Bridgeport police break up unauthorized car show at Seaside Park

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BRIDGEPORT — Three days after three people were shot at a large, unpermitted music event at Seaside Park, police were called back to break up an unauthorized car show witnesses said involved dozens of out-of-state vehicles.

"It was chaos," Parks Commission Chairman Banjed Labrador, who was at the scene, recalled Monday.

Labrador and City Council members Jorge Cruz and Scott Burns met at Seaside Sunday afternoon to investigate complaints from residents about loud music and lots of cars, many from New Jersey.

Cruz represents the South End where the park is located, while Burns lives in the Black Rock neighborhood, which is separated from Seaside by water. Despite that distance, Burns said, "I heard music and then I started to hear from some constituents and realized something was going on."

All three reached out to the police department, and Cruz filmed the local law enforcement response and posted it on Facebook. His footage shows two long lines of vehicles slowly driving out of the waterfront site, which is considered one of Bridgeport's key attractions for both locals and visitors.

"They're clearing the park. Look like a bunch of ants leaving the place," Cruz narrates. "Huge crowd out here of cars. Loud music. All that stuff. Now the police is clearing the park. Great job, Bridgeport police department."

Scott Appleby, Bridgeport's director of emergency management who also handles requests for information from the police department, on Monday confirmed "there was an unsanctioned car show that was being held at Seaside Park."

He did not have specific attendance numbers but called it "a very large gathering."

"Officers responded and were able to shut it down and clear all parties without incident," Appleby said. "In addition, there were some noise violations that were handled by the police department with tickets, but again without incident."

Under city rules, such events involving over 50 people require a permit from the parks commission.

Sunday's car show was the second such big gathering at Seaside over the last few days. On Thursday evening there was what police called an "unauthorized music event" involving a disc jockey that drew more than 200 attendees, at which three people were shot and wounded.

On Friday the suspect, resident Christopher Rooche, was arraigned in state Superior Court on charges of three counts of first-degree assault and single counts of first-degree reckless endangerment, illegally firing a firearm, stealing a firearm, carrying a pistol without a permit, possession of a weapon in a motor vehicle, possession of a large capacity magazine, tampering with evidence, interfering with police, running from police, and reckless driving.

Officials Monday said the city needs to figure out a way to be more pro-active rather than re-active when it comes to controlling the use of Seaside.

"It's something we need to get on top of," Cruz's fellow South End council representative, Tyler Mack, said, noting as the weather warms there is the risk of more problems. "It's still springtime. It's not even summer yet."

Following Thursday's shootings, which occurred on an unusually hot day for mid-April, Labrador noted that this is still considered the off-season so there are fewer municipal staff and police officers assigned to the parks and visitors do not have to show the required permits.

He reiterated Monday those policies may have to be reconsidered.

"If people are there to do bad (and) don't see anybody to deter them from not doing it, guess what they're going to go do? Take a chance," Labrador said. "Do we need to maybe open the park stations where we collect tickets (permits)? Maybe. I just think we need some type of security."

He acknowledged it could be a budget issue. The police department, for example, is down around 90 officers and typically already goes over its annual overtime allotment.

Burns is co-chairman of the council's budget committee, which is currently crafting a new municipal spending plan for the 2023-24 fiscal year that begins July 1.

"I think we need to look at manning the checkpoints from April 1 or when the weather dictates," Burns said. "I don't have a perfect answer, but the status quo's not working."

Cruz agreed. He said Monday he was thankful the car show ended peacefully — "They told the cops they did not know they needed a permit" — but similar situations need to be avoided in the future.

"We must come up with some kind of practical solution," Cruz said. "The park (use) is free until Memorial Day and people are just abusing it."