Wild night of riots in two cities: [1 All-round Country Edition]
Andrea Mayes, John Stapleton. The Australian; Canberra, A.C.T. [Canberra, A.C.T] 07 Mar 2005: 7.
Abstract
POLICE battled rioters for up to two hours in Sydney and Perth when drunken youths at weekend parties launched full-scale assaults, hurling bottles and rocks and forcing officers into riot gear.
A melee of more than 150 youths at Darling Harbour in central Sydney threw bottles at police in the early hours of Sunday morning, with the police taking more than half an hour to subdue the crowd.
Macquarie Fields, in Sydney's western outskirts, was tense but quiet over the weekend following the fifth night of riots on Friday, one week after a high-speed police pursuit left two teenagers dead. A total of 32 people have been arrested over the Macquarie Fields riots. The alleged driver of the stolen vehicle, Jesse Kelly, 20, remained at large yesterday.
POLICE battled rioters for up to two hours in Sydney and Perth when drunken youths at weekend parties launched full-scale assaults, hurling bottles and rocks and forcing officers into riot gear.
A total of 36 police cars were sent into the Perth trouble spots at the height of the rampage on Saturday night in a battle that mirrored the week-long rampages in far Western Sydney.
One officer was injured and four men were arrested.
In Sydney, police clashed with 150 young people on Saturday night, but this time the violence was in the tourist area of Darling Harbour. A further crowd of young people rioted at a party in the western suburb of St Clair, where four people were charged.
In Perth, Inspector Gary Kosovich said police were called to the first party, at a community hall in the foothills suburb of High Wycombe, at 10pm after residents complained partygoers were doing burnouts.
The first officers on the scene were confronted by a crowd of about 250 drunken partygoers in their teens and early 20s, many hurling rocks and bottles.
Twenty-four police vehicles attended, some with dogs. One officer received minor injuries after being hit in the thigh by a bottle. The rear window of a police car was also smashed.
Police were hampered by a smoke machine that reduced visibility and officers were forced to don riot shields and helmets, advancing on the revellers in riot formation.
Four people were charged with disorderly conduct. Police took two hours to bring the situation under control.
Sergeant Peter Grover of Midland police said 30-40 of the guests were the main perpetrators of the violence.
"There was a hardcore bunch of diehards that you usually find at these sort of events and they're the ones we have to battle with," he said.
No arrests were made and the crowd was dispersed after about an hour.
A melee of more than 150 youths at Darling Harbour in central Sydney threw bottles at police in the early hours of Sunday morning, with the police taking more than half an hour to subdue the crowd.
Two men and a youth were arrested and charged with assaulting police. A further five were taken into custody and later released.
At St Clair, police were called to a noisy party. When they arrived they were pelted with bottles. The windscreen of a police car was smashed. Two youths aged 17 and two men aged 19 and 20 were charged with affray, resisting police and offensive language. All four were released on bail.
Macquarie Fields, in Sydney's western outskirts, was tense but quiet over the weekend following the fifth night of riots on Friday, one week after a high-speed police pursuit left two teenagers dead. A total of 32 people have been arrested over the Macquarie Fields riots. The alleged driver of the stolen vehicle, Jesse Kelly, 20, remained at large yesterday.
Editorial -- Page 8
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