(RAW VIDEO) At least 12 cruisers needed at Pufferbellies

HYANNIS- At approximately 12:45am Barnstable Police Officers already stationed at Pufferbellies urgently needed extra manpower for a large disturbance amongst some of the many patrons at Pufferbellies.

Barnstable Police resources were already overextended on a very busy evening where there were at least two reports of gunfire, one confirmed, along with many other serious calls.  Barnstable Police dispatched “all available” Hyannis units, along with other town patrols to Pufferbellies.  At least two Massachusetts State Troopers also responded to help with the large crowd.  All together at least 12 police units were needed, while others were either assigned to other crime scenes or standing by… the Town of Barnstable’s law enforcement agency was stretched thin and officers were extremely busy all night.

Pufferbellies security, which numbers into the teens, was outnumbered and had their hands full trying to peacefully get all club patrons to leave the premises.

Tensions amongst those being urged to leave were escalated and disturbances broke out.   

Some vehicles leaving the parking area were spinning tires and generally being reckless, putting pedestrians at risk.

Pufferbellies has been the scene of several serious assaults over the past year, including one night where 3 patrons were stabbed.

On just about every weekend evening before and after “last call,” Barnstable Police need to take cruisers off random patrol and calls in order to provide a police presence outside of Pufferbellies.  Hyannis News has witnessed first hand that when fights break-out all available area patrol units need to respond in order to keep the peace in situations that often resemble near riot conditions.

Tonight’s situation had moments of chaos, where Hyannis News witnessed a Barnstable Officer being shoved and assaulted in one of the outbreaks.  

One Pufferbellies employee expressed concern for the safety of his security staff.

Despite a multiple cruiser response, both police and security were still outnumbered.