2 Teens Arrested After Fights At Brookfield Parish Festival: Police

BROOKFIELD, WI — Four people including two teens were arrested after fights at the 2023 St. John Vianney Parish Festival in Brookfield on Saturday, according to police.

Officers who were patrolling the Catholic parish event, which ran from Friday to Sunday, were told about or saw several physical "altercations" on Saturday and intervened when necessary to make arrests, according to a statement from Brookfield police. After the fights and arrests on Saturday, and in the interest of preserving peace, law enforcement and festival organizers shut down the Midway area of the festival early, police said.

Among the four arrested were a 14-year-old boy, a 15-year-old boy, plus a 20-year-old man and a 21-year-old man, the news release said. Police said they plan on pursuing disorderly conduct and resisting arrest charges against them.

Two officers suffered injuries during the arrests on Saturday, with one getting treatment at a hospital immediately and the other getting treatment the next day, police said. Both officers were quickly treated and discharged. Another altercation happened on Friday, but it was resolved without any arrests.

"The safety of our festival goers is always our top priority," said Robb Lied, the parish's director of administrative services, in a statement to Patch. "We have policies, procedures, and personnel in place to mitigate and manage any situation like this. The Brookfield Police Department was already on site when the incident happened, and multiple members of our festival leadership committee were walking the grounds, as part of our standard security presence."

"The parish festival is one of our main fundraisers and is a fun, family-oriented event our parishioners and the community look forward to," said Lied. "We are thankful that no-one was seriously hurt, and will continue to be diligent with our measures to prevent incidents in the future."

The return of the festival this year came after postponements from the coronavirus pandemic, a report by FOX6 noted last week. Included in the parish's festival was a run to support the school, church and a sister parish, the report noted. It's been going on for around 40 years, the report said.

Around 7,000 parishioners are registered at St. John Vianney, according to the organization's website. The Brookfield parish is located at 1755 North Calhoun Road.

"It was unfortunate that incidents of this nature occurred at an event that has historically been very safe and enjoyable," said police in a statement." We will be working with members of St. John Vianney to determine a proper course of action to ensure everyone’s safety and security at this event next year. We will also be meeting with representatives from St. Dominic’s, where a festival is planned to take place in July, to ensure proper steps are taken to preserve public safety at this event."

Police noted that there was nothing to suggest a gun was involved in any of the fights Saturday, but if anyone has information that says otherwise, authorities encouraged them to contact Brookfield Assistant Chief of Police Chris Garcia at 262-787-3702.