NEW MILFORD, N.J. — A pool party at the New Milford Swim Club ended in a chaotic brawl Sunday night, with videos of the melee spreading across social media and borough officials now reviewing the incident.
The “Lavish Effect Pool Party” was held Aug. 30 without borough authorization, Mayor Michael Putrino said. The swim club said it had rented the facility to an independent event company that signed its rental agreement and provided the required documentation.
“We were led to believe the event would be organized and peaceful,” Swim Club President Marlen Lugones Bracho said in a statement shared in a local Facebook group. “Unfortunately, what ultimately occurred was not consistent with what had been represented to us.”
About 90 minutes into the event, Bracho said she decided to shut it down because of attendees’ conduct. As roughly 175 people were directed to leave, a physical altercation broke out.
Videos circulating online show portions of the fight. One clip shows the beginning of the brawl while another captures the confrontation from a different angle. A separate video shows attendees dancing and twerking.
In one of the videos, an unidentified woman is heard saying, “When one black person run you know what to do. But when seven black people run, it’s time to go home.”
“The videos now circulating were recorded during an approximately 15-minute period as the event was being shut down,” Bracho said. “The behavior depicted in those videos is disturbing and, quite frankly, disgusting to us.”
New Milford Police Chief Brian Clancy said officers responded to a report of a large fight and dispersed a disorderly crowd with assistance from police from River Edge, Oradell, Bergenfield, Dumont and Teaneck, along with the Bergen County Sheriff’s Department.
“I’m aware of the disturbing videos on social media, but when NMPD responded for a large fight, no weapons were recovered and no arrests were made at the scene,” Clancy said.
No serious injuries were reported. Those involved declined medical assistance and declined to sign complaints, Clancy said. The investigation remains ongoing.
Putrino called the incident “an absolute embarrassment to the members of the club, the residents and to New Milford as a whole.”
The borough is now reviewing the circumstances surrounding the event and what action, if any, should be taken.
