Latest news with #CheerwineFestival
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Yahoo
Rowan County Sheriff seeks tougher legislation following Cheerwine Festival fight
SALISBURY, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) – Rowan County Sheriff Travis Allen is looking for tougher laws to hold parents more accountable for the actions of their children. This comes after a fight broke out at the Cheerwine Festival last weekend. Deputy Zachery Miles Holshouser and an officer from the Salisbury Police Department got hurt trying to break apart a fight at Bell Tower Green. 'A very good police presence was already there and what's interesting to find out is this took place with police watching in the park, monitoring the situation,' Allen said. 'It popped off so fast, so the juveniles were not even abated by the presence of law enforcement.' Allen said Holshouser is in good spirits now – but had hip replacement surgery. It could be a year before he's fully back at work. He was sworn in as a deputy in April 2024. Queen City News is tracking CRIME in your area 🚨 >> 'Our deputy was hurt during one of those processes of trying to gain control, was fallen upon, fell on, crushed up underneath a pile with his leg kind of in an awkward position while he was wrestling someone,' Allen said. Allen is a member of the North Carolina Sheriff's Association – and plans to go to Raleigh next week to start getting stricter laws in these situations. 'I think that the one thing that's left out of the system that is truly the piece that is missing is how we hold parents accountable,' Allen said. Queen City News Chief Legal Analyst Khalif Rhodes says Allen could target criminal or civil liability. 'Typically, when you're in the juvenile setting, it is rehabilitative,' Rhodes said. 'You've tried to find ways to rehabilitate these kids so they can be reintegrated into society. What he was asking for was a secure custodial. What does that mean? They were arrested on Friday I want them to stay in jail and I want them to be held there until they can have their next hearing and then a judge can make the determination if they should be let out.' Allen said this goes beyond two officers getting hurt. 'It's not just law enforcement that suffers from this, but it's the citizens of every community, every town,' Allen said. 'That system is broken because we don't hold the most important people accountable.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Yahoo
Sheriff blames parents after brawl at Cheerwine Festival that left officer, deputy hurt
New video obtained by Channel 9 shows multiple young people fighting as law enforcement swarmed the scene at the annual Cheerwine Festival this past weekend in Salisbury. Two of the officers got seriously hurt, and the sheriff is upset. He says it's happening too much, and he wants to hold the juveniles and their parents accountable. '[The] fight was short-lived, officers were there quickly and responded. Unfortunately two officers sustained serious injuries,' said Rowan County Sheriff Travis Allen on Tuesday. RELATED >> Officers hurt in fight at Cheerwine Festival in Salisbury Allen says Salisbury police did a great job securing the 80,000-person event. He blamed the violence near the end of the festival on a group of a dozen or so minors, and their parents. 'We don't hold the most important people accountable, not the kids, not the parents who are not keeping up with their kids, who have no idea where they're at or what they're doing, or they do but they can't control them,' Allen said. The sheriff says one deputy suffered a broken hip in the fight when he got caught at the bottom of a pile with his leg in an awkward position. 'The juveniles were apprehended but later had to be released,' the sheriff said. Allen says there's no one person to blame for their release. 'My concern is what we're operating under as a whole -- law enforcement, DA, courts, juvenile services -- is an inadequate system,' Allen said. 'It's not anyone's fault in the system. You see people saying well who's the person who let them go? It's not a who, it's a what. It was a system.' The sheriff didn't give ages or criminal histories of the juveniles involved, but he said they had to be released because the incident didn't meet the requirements to hold them under state law. As for their parents, Allen says the charge of 'contributing to the delinquency of a minor' is too vague and hard to prove. He wants to create a new law, even if it takes years. Allen said the Salisbury Police Department is looking into whether or not the fight was gang-related. (VIDEO: Six local high school students competing in Cheerwine Festival T-shirt design contest)
Miami Herald
20-05-2025
- Miami Herald
‘Mob' of juveniles at festival put cop and deputy in hospital, NC sheriff says
A police officer and sheriff's deputy ended up in the hospital after they tried to quell a large brawl involving minors attending a town festival, according to investigators. The fight erupted late in the day Saturday, May 17, at Salisbury's popular Cheerwine Festival, which attracts as many as 50,000 people. Salisbury Police officers and Rowan County deputies learned of a fight in progress and discovered as many as 10 people attacking each other, all believed to be minors, the Salisbury Police Department reported in a news release. 'Law officers were able to stop the fight, but not before one officer ... and one Rowan County Sheriff's Deputy sustained injuries,' police said. 'The Salisbury Police Officer was transported to Novant Hospital and diagnosed with a severe concussion. The Rowan County Deputy was transported to Novant Hospital and later hospitalized due to a fractured hip.' Details of how the injuries occurred were not released. The minors involved were detained, but the police department was 'denied' secure custody orders to arrest them, police said. As a result, 'the juveniles were then released to their parent(s),' police said. An age range for the minors was not released, and police did not report why the custody orders for arrests were denied. Rowan County Sheriff J. Travis Allen said the violence was caused by 'a mob of uncontrolled and unsupervised minors' and he noted the hospitalized deputy 'will most likely suffer with the results of this injury the rest of his life.' 'I am extremely angered and concerned that these (minors) were released from custody with no immediate consequences for their actions nor any regard for the safety of the community,' Allen said in a release. 'I am requesting that the North Carolina State Department of Juvenile Justice grant 'secure custody orders' on every minor involved in the incident. The City of Salisbury Police and the Rowan County Sheriff's Office should be granted the authority to re-arrest these individuals and hold them accountable for their actions.'
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Yahoo
Officers hurt during a fight involving juveniles at the Salisbury Cheerwine Festival
SALISBURY, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — Two law enforcement officers are recovering after breaking up a fight at the Salisbury Cheerwine Festival Saturday afternoon. Salisbury police officers working at the Cheerwine Festival and Rowan County deputies responded to a fight in progress involving juveniles. Officials say they witnessed five to ten juveniles actively fighting. Officers were able to stop the fight, but two law enforcement officers sustained injuries as a result. A Salisbury police officer was transported to Novant Health with a severe concussion and a Rowan County was transported to the hospital due to a fractured hip. All of the juveniles were detained and transported to the Salisbury Police Department. Secure custody orders were sought, but denied, so the juveniles were released to their parents. The investigation remains ongoing and additional charges might be issued due to the injuries to the law enforcement officers. Anyone with information or video of the incident is asked to contact Detective Marks at 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Yahoo
Officers hurt in fight at Cheerwine Festival in Salisbury
A fight led to an officer and a deputy being hurt while working at the Cheerwine Festival over the weekend. On Saturday, officers from the Salisbury Police Department and deputies from the Rowan County Sheriff's Office responded to an incident involving 5 to 10 juveniles. ALSO READ: Juveniles accused of racist graffiti at Belmont comic store While trying to break up the fight, an officer and a deputy were injured. According to reports, the officer, who was with the police department, was taken to an area hospital for treatment of a severe concussion. The deputy with the sheriff's office was taken to an area hospital for treatment of a fractured hip. Eventually, all the juveniles involved in this incident were taken to the Salisbury Police Department. They were later released to their parents. An investigation into whether or not upgrading charges would be appropriate due to the injuries to the law enforcement officers is ongoing. VIDEO: Juveniles accused of racist graffiti at Belmont comic store
