The Brief
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After a Pewaukee Lake beach brawl, leaders are meeting to try and prevent similar fights from happening again.
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A Village of Pewaukee police officer broke up one of the fights.
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Business owners and parkgoers complained to the village about the large crowds, physical games and profane language.
PEWAUKEE, Wis. – Last week, teenagers didn’t just hit the beach – they hit each other.
What we know
After a Pewaukee Lake beach brawl, Village of Pewaukee leaders are meeting to try and prevent similar fights from happening again.
Cellphone video showed a large crowd gathered at Lakefront Park last week after school was let out for the summer.
“The two kids were just kinda wrestling,” said Casey O’Brien, a witness. “It was very loud.”
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Village trustee Bob Rohde said warm weather and school letting out made for a chaotic scene.
“Everybody was down here. There were multitudes of schools down here,” Rohde said. “We want to make sure there’s a safe environment down here.”
A Village of Pewaukee police officer broke up one of the fights. The department has been making extra patrols in the area ever since.
The Village of Pewaukee Police Department said no arrests or citations have been issued so far this year.
One teen involved in a fight last week told FOX6 News off camera that he was banned from the beach for a day as punishment.
Dig deeper
Business owners and parkgoers complained to the village about the large crowds, physical games and profane language.
“We usually try and keep it positive in our store,” said shift lead at The Chocolate Factory, Tina Krueger. “We’ll ask them to leave or quiet down before we take any other actions.”
People also complained about groups not using the crosswalks, putting their safety – and others – at risk.
Mother of four, Tina Sanfilippo, believes most teens are good. But she admits their choice of language is not.
“This is a place where everyone should feel welcome to come,” she said. “There’s no reason people can’t be respectful when they are here. Maybe there just needs to be some signage up.”
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Rohde is helping the village get ready for its biggest night of the year.
Between 8-10,000 people are expected around Pewaukee Lake for Fourth of July fireworks. Rohde hopes everyone behaves.
“The vast majority of the kids down here were respectful,” he said. “There were probably a few who were not.”
What’s next
The village is discussing these issues during its board meeting on Tuesday night, June 17.
The Source
The information in this post was collected and produced by FOX6 News.
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