Video of Akron fight has some questioning use of force by police

AKRON, Ohio - A fight in downtown Akron over the weekend has some people questioning the use of force by police officers.

The video of the fight was posted on YouTube. There are scenes of police using force, but a police spokesman said the YouTube video is incomplete and doesn't tell the whole story.

The video posted online has been seen by hundreds of people. There were also plenty of witnesses outside of Barley House on Main Street in Akron.

The fight started inside the bar at around midnight Saturday. A witness said that once the people involved moved outside, the two main people started at it again.

"Then a third guy got in the middle of it. Then the police just came with billy clubs and just started wailing. After that it was just kind of chaos. There was blood everywhere," said Tom Alderson, who said he witnessed the incident.

Akron police spokesman Rick Edwards said this video is just a portion of what really happened. He said that he'll be glad to talk about everything on Tuesday once a report has been filed.

Edwards also said that police were attacked during the melee.

"I saw no one attack policeman at all," said Alderson. "You can see in that video the one cop kicks the kid in the stomach and then he goes down the street trying to kick other people. That dude was out of control."

Rick Edwards said four people were arrested in the incident, but again, said he couldn't discuss much more until Tuesday -- after the report is complete.

As with any use of force, this incident is being investigated by the police department.

Keep checking newsnet5.com for the latest information about this investigation.

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