Change in weather, show of force help prevent BH disturbance from becoming riot

By JIM DALGLEISH / H-P City Editor

BENTON HARBOR -- One woman was shot and three people arrested in a Sunday disturbance in Benton Harbor that authorities said could have become a riot.

Police Chief Sam Harris said a quick show of police force and a sudden change of weather kept the street corner disturbance from becoming something more serious.
"When we get spontaneous nonsense like this, this is going to be our response: full force," Harris said, talking to reporters at the corner of Broadway and Empire Avenue.

Police officers from as far away as Watervliet responded to the city police department's call for help.

The incident began at 6:11 p.m. when patroling city officers saw two women fighting near the intersection, according to a Benton Harbor Police Department news release. A large crowd, estimated by Harris to include 200-300 people, gathered and then two groups of juveniles began fighting.

The officers radioed for help and began dispersing the crowd. Rocks and other debris began being hurled at police.


There were reports of gunshots in the area, but no weapons were seized or arrests made related to the gunfire, police said. One woman was shot in the thigh and was being treated at Lakeland Hospital, St. Joseph, city police reported. Her name and condition were not available this morning.

Police, including state police and Berrien County Sheriff's Department officers, got the scene under control. Moments afterward, police arrested two people who continued to taunt police, Harris said.

"Their actions were going to cause a full-scale riot," Harris said.

About 8:30 p.m., a chilly north wind suddenly blew into the Twin Cities, ending a string of unseasonably warm days. At The Herald-Palladium in St. Joseph Township, the temperature fell from 60 degrees to 44 in minutes.

By 9 p.m., city police Chief Sam Harris was smiling and joking with officers.

"I hope the Lord is listening and will pour a little water on this," said Harris, clad in a bulletproof vest and carrying a shotgun over his right shoulder.

It started raining as police began leaving the scene.

The city police department reported the following arrests Sunday:

u Tammy Green 33, Colfax Avenue, booked for investigation of disorderly person - fighting.

u Ronald Bradford, 36, West Empire, disorderly person and inciting a riot.

u Lindsay Howard Harmon, 31, North Seely Avenue, disorderly person and inciting a riot.

City police said warrants are being sought for others involved in the fight.

Other responding agencies were St. Joseph, St. Joseph Township and Coloma Township. State police were from the Bridgman post.

Broadway and Empire has long been hot spot for drug dealing and violence in the city. Police have been attacked there before, and former Patroloman Ron Singleton was once grazed in the head by a bullet in a parking lot near the intersection.

The intersection is near the center of last June's riots.