Youths Injured in Early Morning Sandy Hook Street Fighting

By Andrew Gorosko

Police are investigating a large fist fight that broke out among multiple youths, who were gathered  early on the morning of Sunday, August 8, near a house party on Fir Tree Lane in Sandy Hook.

Injuries received in the fight sent two local youths to Danbury Hospital via the Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Corps. The two were treated and released, police said. They were Tyler Dotter, 19, of 16 Merlin’s Lane, and Sean Surat, 19, of 25 Boggs Hill Road, according to police. It is unclear if other youths went to the hospital via private vehicles.

Police Sergeant John Cole and three patrol officers responded to Fir Tree Lane about 1:19 am after being called by a neighbor about a large street fight in progress. Fir Tree Lane is a short, curving dead-end street off Route 34, near Curtis Pond, which contains a handful of ranch-style houses.

On arriving, police encountered between 20 and 30 male and female youths milling about on Fir Tree Lane after a fight there among an unknown number of youths had ended, Sgt Cole said. The youths appeared to be in their late teens and early 20’s, he said. Only males were involved in the fight, which apparently did not involve the use of weapons, the sergeant said. The street was lined with parked cars.

A house party had been underway at 6 Fir Tree Lane, which is a home on the turnaround circle at the end of the street, the sergeant said.

Some particular incident that apparently provoked the fight had occurred near the intersection of Route 34 and Fir Tree Lane, he added.

“We don’t know who was fighting who,” Sgt Cole said. No formal complaints from those involved in the fight have been received, he said. It is unclear what prompted the fight, he said.

“When we got there, the fight was over…The police did not break this up. It was over when we arrived,” he said.

There was no property damage stemming from the incident, which the sergeant termed “a large altercation.”

“We are investigating with the hope of finding out who the perpetrators were,” he said.

The incident apparently started as a verbal confrontation, which escalated into a physical fight, he said. 

Police, who spent about an hour at the incident, dispersed the youths. “We cleared them all out,” Sgt Cole said. There were no obvious signs of intoxication or drug use at the incident, he said.

Unless police receive a formal complaint from a victim, it may be difficult to press criminal charges in the case, he said.

Police Chief Michael Kehoe said of the incident, “From an investigatory point of view, it’s very, very difficult.” Police need to talk to many people to learn what caused the fight, he said.

“There was tumultuous behavior,” he said. Police cannot tolerate such behavior, he added.

After police reconstruct what occurred, they must decide whether there is enough evidence to seek arrest warrants, he said.

“We’re trying to get to the facts and the circumstances,” he said. Police will talk to as many of the people involved in the incident as are willing to talk to them, the police chief said.

In responding to such incidents, the prime tasks of the police are to break up any conflict by separating combatants to calm the situation and protect public safety, he said. Medical aid is sought, as needed, he added.

Chief Kehoe said he suspects that alcohol consumption played some role in the August 8 incident.

“I’d be very surprised if alcohol wasn’t involved at some point of the night,” he said.

If alcohol was involved, it could be a case in which police enforce the town’s recent ordinance that carries fines for underage youths in possession of alcohol on private property, he said.

“We’ll apply for arrest warrants, if possible, after an investigation,” he said.