Selected reports from the Bainbridge Island Police Department blotter.

MONDAY, AUG. 7

9:43 p.m. Police responded to a reported riot in progress at Battle Point Park involving more than 100 people. A caller informed police that a man had been assaulted and injured during a softball game at the park, and now people at the game were “getting angry with each other.”

About 20 people were actually fighting, the caller said, though the situation was escalating.

Police arrived to find “a considerable amount of chaos.” Multiple groups of players were screaming, shoving and threatening one another, and the “overwhelming stench” of alcoholic beverages, which had been spilled in a number of places, permeated the air.

The crowd began to rapidly disperse at the sight of arriving police, however.

The fighters were shouting racial epithets in front of crying children, police said, and backup was called for from both the Suquamish police and the sheriff’s office. The park was cleared entirely, police said, as it was “the only tactical option” for dealing with so many people.

Had officers attempted to make arrests, they said, “we would likely have been overwhelmed in the conflict.”

One witness told police that both teams “had a lot of bad blood from past games.” Even prior to the game, he said, both teams had been confrontational. When one player was ejected by an umpire early on, it nearly caused “a melee on the field.”

Concerned for his safety, the umpire left. The game continued until a line drive struck the pitcher in the knee. The stand and dugouts then emptied and the brawl began.

The batter who had hit the ball that struck the pitcher said “a lot of family conflicts from the past came to a head at the game,” which explained the rapid escalation of violence. He asked police to keep him safe until everyone had left, as he was worried about his safety. Many of the people who wanted to hurt him knew where he lived as well, he said. Police visited the man’s home and found several people gathered nearby, but all fled when they saw the police.

Only the pitcher, whose knee had been injured by the ball, suffered reportable injuries. There were no arrests.

The softball league and the parks department were both contacted, and a cooperative investigation is ongoing.