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Little League Game Erupts In Fight, 911 Call

Witness Questions Speed Of 911 Service

POSTED: 4:40 pm CDT July 3, 2008
UPDATED: 7:10 pm CDT July 3, 2008

A Little League game in south Nashville erupted on Wednesday with upset children and questions about Nashville’s 911 services.

Video: Kids' Baseball Game Ignites Arguments, Threats

The disruption got so heated that several people called 911, fearing that somebody would pull a gun.

In the end, there were no guns, injuries or arrests, but there were questions about the time it took police to arrive.

The incident happened at Seven Oaks Baseball Park while a group of 7- and 8-year-old children were playing a championship baseball game.

The incident began when some parents started getting upset after they felt an umpire made an unfair call.

When people started raising their voices, the situation got out of hand, a witness said.

"There must have been 10 to 20 people up against this fence yelling and screaming," said Ed Kennedy.

Kennedy runs the baseball park. He said he was working at the concession stand on Monday night when he noticed that there was a problem.

"There was kids on the field crying, scared. I told the parents they were acting terrible," he said.

He said that when the people refused to settle down, he called 911.

"We need someone to come up here and tell people to calm down, or we are going to have to stop the game, and if we stop the game, there is going to be an all-out brawl up here," Kennedy said to the 911 dispatcher.

A few minutes later, a woman at the park called for help.

"A parent has been thrown out, and they called the game and they…," the woman told 911.

"Were there any weapons?" the dispatcher said.

"I haven't seen any. I'm not sticking around to look," the woman said.

Police were treating the calls as a non-emergency situation, but officers flipped on their lights and arrived on scene with in six minutes after the woman called in.

"There are parents up here threatening to shoot other parents. ... It's crazy. We need police backup up here immediately," the female caller said.

Kennedy said he made a total of three phone calls over a span of 22 minutes before police arrived.

"People's lives are in danger. Get the damn police over here," Kennedy told 911.

Police said they upgraded their response as they got more information. Eventually, six officers arrived at the scene.

"No physical force or injuries are occurring and there is no indication of people actually involved in a fight, and those are the proper responses," said Metro police Capt. Rich Foley.

"I hate that I had to beg for a police officer to come. That's pretty bad," Kennedy said.

Officers said that the average response time for a non-emergency call in the south Nashville area is usually about 13 minutes.

Kennedy said that he is most upset that everything happened in front of children.

The game marked the end of the season, and most of the children left with out getting their trophies.


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