Westport police charged a 57-year-old Milford resident after he allegedly forced his way into a First Night event at Westport Town Hall Monday night and assaulted a police officer.
The suspect, identified as Richard Weizel, reportedly pushed an officer to the ground and began to fight with him. Weizel continued to put up a fight when the officer attempted to take him into custody. Weizel also fought the fire inspector who assisted the officer, police said.
Weizel was taken into custody and chaeged with assault on a public safety member, interfering with an officer, first-degree criminal trespassing and breach of peace. He was released after posting a $10,000 bond. He is due in Norwalk Superior Court Jan. 10.
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It was in the lower Auditorium of Town Hall right near the end of the Westport Players' two, one-act plays. Someone came in to the theater and tried to drag Weizel out, claiming he didn't have a button (showing he'd paid $15 admission). There was a scuffle in the hallway, the play ended and the crowd exited to a scene of Weizel on the floor, screaming, and a Fire Marshall and cop trying to deal with him. Weizel was crying "help me, help me, I'm being assaulted" and "I lost my button". The Fire Marshall seemed agitated, telling a member of the public he'd arrest them if they interfered... ("you wanna go too?") Our family went up the stairs to get away from a very ugly scene only to see two Westport cops rush down the steps. From what I saw, Weizel was not being assaulted. BTW, none of the witnesses seemed to be coming to his aid, at least as far as I could tell. But it did not seem appropriate for a fire marshall to enter the theater, minutes before the end of the play, and make a noisy scene to grab Weizel just because he didn't have a button. Couldn't he wait outside instead of yelling "get out of here"? "First Night Westport" was a wonderful event. Witnessing this mess left a sour note in the experience of dozens of families with kids.
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