Miles Jay Oliver

The Shreveport Times

A video purportedly showing a fight and the ensuing chaos as a group of teenagers fled the Holiday in Dixie carnival in downtown Shreveport over the weekend is not what many viewers may believe.

According to Shreveport Police Department spokesperson Cpl. Marcus Hines, Holiday in Dixie organizers requested police assistance in removing approximately 150 to 200 unsupervised and disruptive youth from Festival Plaza on Saturday night. As the group was escorted away, one of the teens punched another. Damiel Robinson, 17, was arrested for disturbing the peace by fighting.

In a separate incident, the same group continued its disruptive behavior throughout downtown Shreveport, police say.

A 16-year-old girl began shouting obscenities and fighting the police. She was maced by officers attempting to bring the situation under control, according to Hines, and was subsequently issued a summonses for inciting a riot. A trio of 14-year-old girls attempting to assist the 16-year-old were issued summons for interfering with an officer.

Reports of gunfire and a car accident caused by the crowd are unfounded, according to Hines, who said if there was a gunshot or a car accident, none was reported to SPD.

Hines complimented the efforts of off-duty officers who did their very best work, but he does hold parents accountable in the incidents.

"The lion's share of responsibility falls on the parents," said Hines, who said not a single adult or parent were accounted for in the entire group.