NEW ORLEANS - Five people are in jail after a weekend brawl on Bourbon involving officers who were attempting to break up the fight outside a bar. New Orleans Police are praising their officers for how they handled that escalating situation in the French Quarter.
The fight happened Saturday night on the 500 block of Bourbon Street. A group of 15 out-of-towners came to Bourbon on a party bus ready probably for a good time. However things quickly changed, and five people were arrested for different charges including illegal use of a weapon.
The surveillance video is jarring to watch. In it, you see police officers trying to stop a fight that spilled onto Bourbon Street. "You'll see people in the crowd start to beat on our officers," said Commander Nick Gernon. "You'll see that individual in the yellow shirt hitting our officers from behind."
The fight, which began after a 26-year-old Patriceia Casher, was kicked out of Swamp Bar, involved multiple people. At one point, a 23-year-old with the group, who police identified as Alejandro Ford, walks up holding a loaded gun.
The incident drew a crowd. Those who work nearby, couldn't help but notice the chaos.
"When I went to stick my head out, they had two police out in the middle of the street stopping one fight," said Kristyn Elson with La Habana Hemingway. "You saw horses, State Troopers and they shut the doors to Razzoo's."
"It can happen on any block, you never know," said Evan Manowitz with Finnegan's Easy.
Bourbon and surrounding streets are no stranger to clashes. So much so, that for some, it's not if it happens, but when.
"Everyday is a different thing," said Ahmad Awadalla with Vieux Carre Pizza. "Everything that happens on Bourbon stays on Bourbon I guess. It's like a Vegas type of thing over here."
"Either people getting too drunk or people bumping into people or people with attitude," said Elson.
This case though, for some, is different. Because many feel this fight could've had a different ending.
"The amount of people walking on Bourbon Street, if they're not from here and they're carrying weapons and it can escalate that quickly, that scares me a great deal," said Manowitz.
Which is why it's not just law enforcement praising their officers, it's others as well who say it was a job well done.
"I'm glad that they're here," said Awadalla. "If they weren't here things would escalate much more."
"It's not just the regular police on feet, they have horses, State Troopers, undercover cops, everybody will be out here and they'll be quick to respond."