Investigation underway following brawl in Toontown at Disneyland
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ANAHEIM, California (KTLA) — A family fight that turned violent in Mickey’s Toontown at Disneyland is being investigated by Anaheim police after video of the brawl was posted to social media.
The Anaheim Police Department said everyone involved in the fight belonged to the same family and that they were uncooperative when officers responded to the scene.
Those who participated in the weekend melee were removed from the theme park and turned over to police, according to Liz Jaeger, a spokeswoman for the Disneyland Resort.
“Any type of violence is inexcusable and will not be tolerated,” Jaeger wrote in an emailed statement.
The incident apparently began with an argument between a brother and sister, Anaheim police Sgt. Daron Wyatt told the Associated Press.
The family members were standing near Goofy’s Playhouse on Saturday when a man and a woman pushing a stroller with two children in it became embroiled in a heated argument, according to the nearly 4 1/2-minute video posted to YouTube on Sunday.
The posting of the video online is what spurred detectives to continue the investigation, police said.
The verbal altercation turned physical when a woman in a white tank top appeared to spit at a man in a red T-shirt, who then took a swing at her, the widely viewed footage showed.
They could be seen hitting each other before a man in a white T-shirt intervenes, and the two men trade blows. A woman wearing a tan tank top comes forward and starts yelling at them before becoming a part of the fracas.
While this is happening, a crowd of stunned bystanders watches, among them children whose loud cries can be heard in the background. Others try to usher their young ones quickly past and away from the escalating scene.
Family members, as well as a park employee, try to intervene and defuse the situation, but the melee continues for several minutes.
A woman in a motorized scooter – apparently the mother of one of the men – tries to break up the fight, and later is seen being inadvertently knocked over when two other women start throwing punches at each other. One of those women is also knocked to the ground after being slapped in the face and grabbed by her tank top by the man in red.
“I’m ready to go to jail tonight!” he says as several parkgoers try to help the woman.
The woman in tan shouts something, and then the man – who can be heard saying something about the woman hitting his mother – goes over and starts beating her, the video shows.
That’s when several bystanders step in and take the man down.
At that point, roughly 3 1/2 minutes into the video, Disneyland security personnel arrive at the scene.
It’s unclear how much time elapsed between the time the incident was reported and when they got there.
A spokesman for the Anaheim city attorney’s office said a decision on whether to file charges in the case will come after police finish their investigation, AP reported.
Officials have not identified anyone in the video.