Police arrest 5 in hockey brawl
Danbury mayor promises tighter security
By Robert Miller
THE NEWS-TIMES
4/1/07
Danbury police use a Taser to subdue a fan in Section 102 during a brawl in the stands at the Danbury Arena during Saturday night?s game between the New England Stars and the Danville (Ill.) Pounders. Five people were arrested.
DANBURY - A brawl that erupted at Danbury Arena's infamous Section 102 during a New England Stars hockey game Saturday night resulted in five arrests for breach of peace, three injured Danbury police officers, one 375-pound fan being subdued with a Taser and a promise by Mayor Mark Boughton that there would be a stronger police presence at the Stars' next home game.
"We'll meet with the team officials on Monday,'' Boughton said Sunday. "We'll increase the police presence at the games. Then we'll monitor them.''
The brawl in Saturday's game started in the third period of a runaway 20-4 win by the Stars over the Danville (Ill.) Pounders. The fight started on the ice, but spread into Section 102, when one of the players on the Pounders' bench tried to attack the fans.
The Stars' head coach, Stephan Seeger said the cause of the brawl could be directly attributable to the behavior of the Pounders' bench.
"They were pointing their sticks at the fans, they were trying to get up into the crowd,'' Seeger said. "One of their players left the ice and said he wouldn't play anymore.''
Given the Pounders' willingness to take their fight off the ice and into the stands, Seeger said it's not surprising the fans became unruly. As for Section 102's reputation for loud, rude remarks about visiting teams during Stars' games (as well as the now-defunct Danbury Trashers), Seeger said that's a part of the hockey experience.
"It happens at every hockey game around the world,'' he said.
Cameron Estes, general manager of the Pounders, declined to comment Sunday.
Danbury police estimated there were about 700 people at Saturday night's game. The police usually provide three officers for each game paid for by the Stars.
When it appeared the violence might escalate, the Danbury police issued an alert, calling all available units to the arena. Officers from the Bethel Police Department and the Western Connecticut State University Police Department responded, as well.
One Danbury officer, Len LaBonia, injured his back during a scuffle in the stands when Mike Bernardi, 32, of Cheshire fell on him. Bernardi is 6-feet, 3-inches tall, weighs 375 pounds and is known as the "guy with the horn'' who provides amplified jeering during the games. Police subdued him with a Taser when they failed to get a pair of handcuffs on him.
Police said Bernardi was charged with breach of peace, which is a misdemeanor, along with Charles Corvi, 39, of Hamden, Vincent Verderame, 44, of East Haven, and Roger Stalker, 40, of Hawley Road Extension in Danbury, and a juvenile. Poilce released the four adults on written promises to appear in Danbury Superior Court on April 13.
Boughton and Danbury Police Chief Alan Baker defended the police's handling of the crowd. Baker said the police trained for crowd control duties.
But Stalker and Corvi said their arrests were unjustified. Stalker said police removed him from his seat and led him away when he commented on one police officer's stance, nightstick in hand - what he called exercising First Amendment rights of freedom of speech.
"He told me to watch the game,'' Stalker said. "When I didn't look away from him, he arrested me.''
Police said Stalker "appeared to be intoxicated'' when he was arrested. But Stalker said police never field-tested him for sobriety after the arrest.
"It was a great game, though,'' he said.
Corvi said police arrested him when he told them to be more careful while they were arresting the juvenile.
"It was a real unfortunate situation,'' he said. "I've never been arrested in my life.''
Bernardi, however, was philosophical.
"I thought the police did a good job,'' he said. "They treated me with the respect I showed them. They told me to be quiet and get into the police car, and I did.'' Even getting jolted with a Taser wasn't that painful, he said.
"Sort of like putting jumper cables on your ears,'' he said.
Bernardi is a loyal member of Section 102 -- New Haven-area hockey fanatics who -- with the loss on minor league hockey there -- began driving north to support the Danbury Trashers, and now, the Stars.
"We're there to get inside the visiting team's head, to try and disrupt their game,'' Bernardi said. With the Pounders losing by so much, he said, the section accomplished that mission and then some Saturday night.
However, hockey fan James Sanchez of New Fairfield said he took his two sons, who are 7 and 9 years old to a Stars game at the Danbury Arena last month. He said they left after three minutes, when Section 102 began cursing the game's officials as soon they skated onto the ice.
"They were using the F-word, giving the guys the finger,'' Sanchez said. "Danbury now says it wants a minor league baseball team. I'd be totally against it.''
Danbury mayor promises tighter security
By Robert Miller
THE NEWS-TIMES
4/1/07
Danbury police use a Taser to subdue a fan in Section 102 during a brawl in the stands at the Danbury Arena during Saturday night?s game between the New England Stars and the Danville (Ill.) Pounders. Five people were arrested.
DANBURY - A brawl that erupted at Danbury Arena's infamous Section 102 during a New England Stars hockey game Saturday night resulted in five arrests for breach of peace, three injured Danbury police officers, one 375-pound fan being subdued with a Taser and a promise by Mayor Mark Boughton that there would be a stronger police presence at the Stars' next home game.
"We'll meet with the team officials on Monday,'' Boughton said Sunday. "We'll increase the police presence at the games. Then we'll monitor them.''
The brawl in Saturday's game started in the third period of a runaway 20-4 win by the Stars over the Danville (Ill.) Pounders. The fight started on the ice, but spread into Section 102, when one of the players on the Pounders' bench tried to attack the fans.
The Stars' head coach, Stephan Seeger said the cause of the brawl could be directly attributable to the behavior of the Pounders' bench.
"They were pointing their sticks at the fans, they were trying to get up into the crowd,'' Seeger said. "One of their players left the ice and said he wouldn't play anymore.''
Given the Pounders' willingness to take their fight off the ice and into the stands, Seeger said it's not surprising the fans became unruly. As for Section 102's reputation for loud, rude remarks about visiting teams during Stars' games (as well as the now-defunct Danbury Trashers), Seeger said that's a part of the hockey experience.
"It happens at every hockey game around the world,'' he said.
Cameron Estes, general manager of the Pounders, declined to comment Sunday.
Danbury police estimated there were about 700 people at Saturday night's game. The police usually provide three officers for each game paid for by the Stars.
When it appeared the violence might escalate, the Danbury police issued an alert, calling all available units to the arena. Officers from the Bethel Police Department and the Western Connecticut State University Police Department responded, as well.
One Danbury officer, Len LaBonia, injured his back during a scuffle in the stands when Mike Bernardi, 32, of Cheshire fell on him. Bernardi is 6-feet, 3-inches tall, weighs 375 pounds and is known as the "guy with the horn'' who provides amplified jeering during the games. Police subdued him with a Taser when they failed to get a pair of handcuffs on him.
Police said Bernardi was charged with breach of peace, which is a misdemeanor, along with Charles Corvi, 39, of Hamden, Vincent Verderame, 44, of East Haven, and Roger Stalker, 40, of Hawley Road Extension in Danbury, and a juvenile. Poilce released the four adults on written promises to appear in Danbury Superior Court on April 13.
Boughton and Danbury Police Chief Alan Baker defended the police's handling of the crowd. Baker said the police trained for crowd control duties.
But Stalker and Corvi said their arrests were unjustified. Stalker said police removed him from his seat and led him away when he commented on one police officer's stance, nightstick in hand - what he called exercising First Amendment rights of freedom of speech.
"He told me to watch the game,'' Stalker said. "When I didn't look away from him, he arrested me.''
Police said Stalker "appeared to be intoxicated'' when he was arrested. But Stalker said police never field-tested him for sobriety after the arrest.
"It was a great game, though,'' he said.
Corvi said police arrested him when he told them to be more careful while they were arresting the juvenile.
"It was a real unfortunate situation,'' he said. "I've never been arrested in my life.''
Bernardi, however, was philosophical.
"I thought the police did a good job,'' he said. "They treated me with the respect I showed them. They told me to be quiet and get into the police car, and I did.'' Even getting jolted with a Taser wasn't that painful, he said.
"Sort of like putting jumper cables on your ears,'' he said.
Bernardi is a loyal member of Section 102 -- New Haven-area hockey fanatics who -- with the loss on minor league hockey there -- began driving north to support the Danbury Trashers, and now, the Stars.
"We're there to get inside the visiting team's head, to try and disrupt their game,'' Bernardi said. With the Pounders losing by so much, he said, the section accomplished that mission and then some Saturday night.
However, hockey fan James Sanchez of New Fairfield said he took his two sons, who are 7 and 9 years old to a Stars game at the Danbury Arena last month. He said they left after three minutes, when Section 102 began cursing the game's officials as soon they skated onto the ice.
"They were using the F-word, giving the guys the finger,'' Sanchez said. "Danbury now says it wants a minor league baseball team. I'd be totally against it.''
