ACT police investigating brawl at Summernats with footage showing some involved wearing 'crowd safety' vests - ABC News

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Police are investigating what appears to be a brawl involving dozens of men at the Summernats car festival in Canberra on Saturday. 

Key points:

• Videos circulating on social media appear to show a group of men in a brawl 
• Some of those seen in the footage are wearing pink "crowd safety" vests
• Police are investigating the incident but no arrests have been made 

The 36th Summernats has seen large crowds over the weekend, with the four-day event at Exhibition Park in Canberra (EPIC) a sell-out. 

Multiple videos posted to social media within the past 24 hours appear to show a large group of men brawling.

Some of the men depicted in the footage are wearing pink vests with the words "crowd safety" printed on them. 

The videos appear to show festival goers throwing cans and bottles at a number of security guards before the clash. 

Later, a person wearing a crowd safety vest appears to punch a man.

One of the men wearing a crowd safety vest can be heard yelling "I'll kill you" in the video. 

In a statement, ACT Policing said no arrests had been made in relation to the incident but an investigation was underway. 

'A short period of poor behaviour'

Summernats co-owner Andy Lopez said there would be a review into incident.(ABC News: Matt Roberts)

Summernats co-owner Andy Lopez said he was aware of the incident and that the festival and its security contractor would conduct a full investigation along with the relevant authorities.

Mr Lopez conceded there had been "a short period of some poor behaviour" but said a plan to manage it had been put in place and he was ultimately happy with the outcome. 

"You've got to put it into context, it was 45 minutes out of four days," he said. 

"We had a plan that we'd worked on all year should something like that happen, we implemented it and resolved the issue."

Mr Lopez said he was unable to comment on the specifics of the security arrangements as they were contracted out, but described the event as "well-resourced".

He said he was confident in the security company's licensing arrangements. 

"We continually look to improve and evolve our operations and procedures," he said.

"Every year we conduct thorough reviews of what we've done [and] what we need to do better."

The ABC has contacted Summernats' security contractor for comment. 

Dozens of men, including some who appear to be contracted security staff, became involved in the brawl.(Supplied: YouTube/Bill Jovo79)

Two people arrested, car impounded

ACT and Queanbeyan-based police have been keeping a close eye on the festivities, which in previous years have led to arrests and impounded cars.

Yesterday, police arrested two people for antisocial behaviour at EPIC before responding to a handful of hoon driving incidents after the event had concluded.

Officers issued numerous defect notices and seized three vehicles for hoon-driving behaviour.

On Friday evening, police responded to reports of hoon-driving where large crowds had gathered at O'Connor, Kambah Pool Road, and at the Braddon Fringe Festival.

Police seized three vehicles and issued one court summons to a driver who was caught doing burnouts.

Earlier this week, ACT Policing Acting Superintendent Rod Anderson warned drivers caught doing burnouts outside of the festival competitions would have their cars seized.

"I can tell you that we have plenty of room to store as many vehicles as we can. The area that we have that is secure has the capacity for thousands of vehicles," he said.

"We don't want to do it but we will if we have to."

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2024-01-07 02:09:35Z
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