NORWALK, Conn. – He said, she said tales flew Monday morning at the Norwalk Police Department as reporters converged for the daily press briefing and official information about the reported “brawl” Sunday morning aboard the Island Belle.
The Island Belle’s operator, Sound Charter owner Ken Hart, was on hand to give his differing version of the events, although he admitted he was not on the scene, and, later, Mayor Harry Rilling said he will be looking into taking action against Sound Charter’s license to serve alcohol.
According to Norwalk Police Sgt. Terrence Blake, police officers were parked at the boat launch at about 4 a.m. Sunday when the Island Belle — which began its charter at 10 p.m. Saturday — began to dock, and headquarters told them there was a report of people on board fighting.
“They could see a fight going on in the middle of the lower deck,” Blake said. “They could hear yelling and screaming going on from the same area. As the vessel docked, people began to disembark. Officers reported seeing them carrying alcoholic beverages, beer bottles and such.”
Some people coming off the boat were injured, but declined medical attention, he said. Passengers were not cooperative, he said.
Blake said that, according to the police report, a bottle was thrown in the parking lot, and all officers on duty were called to scene to disperse the group. Everyone left area, he said.
Blake said the officers did not approach the vessel when they witnessed the skirmish going on for safety reasons.
“Based on numbers – (the police) were outnumbered, so as far as taking proactive action, aside from trying to break up the skirmish in the parking lot, that was it,” he said.
Officers did board boat after the passengers disembarked and found damage to the boat – broken glass, broken bottles and overturned furniture.
Hart painted a different picture.
He called the published report of a “brawl” involving some 300 people “so inaccurate.”
While Hart admitted he was not on board, he said he had interviewed several members of the “crew of 11, five of which were security.”
“There was an argument that started between two girls early in the night,” he said. “It was addressed. At the end of the night, when we came in, as people were preparing to disembark from the vessel, these two girls got into an argument again. Their boyfriends started mouthing off. It was a total of four people that was involved in this. But what happened is when it got to the point where they started to fight, our security, along with some of the guests, jumped in to stop it. By the time we docked at the dock, this was over.”
“I don’t know how it happened but two of our windows got broken. That is the extent of the damage.”
Hart said whenever his boat returns to the dock from a cruise, police are in the parking lot. “Two weeks ago we came in to 14 cruisers sitting in the parking lot,” he said. “That’s great. I love that.”
He disputed the police version of what happened after the boat docked.
“We docked the vessel. Not a single police officer approached the boat. They did stay in their cars because there was no issue. They did say they could see a lot of confusion and they could hear a lot of yelling coming from the boat and this, that and the other thing.”
Hart said that was because people were dancing and having a good time. The boat had been hired for a birthday party, he said, although a Facebook post indicates the cruise was a Hot 93.7 promotion called the “Rock Da Boat Summer Cruise” featuring music on all three decks and pre-selling bottles of alcohol.
“It was probably less than 200 people. So the noise you heard from the boat was people partying,” he said.
“The noise coming from where the people were upset was just the aftermath.”
Hart said the boat was cleared without incident. “Everyone went into the parking lot without incident. The two women that started this thing argued for a second in the parking lot … and that was the end of it.”
NancyOnNorwalk spoke with the mayor at a later event and he said he has already met with Police Chief Thomas Kulhawik, and the chief stands behind the police reporting.
“I spoke to the chief this morning. The police officers gave an accurate depiction of what was taking place,” said Rilling, who spent 17 years as chief of police. “I am calling for a meeting with the police chief and the director of parks and rec (Mike Mocciae). We are looking at the service of alcohol and the removal of the alcohol from the boat. All those kinds of things – that was a very, very dangerous situation.
“I understand Mr. Hart wasn’t there but that doesn’t remove the responsibility,” Rilling continued. “We need to sit down and find out what went wrong and why, and make sure that it doesn’t happen again and to find out what we have to do. We’re also going to contact the liquor control commission and find out about the permit and what that allows, what it doesn’t allow and why this happened. … I am very disturbed by this.”
According to Mocciae, the city brings in about $1,500 to $1,800 each time the Island Belle sails from Norwalk.
“They have used the dock twice this year so far,” he said in an email. “We have reservations for two trips on July 3rd one on the 4th and one on the 5th. The City takes in $3 per foot, which, for the Belle, is approximately $330 for the vessel to dock and another $1,200 to $1,500 in parking per vehicle for each trip.”
Hart said the incident was no different than what happens in SoNo.
“I told the chief … This incident is no different than if I owned a nightclub here on Washington Street and there was a fight in there, and officers were called to a bar fight or something like that,” he said. “It shouldn’t be any different than that. I welcome the police intervention and presence. But there was no need for it. I was, like, it didn’t happen. The police did not involve themselves. They boarded the vessel after the boat was cleared, while the DJ’s were still taking their equipment down, and they took pictures.
“Out of 70 or 80 events we have had on the boat, we have never had a problem,” Hart said. “We run a safe vessel.”
Hart also charged that there are “forces” at work in Norwalk that want to see him run out of the city. He claimed some tried to interfere with Saturday night’s charter.
“A vessel deliberately tried to block our way from departing,” he charged, drifting into the Island Belle’s path with its lights off. Would not name vessel, but said, “We have the name and we know who the vessel is.”
The incident remains under investigation.
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