VIDEO: Arrests after Tempers Heat Up at Pufferbellies

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HYANNIS- Sunday morning- Two were taken into custody at closing time for various charges.

Hyannis News was on scene and captured both arrests on video.  We needed to edit out the ambient sound due to foul language in both English and Portuguese.

Some members of the crowd seemed to feel that the police acted unjustly and directed defamatory language and slurs at officers.  Others accused officers of being racist (which is a grossly unfair assessment of the incident).

Barnstable Police and Massachusetts State Troopers have routinely stepped-up visibility outside the Hyannis Nightclub due to recent incidents of fights and stabbings.  Tonight there were at least 6 cruisers outside the establishment, which has been a routine practice over the past several months.

Tonight one young man was agitated over being asked to leave the premises by both staff and officers.  The man decided to return from the parking area to angrily argue his case.  That was a wrong move.

Rule #1:

When an officer outside a nightclub tells you to leave, he’s doing you a favor by giving you a chance to go elsewhere.  Never refuse to leave.  When you refuse to leave after being told (in tonight’s case being told many times…) you’re backing the officer into a corner where he needs to make an arrest to keep the peace.  The officers of the Town of Barnstable are very patient and want to give you plenty of opportunities to avoid arrest, but remember they do not need to tell you more than once.  Just leave when told.

Rule #2:

When an officer is making an arrest and you are told to stand back, don’t argue, just do it.  Police work is an extremely dangerous job and officers are often harmed in these situations.  Again, your actions can actually put officers in a position where they may need to take you into custody to keep the peace.

Hyannis News spoke with several of the friends of the individuals taken into custody.  Their concern for the individual in custody, while honorable, could have made things much worse. 

Again, when officers at disturbance tell you to leave you do not have the right to surround them and argue your case.  Just leave.  If you are concerned about a friend who has been placed under arrest, you can calmly go to the police station and bail him out after he has been booked.  He is considered innocent until proven guilty and will have a chance to argue his case in court.

No amount of arguing at the scene of an arrest will free your friend.  Once officers have made an arrest they must follow the process through until the subject is booked and released from their custody, usually by cash bail.  By disobeying officers during an arrest you actually make yourself subject to arrest.

Tonight’s article is a difficult one to write for we at Hyannis News consider the Barnstable Police one of the best Police Departments in the entire state, we also have met many of young patrons at Pufferbellies and know them to be good people.  Officers go to Pufferbellies to keep the peace so everyone can enjoy a safe evening free from violence.  While most of the young adults at Pufferbellies are law abiding, some most definitely are not. 

In order for an establishment like Pufferbellies to stay open it needs to maintain a safe environment for its patrons.  Just about every evening that Pufferbellies is open, the Barnstable Police need to take officers off random patrol and place them outside the private establishment at closing to keep the peace.  By keeping the peace Pufferbellies can remain open and patrons can enjoy the nightclub. 

Patrons who cause problems for the police are actually putting the future of Pufferbellies in jeopardy.  We at Hyannis News do not want to see that happen.