A violent spectacle played out for the amusement of local teens, and perhaps even an internet audience, has one resident asking parents, ‘Do you know what your children are doing??
A 48-year-old Oxford resident’s pleasant bicycle ride along the Polly Ann Trail June 6 was interrupted by a rowdy group of middle and high school age kids just north of W. Drahner Road. ‘I couldn’t get through,? said the resident. ‘They were blocking the entire trail.?
What the trail user witnessed next shocked and disgusted this person.
About 30 kids, ranging from 12-15 years old, were standing in a ‘huge circle? and cheering on two high school girls in the center as they engaged in a brutal fight.
‘They were just pulverizing each other,? the witness said. ‘I could hear them punching each other. One girl grabbed the other by the hair and threw her down. These girls were just vicious.?
As if that wasn’t bad enough, some of the kids watching this brawl were apparently recording video footage of it with their cell phones.
‘This one kid shoved this phone in my face and said, ‘What do you think of this??? said the witness, who heard someone in the crowd mention the footage would be posted on the YouTube website.
When the resident expressed concern over what was happening and tried to stop it, the kids told the person to ‘mind your own business? and ‘we want to see blood.?
‘These kids were like animals. It was just vile,? the witness said. ‘I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. And I couldn’t believe they didn’t care.?
The resident’s refusal to leave the scene angered the kids, at which point they began to hurl a barrage of foul language and threats of physical violence including an offer to put this person inside the circle for a beating.
‘I just couldn’t believe they were that bold,? the resident said.
The witness voluntarily stepped inside the circle and waited, but none of the kids moved. ‘They couldn’t believe I was in there,? the resident said.
When another trail user happened by and pretended to call the police, the kids ‘scattered,? according to the witness.
Using a fellow trail user’s cell phone, the resident called the Oakland County Sheriff’s Department and met a deputy where the trail intersects W. Drahner Road. She relayed the story to him.
‘We’re looking into trying to identify who the responsibles are (i.e. the fighters) to see if we can criminally prosecute them,? said Sheriff’s Lt. Larry Perry.
‘I guess there’s a tremendous amount of this kind of stuff going on around the country,? the lieutenant said, referring to kids filming footage like this and posting it on websites.
However, Perry said it’s not been determined if any images from this fight were placed on the internet.
‘I don’t know if it went any further than just putting it on a cell phone,? he said. ‘I haven’t been advised that it’s on any kind of a website or anything like that.?
Perry’s investigating whether there needs to be ‘more of a (police) presence out on the trail.?
‘With the (pedestrian) bridge (over M-24) completed, we’re going to have much more traffic out there,? he said. ‘It’s a major focal point for the township.?
For now, Perry’s found some deputies willing to do it on a temporary basis.
‘We’ve had some officers step up from our mounted unit and the bicycle unit,? he said. ‘They’re going to try to get out here and do some extra patrol of the trail for us.?
Perry is planning to meet with the Polly Ann Trail Management Council to see about establishing something more permanent.
‘We need to really look at having a police presence on the trail similar to what they’ve done in Oakland Township on the Paint Creek Trail,? he explained.
The Paint Creek Trailways Commission contracts with the sheriff’s department to have regular mounted and bicycle patrols on their trail, according to Perry.
‘Maybe we need to look at doing something like that out here,? the lieutenant said.
The resident also called the Oxford High School Principal Mike Schweig to inform him about the incident.
‘We have not been able to identify who the students are at this point,? the principal told this reporter.
Schweig said the school is working with the sheriff’s department to further investigate this matter even though the incident didn’t occur on school property.
‘There are no school consequences for student activities outside of school, but we do cooperate and work together with law enforcement to try to resolve any situation that happens in the community involving our students,? he explained.
The resident decided to call the newspaper because ‘I don’t think the parents know what these kids are doing.?
‘I think they should know,? the resident said. ‘You can’t tell me 60 parents aren’t going to care that this is going on.?
In two years of biking on the Polly Ann Trail, the witness said, ‘Never once have I had a problem? until now.
However, it was noted that the week before, as the resident was riding through Powell Lake Township Park, which connects to the trail, this person witnessed ‘a girl who couldn’t have been more than 13 years old? performing a sexual act on a boy while sitting on the bench overlooking the lake.
‘This is not how it was when I was that age,? the resident said.