4-H County Fair officials respond to fairground brawl on Saturday

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — On Sunday, St. Joseph County 4H Fair officials said they have zero tolerance for ‘bad behavior’ after a video of fight on fairgrounds went viral. 

A video posted Saturday night showed two groups of what appears as underaged girls and boys fighting inside of the fairgrounds. Jim Caldwell, president of the St. Joseph Count 4H Fair, said the individuals involved from removed and banned from the property. 

“This was a real bad decision on their part and they’re out of the off the fairgrounds we don’t tolerate bad behavior,” he said. 

The person who recorded the video did not respond to request from ABC 57 News to share it. In the video, a girl is seen stomping on another girl who is on the ground. 

“You see that everywhere every weekend,” said Juan Ramos, who visited the fair on Sunday. 

Ramos and other fairgoers were unaware of what happened Saturday night, but they were shocked after seeing the video. 

“I honestly believe that it’s sad,” said Joey Ramos, a fairgoer. 

It is unclear why the fight broke out. But in the video, a South Bend Police officer is seen running to break up the fight. 

Some people said security could’ve prevented the brawl. On Sunday, county and city police directed traffic and monitored the crowd. 

“It was a lot more than I usually see at a fair which it made me feel safe if I was going to bring my children here especially after seeing a video like that,” said Ramos. 

According to Caldwell, the fair is a safe and fun family event. Any misbehavior is dealt with swiftly by security, Caldwell said. 

“Any individual being disruptive is escorted off the property and banned from returning,” he said. 

Ramos said people should focus on the good times at the fair and not incidents like Saturday. 

“Just because on event that happened bad doesn’t mean don’t come to the fair,” said Ramos.