Grand Rapids, Michigan – Grand Rapids Police Chief Eric Winstrom revealed officers were forced to unleash pepper spray and pepper balls to break up wild crowds after a string of brutal fights erupted downtown. It all kicked off in the early hours of Saturday, March 15, near Commerce Avenue and Oakes Street.

No one was hurt, but five yobs were nicked for disorderly conduct, resisting coppers, and assault. Winstrom said his team was already keeping an eye on the area that night, with up to 400 punters milling about after a sold-out gig nearby. By 2:25 a.m., a massive punch-up exploded, and officers scrambled to split it up, calling for backup as more scraps sparked.

Blokes and lasses fuelled by booze and bad choices kept the chaos going, Winstrom fumed. Body cam footage caught one copper yelling, “You’re about to get sprayed!” before blasting pepper spray at a mob, sending them scarpering. Some louts wouldn’t budge, taunting the officers instead. After five minutes of warnings, cops fired pepper balls – harmless rounds that kick up irritating dust – to clear the stragglers.

Winstrom insisted the pepper balls, aimed at the ground, didn’t hurt anyone, just made it grim to hang about. Social media’s been buzzing with clips of the ruckus, with a few moaning about heavy-handed tactics. But Winstrom, who reviewed the footage after a tip-off on Saturday, swore his 20-strong team played it by the book, showing “great restraint” in a nasty, outnumbered scrap.

“I’m chuffed we’re nattering about pepper balls on video, not another kid shot dead here,” he told MLive on Monday, March 17. “It was chaotic, violent, and the officers wrapped it up peacefully in eight minutes flat.”

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