Posted on 07/05/2011 5:02:12 PM PDT by janetjanet998
PEORIA — An incident that left a Peoria policeman and firefighter with temporary hearing loss after being fired upon with mortar-type fireworks in Taft Homes is being reviewed by authorities Tuesday.
Just as the grand finale of the riverfront fireworks display was exploding over the Illinois River on Monday night, emergency responders were summoned to Taft Homes on a call of a burning Dumpster.
A fire engine and two police officers were the first to respond. Peoria Fire Department Division Chief Gary Van Voorhis said a crowd that had been shooting firewworks as the engine arrived turned the tubes toward emergency personnel and ignited the contents.
One firework hit a firefighter in the shoulder, causing hearing loss. The firefighter declined medical attention and remained on duty, Van Voorhis said. Other fireworks struck the engine and caused burn marks on the vehicle.
Peoria Police Capt. Mike Scally, who was the event commander for the Red, White and Boom event on the riverfront, said one of the two officers who initially responded to Taft Homes also complained of hearing loss later in the night and went to the hospital for treatment.
The crowd that had gathered initially did not respond to officers' commands to disperse and was fired upon with pepper ball guns. The crowd became compliant as more officers arrived, Scally said.
He described the fireworks recovered at the scene as "three- to four-inch" mortar shells.
For more complete details, read tomorrow's Journal Star or check pjstar.com later.
this is a housing project...where do they find the money to spend on these large fireworks anyway....
Do you own a mirror?
Dick Obama's people? And Holder's? Is his name Dick, too?
Nothing a 3 inch fire hose wouldn’t have fixed real quick....
I’d recommend a hose of a somewhat smaller diameter, say around 7.62 mm or so.
Without saying such hose goes !
That’s our happy place.... :o)
You can strip bricks off a house with a deck gun.
Aim that thing at a crowd and turn it on full. It Would blow people accross the street.
Bunch of jerks.
You talkin a five inch thirty eight “deck gun” or a water cannon....?:o)
Stay Safe !
Shoot to kill.
Those crazy Yutes are at it again.
...and get you called "Bull Connor" in the ensuing civil rights lawsuit...
More fun and games in good’ol P-town
youtube of the incident
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIOovPCDUJY
sidenote:those are some pretty cool fireworks though
If you're a taxpayer, they're finding it in your pocket.
Yeah, they spent 100 grand + for the fireworks.
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