By admin 
Law enforcement officials cut short a celebration Saturday at Columbia’s reimagined Finlay Park, saying they did so “out of an abundance of caution” after some fights broke out among young people.
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The incident also led to city officials announcing in a late night press briefing that they are making a permanent policy that people under age 18 must be accompanied by an adult when visiting Finlay Park after 5 p.m.
The 10th Annual Juneteenth Freedom Fest was held throughout the day Saturday at Finlay Park, and it was an event filled with live music, food vendors, community presentations, educational experiences and more. Numerous accounts reported it was a popular event, with TV station WIS estimating that thousands of people turned out for the celebration. The fest was set to have wrapped up with a concert from R&B group Midnight Star, and was slated to end around 10 p.m. Saturday
However, officers evacuated the park early after “some groups of young people” became “engaged in fights,” Columbia Police Chief Skip Holbrook said.
Holbrook said at the press conference that “several fights broke out” after 7 p.m., before the final concert was to have started. The chief said numerous officers responded to locations within the park.
“The disruption kind of took on a life of its own, and out of an abundance of caution, we made the decision to evacuate the park,” the longtime police chief said.
Holbrook said four arrests were made, including three juveniles and one adult. During the late night media briefing, the chief did not disclose the charges against those arrested. Holbrook said the investigation is ongoing and police will be reviewing a large amount of video, as there is “incredible video surveillance coverage” at the park.
“I am frustrated and disappointed that this celebrated Juneteenth community event was disrupted by several groups of young people engaged in fights and disruptive behavior,” Holbrook said in a statement. “This is not who we are as a community, and we must all share in the responsibility of ensuring that something like this never happens again.”
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City Manager Teresa Wilson said Saturday night that the city will be making permanent a policy that requires those under 18 to be accompanied by an adult when visiting Finlay Park. Specifically, the policy says that “any person seventeen years of age or younger must be accompanied by a parent, legal guardian, or responsible adult twenty-one years of age or older to enter or remain in Finlay Park after 5:00 p.m., seven days a week.”
A temporary version of that measure had been in place for certain events since May, city officials said, after police got information that so-called “teen takeovers” might happen at those events. There had been no prior indication of a teen takeover ahead of the June 20 Juneteenth event, the city said in a statement.
Wilson stressed that Juneteenth Freedom Fest organizers Tina Torres and Jamal Bradley did a “phenomenal job” in putting on the annual celebration. She also said there are many young people making positive contributions to the community.
“I still believe in the good within our children and young people, however it pains me to see the behaviors and acts of a few overshadow the positive, empowering actions of our youth who are making a difference,” Wilson said.
At-large Columbia City Councilman Tyler Bailey said in a statement late Saturday night on Instagram that “the actions of a few” cut the day short for everyone at the festival.
“Columbia showed up for Juneteenth this weekend,” Bailey wrote. “Thousands of families. Music, culture, community. Unfortunately, it only took a few to ruin it. Fighting broke out and became a serious public safety threat, and police shut the entire event down and cleared the park to protect the thousands of families who were there.”