After Fountain Square assaults, is city ready for ASG?

As Downtown fireworks and the Reds game came to a close around 11 p.m. Saturday night, about 3,000 people were gathered on and around Fountain Square for a concert.

Within minutes, portions of the crowd turned raucous, and the night came to an abrupt end with seven arrests, two assaulted police officers, a man in the hospital and looming questions of safety for the impending All-Star Game.

A day after the incident, the Cincinnati Police Department was confident in its response to Saturday night's events but continued to self-evaluate with questions about staffing, strategy and response.

"The All-Star Game is a major piece of this city's pride," said Mike Neville, captain of the Central Business District for the Cincinnati Police Department. "I think that somebody or a group of people tried to hamper that pride. I respect fully that people have concerns."

All-Star Game festivities begin with the opening of FanFest on Friday, but Neville said on Sunday that operations won't change after Saturday night's unrest.

"The numbers don't change because of the of the result of one incident to the next," Neville said.

What happened Saturday?

Around 11 p.m. police officers heard the first reports of an unruly crowd on Fountain Square.

Some people in the crowd began throwing objects – fireworks, glass bottles and other items, police said.

A fight broke out in the crowd during the commotion, and a police officer on Fountain Square went to make an arrest, Neville said.

As the officer attempted to make the arrest, a man in the crowd struck him in the face, busting his lip. Parts of the crowd continued to grow disorderly after this, Neville said.

The most unruly group, police estimate, was made up of around 50 to 100 individuals.

A video posted to Facebook showed police with Tasers and batons drawn as a large group crowded around.

The video showed someone throwing a firecracker on the sidewalk near police as they made an arrest.

Officers yelled "get back" as a group gathered around. The video showed one individual shoved backward by police. The man remained confrontational as other people moved in to hold him back.

More units were called from around the city to the scene . As more units arrived, a glass bottle was thrown from the crowd and struck another police officer below his eye.

The officer was taken to University of Cincinnati Medical Center for treatment. Neville said the officer was released on Sunday with two stitches.

Police donned protective gear after the two officers were injured. Helmets, riot shields and batons were distributed among officers as a safety precaution, Neville said.

Several streets around the square were closed as authorities began dispersing the unruly crowd.

By the end of the incident, two people were Tased and seven were arrested. Neville said four adults and three juveniles between the ages of 16 and 23 were arrested.

Jy Quynn Britten, 21, punched an officer in the face while officers tried to arrest another person, according to court documents.

Britten then ran from officers through Fountain Square before he was Tased and arrested, records stated.

Britten is accused of assault, resisting arrest and obstructing official business.

Gary Sheffield, 29, was arrested in the 500 block of Walnut Street near Fountain Square for misconduct at an emergency, according to court documents.

Police said Sheffield refused to obey orders and screamed at officers.

Britten and Sheffield are scheduled to appear in court Monday.

The area was cleared around midnight. Concerning the response time, Neville was pleased, but the captain raised other concerns.

"I would tell you that it was a success, but we also had two officers injured," Neville said. "That's not a success.

"We had an innocent victim assaulted. That is not a success."

Man assaulted on Government Square

Near Fountain Square, police also reported that a man was jumped on and assaulted.

Christopher McKnight, 27, was part of a "different group of people walking around Downtown," when he was assaulted by another group on the south side of Government Square, Neville said.

Police are calling the assault an "anti-white" crime.

McKnight was taken to UCMC, treated and released on Sunday.

In a video posted to Facebook, a man can be seen laying on the ground apparently unconscious.

No charges have been filed from the assault on Government Square, but police said an investigation is underway.

Initially, there were reports of shots fired on Government Square sometime around 11 p.m. , but Neville said on Sunday that police collected no evidence to back up those claims.

Is Downtown ready for the All-Star Game?

With thousands of visitors expected over the next two weeks, police also talked about their preparedness for numbers leading up to the event on Sunday.

"The big difference between Saturday night and the All-Star game – regardless of the number of people – is that we will have an abundance of officers that will be there for a number of festivities," Neville said on Sunday. "There will be nowhere near the number from Saturday that will be there."

Saturday night, there were eight officers, on-duty and off, that were assigned to Fountain Square during the concert.

Neville added that events similar to Saturday's concert are evaluated as they happen, and the department responds accordingly.

Sunday night, thousands gathered to watch the USA women's soccer team in the World Cup Final. Neville said no changes were made to Sunday night's plan after Saturday.

On Sunday, more than two dozen officers were observed around the square. Looking forward, Neville says months of planning will go into action as visitors reach Cincinnati.

"These concerns were identified for all situations many, many months in advance," Neville said. "It's not in response to Saturday night.

"I do recognize concerns after last night, but please recognize that our protocol and number of officers will be a lot larger than Saturday night."

When asked about the public opinion about officer response on Saturday night, Neville was pleased with officers again.

"If someone disagrees with what happened, we understand that," Neville said. "We can explain what occurred. I feel very confident that we held ourselves to a very professional degree here."

Cincinnati police Chief Jeffrey Blackwell could not speak about Saturday night at length on Sunday, but planned to review the issue on Monday morning.

"We will make the determinations on whether we were adequately staffed and if we had the proper strategic platform in place for Saturday night's events," Blackwell said.

Details such as the number of officers on patrol for the All-Star Game were not available on Sunday. Neville said Cincinnati police planned press conferences later in the week to discuss specifics on the city's safety.

"If the All-Star Game was tomorrow," Neville said. "We would be about ready to go."

Enquirer reporters Rebecca Butts and Patrick Brennan contributed to this report.