WELLINGTON, Fla. – Deputies broke up a teenage girl's coming-of-age party with Taser stun guns, pepper spray and their elbows and fists after they were summoned to break up a fight over a spilled drink.
The Palm Beach County Sheriff's office said the crowd of 300 was "unruly and hostile." Nine guests were arrested Sunday and one was taken to a hospital for face and head injuries.
Crystal Rodriguez, 15, said the deputies wrecked her quinceanera party, traditionally held in Latin American communities to mark a girl's 15th birthday.
"It just ruined our whole night. I was crying and crying and crying and everybody was trying to calm me down," she said.
Deputies used "pepperball guns, Tasers, batons, fist and elbow strikes" to disperse the crowd, Sgt. Edmund Suszczynski said in an incident report. He said up to 20 people who were attacking deputies fled after being struck, tasered or pepper sprayed.
Some guests said the fight, which began over a spilled drink on the dance floor, was over and people were trying to leave by the time deputies arrived.
The sheriff's office will review the incident, though "any crowd-control devices, when a deputy is threatened, appears to be justified," Lt. Jeffrey Lindskoog said.
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