City officials in Mill Valley have vowed more arrests in response to an out-of-control crowd of more than 100 juveniles, some of whom began pelting officers with bottles and cans of alcohol.
Police cited three juveniles during Nov. 5 incident, including the one who allegedly hosted the Ashford Avenue party where it all started. Investigators have been reviewing video and conducting interviews since then.
“We still have people to arrest,” police Chief Rick Navarro said Wednesday.
The chief’s remarks echoed those from City Manager Todd Cusimano, who addressed the matter in a report to the City Council on Nov. 7. Cusimano, a former chief at the Central Marin Police Authority, expressed concerns over general disrespect to “law enforcement and public safety.”
“We’ve had this conversation with e-bikes where, when we detain juveniles and take action against them, I can tell you more than 50% of the time, the first thing out of a parent’s mouth is, ‘Why did you detain my child?’” Cusimano said. “That’s the first question out of their mouth, and that’s a problem.”
Residents in the area called police to report the teens were drinking, yelling, fighting and possibly setting off fireworks, Cusimano said.
But when police showed up — it was just three officers at first — instead of dispersing and dropping the alcohol, the crowd advanced on the officers, shouting profanities and antagonizing the officers.
When officers from other agencies arrived, the youths started jumping on and pelting their cruisers with bottles and cans, ultimately hitting a sheriff’s deputy in the head. The deputy suffered a minor injury, according to sheriff’s Sgt. Brenton Schneider.
“They were surrounded,” Navarro said. “This is extremely dangerous behavior, where people can get seriously injured.”
The crowd, which was estimated at up to 200 youths at its largest, moved in and out of the CVS on East Blithedale Avenue as police tried to disperse them. Later they congregated at the nearby Safeway and Whole Foods, police said.
One of the citations that night was for a juvenile allegedly driving recklessly at Bayfront Park. Sheriff’s deputies were also summoned to the In-N-Out Burger in Strawberry for a “juvenile disturbance” the same evening, according to the department’s call log.
The youths involved are believed to attend several high schools around Marin County, including Tamalpais High School in Mill Valley, Navarro said.
The parents of the youth who allegedly hosted the party were not at home when it happened, but they came to collect their child after the incident, Navarro said.
The incident happened the night of a football game between Tamalpais and Redwood high schools, both part of the Tamalpais Union High School District. Tara Taupier, the district’s superintendent, said, “We have no indication that the event was in any way related to the football game that occurred hours earlier in Larkspur.”
Another smaller group of teens went on a “looting” spree at the 7-Eleven on Miller Avenue in October, the night of the Tamalpais High School homecoming football game and dance, Cusimano said in his remarks on Nov. 7.
“That incident was not reported to us — it came out later,” Navarro said. “The initial incident was reckless driving in the area.”
When police went to investigate, the looting in the store was over, and by the time police discussed it with store management, “they did not want to prosecute anyone for any of the behavior that occurred inside the store,” Navarro said.
The sort of behavior displayed in the two incidents “has not been the norm here in Mill Valley,” Navarro said.
Cusimano praised police for their handling of the Nov. 5 incident in his remarks to the council.
“I’m really proud of how they handled themselves,” he said. “I’m embarrassed for our city, for the officers that came into it and what they had to endure. That’s on us and so we’re going to fix that.”
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