NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., July 6 (Our Newport Beach) — Newport Beach police said they arrested 402 people during Fourth of July celebrations, with about half of the arrests coming from a single incident on the Balboa Peninsula on Saturday night.
The Newport Beach Police Department said the crowd became unruly enough for officers to declare an unlawful assembly. After that, more than 350 officers from the department and 17 regional law enforcement agencies worked to clear the area, disperse the crowd, restore emergency access and protect residents and visitors.
Police said about 200 people remained near 28th Street after repeatedly refusing lawful orders to disperse, according to the department’s press release quoted by ABC7.
The arrest total was far higher than the 60 people officers arrested during the same midnight July 3 to 6 a.m. July 5 window last year, according to police data cited by ABC7.
