COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — As three men charged in connection with a weekend melee at Montrose Beach were in bond court Tuesday, Mayor Rahm Emanuel told reporters that police responded "very strongly" to the situation.
The three men, all from Aurora, are accused of helping to turn a throng of hundreds against police during an unauthorized concert at Montrose Beach on Sunday.
The Tamborazo Beach Party brought about a dozen Mexican music bands and scores of partiers and picnickers to Uptown's lakefront. It ended in a riot, with brawls between attendees and mobs who launched rocks, cans and glass bottles at police trying to restore order.
Police arrested several people after the incident, including 23-year-old Efrain Saucedo, 19-year-old Emmanuel Lopez and 20-year-old Sergio Vidrio — all of Aurora.
Saucedo, who is listed in the police report as a fireman, and Lopez are both charged with felony aggravated battery of a peace officer. A Cook County judge ordered each held on $90,000 bail Tuesday.
Vidrio is charged with felony possession of a controlled substance and mob action, a misdemeanor. Vidrio's bail was set at $25,000.
Appearing at Kelly High School, 4136 S. California Ave., to announce a park investment, Emanuel told reporters that "police are obviously reviewing how they did."
But, the mayor added, authorities responded quickly to the situation: "There were a lot of police on the scene immediately when there was a call for help."
Police will "obviously always review how to make improvements" but "I think they responded very strongly," the mayor said.
A police source labeled the offenders "knuckleheads from the suburbs" and described what happened Sunday as "a rare occurrence." The source added that often when "there's a big commotion there on the lakefront, it's not even the residents who cause it," but rowdy outsiders.
Several videos captured by attendees surfaced online after the chaos, which left broken glass and other debris strewn about the lakefront.
One video starts with two men slugging each other and rolling on the ground before the videographer says "There's a fight over here ... and there's a fight over here," and then runs to witness a standoff between two groups of men trading taunts and blows.
A video captured once police arrived shows officers being pelted with cans and bottles. The person who captured the video flees with friends, but laughs and screams "Chiraq!" and "Worldstar," a reference to a website featuring fights and other viral videos.
Town Hall Police District Cmdr. Elias Voulgaris, asked Monday at a public meeting about how police strategy might shift in light of recent violence on the lakefront during large gatherings, said police were working on a plan.
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