A mad horde of teens pummeled a pair of South Carolina cops in a wild brawl after the officers tried to break up a dangerous Fourth of July celebration that included gunshots and fireworks launched at cars, police said.
The shocking attack unfolded when officers attempted to shut down an Independence Day celebration in the North Charleston nabe of Chicora-Cherokee around 8:30 p.m., the North Charleston Police Department said.
“We need some help,” North Charleston Police Chief Ron Camacho pleaded with the public. “We really do. We need some help from the community. Because stuff like this is getting dangerous.”
Officials said the celebration was originally permitted by the city, which met with party organizers earlier in the day to work out parking and traffic plans.
But the revelry turned dangerous at night, with reports of gunfire and pyromaniac partygoers launching fireworks toward passing vehicles, police said.
Cops said they initially tried to disperse the party, but their efforts were ignored, as fights broke out between carousers and gunshots were fired.
The scene quickly became violent when cops stepped out of their cars to stop the fighting – and soon found themselves being attacked by partygoers, according to authorities.
Police said multiple officers were assaulted in the bedlam, which included two cops who were viciously stomped to the ground by a gaggle of teens, according to video obtained by WSCS.
Footage shows one cop struggling with a youth who pushes her to the ground, before a friend socks the officer in the face and another hits her with a stick.
A fellow officer comes to his colleague’s rescue and pulls the unruly youth off his coworker, but is attacked by other youths, tasering one to disperse the growing crowd around him, video shows.
Police said that four people – three juveniles and one adult – were arrested at the scene.
Four guns, including two automatic weapons, and a homemade spear were also recovered from the scene of the party, cops said.
Chief Camacho blasted the adolescents during a press conference Sunday, saying their behavior was “the most difficult thing that I’ve had to deal with in my policing career.”
Camacho also called on the community to cooperate with the department and keep the unruly kids in line.