WESTLAKE, Ohio — Westlake police said three men were arrested after a wild fight during a wedding reception Friday night.
Police said they were called to La Centre Banquet Facility around 8:50 p.m. for a report of a large fight that began inside the ballroom but spilled out the front doors.
Officers arrived and said they found about 45 people in the parking lot.
That led to calls for additional police from three neighboring departments.
"Even before police got there, the 911 dispatcher got information out that a couple people were already bleeding and there was a weapon involved,” said Westlake Police Captain Jerry Vogel.
Investigators said that weapon was a butter knife taken from a place setting on one of the tables.
Cell phone video from inside the ballroom showed a man waving the knife in his right hand as wedding guests screamed.
Body camera video showed officers talking to one man in the parking lot.
"We were dancing, and four brothers jumped on us,” the man told police.
Vogel said two people were treated at the hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.
Three men were arrested.
A 48-year-old from Westlake was charged with aggravated menacing.
The 46-year-old man from Dearborn Heights, Michigan who police said chased and threatened people with that butter knife, was charged with misdemeanor assault, inducing panic and tampering with evidence.
A 47-year-old Cleveland man faces charges of violating a temporary protection order.
"He wasn’t allowed to be around certain other people who were at the wedding because of past altercations they had,” said Vogel.
Police said more charges are possible and offered this advice to future wedding attendees.
"Don’t spoil someone else’s wedding,” said Vogel. “Now those people are unfortunately are always going to be remembered as the wedding where there was a melee and fights involved. They’re not going to remember the good parts of it. They’re going to remember the bad parts.”
