Medway Teens Arrested in RI Fracas

Second Beach (image from Discover Newport)

According to multiple published reports, quoting police, nine beachgoers were arrested after a disturbance at Second Beach in Middletown Tuesday afternoon..

Officers were reportedly called to the beach after receiving reports of a gathering of approximately 1,200 high schoolers near the main pavilion.

Police said the officers immediately began monitoring the crowd’s behavior and wound up arresting a young man who began “acting disorderly” toward others.

That’s when another young man began assaulting the officers, “causing the crowd to become increasingly disorderly and aggressive,” according to police.

Police said the crowd began to encircle the officers as they attempted to escort the two suspects off the beach.

Officers repeatedly ordered the crowd to disperse and had to use pepper spray to restore control of the situation after no one complied, police added.

Several suspects were taken into custody in the parking lot for refusing the leave the beach. Those suspects are facing a range of charges, including simple assault, disorderly conduct and obstructing an officer in the line of duty.

In a separate incident, police said a man hit a Newport officer with his car while trying to take off from the parking lot.

The man who hit the officer, identified by police as 18-year-old Ronan Pinkham, of Medway, was arrested and charged with felony assault and driving under the influence of alcohol.

Police said the injured officer was brought to Newport Hospital for treatment. The severity of the officer’s injuries is unknown at this time.

Two suspects were also transported to the hospital to be treated for pepper spray exposure.

Police said all but two of the suspects, who are between the ages of 19 and 17 years old, are from Fall River. The other two, including Pinkham, are from Medway. Christian Cautilli, 18, of Medway, was charged with disorderly conduct and obstructing an officer.