Santa Monica police cite and release six people involved in Sunday incident
By Sam Catanzaro
Six individuals were released on citation following a fight that broke out between vendors in the area of the Santa Monica Pier over the weekend.
According to Santa Monica Police Department (SMPD) Lieutenant Rudy Flores, on Sunday around 2:30 p.m. officers responded to Lot 1 North to the just north of the Santa Monica Pier. The call was from Los Angeles County Fire Department Lifeguards, regarding the northern and southern emergency access lanes being blocked by vendors.
“As the officers began to make contact with the vendors to ask them to move, they observed a confrontation taking place between 3 individuals. Officers attempted to separate them and they continued to fight disregarding both their presence and orders to stop. Other vendors attempted to intervene, which caused a separate fight,” Flores wrote in an email.
Additional SMPD resources were called in to help, Flores added.
According to Flores. there were a total of six men and women involved.
They were arrested then subsequently five were released on citation for unlawfully fighting in a public space. Two of these five were also cited for delaying, resisting arrest. The sixth individual was released on citation for assault and battery.
According to police, two of the involved were juveniles.
