Fight at American Legion sends several to hospital

Published 10:18 am Monday, May 24, 2010

A fight at the American Legion Post 590, at 720 Quincy St., Sunday remains under investigation, Ironton Police Chief Jim Carey said Monday morning.

Just after midnight, someone at the Legion called the police department and said, “We need the police here now, they’re destroying the place,” according to the police department log. Officers who responded to the call immediately asked for additional manpower. One officer told the dispatcher, “Get us all the help you can.”

Carey said when officers arrived they encountered 15 to 20 small fights, and he is still not sure how many people were involved in the incident. Several people were taken to area hospitals with injuries; none of the injuries appeared to be life threatening.

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“You can imagine with that many people, it was just chaos,” Carey said.

Carey said he is not sure what provoked the incident, either. He anticipates charges will be filed as a result of the fight.

Officers said several chairs, a big screen television set and glasses were all broken in the incident.

Four Ironton officers, troopers from the Ohio State Highway Patrol, Lawrence County Sheriff’s deputies, Coal Grove Police, Hanging Rock Police, Southeast Ohio Emergency Medical Services and the Ironton Fire Department were all called to the fight.