancing while no music was playing and singing France’s national anthem.
At a given moment one of the men started to take the straws on the table and pitch them in the air. Staff ignored the men while they were kidding around, according to one staff member.
The security guard at the establishment walked up to the men and told them to stop throwing straws; otherwise, they would have to leave. The men did not listen to the guard and continued. The security guard took the matter into his own hands, grabbed one of them and attempted to move him from the location. The man fought back and pushed off the guard.
Staff intervened and told the guard to leave the men alone. The guard informed his dispatch and police were alerted.
A waitress on duty who chose to remain anonymous said, “Police arrived and they did not ask one question. They walked in and they grabbed the wrong guy out of the four guys. They manhandled him and proceeded to go with him. One of his friends told the officers not to handle him so roughly and that’s when the situation escalated, because the men started to fight and beat up the officers.”
According to the police report issued on Tuesday afternoon, “When the suspects noticed that backup was called in, they took off running and fled the scene through the bushes in the Maho Reef area and surroundings. At that same time a second call came into the dispatch centre informing them that the suspects in question were possibly military-trained. Several patrols were sent in the Maho Reef and surrounding areas in search of the suspects.
“During a lengthy search two of the suspects were arrested and taken to the Philipsburg police station, where they are detained for further investigation. The other two were not caught. The security guard that was assaulted filed an official complaint with the Detective Department.”
The fist fight between the officers and the men ended close to the Maho roundabout and witnesses described the fight as a scene from a movie where the guys clearly looked “military-trained”.
Contrary to earlier reports that the men were Gendarmes and that there was a standoff between Dutch-side police and Gendarmes, the police have denied this and said that to their knowledge the men did not have military training.
The police stated, “The Gendarmes and the Dutch police have a very good working relationship between them and are striving to make this relationship much stronger.”
