Seven cops respond to fight at party

Union City police have arrested two men in connection with a fight in the basement of a home on the 200 block of 45th Street.
What started as a verbal dispute just after midnight the evening of June 29 escalated into a physical altercation, police said. Two men allegedly assaulted two victims, one of whom suffered severe injuries.
“All the arrests were made and there’s nobody at large right now,” said Police Captain Richard Molinari.
Seven Union City police officers, a Union City ambulance, and paramedics from Jersey City Medical Center arrived at the scene.

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“All the arrests were made and there’s nobody at large right now.” – Police Captain Richard Molinari.
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Police arrested Arnulfo Escalona, 34, and Evaristo Contreras-Huepacalco, both of Union City. Both men gave their home address as the party location and both were charged with one count of aggravated assault after witnesses at the party identified them as the alleged assailants, police said.

Victims’ injuries

One of the victims, a 35-year-old from 52nd Street in West New York, was allegedly struck on the head and face and choked. He was taken to Jersey City Medical Center. He was admitted for a few days then released, according to Union City police. The victim is expected to fully recover.
Another victim was a 27-year-old male who sustained minor facial injuries. He was treated by paramedics at the scene and released.
Due to the quick police response, they were able to apprehend the alleged perpetrators at the scene.
“Based on identification statements and interviews of people at the party, Union City police were able to make an arrest,” said Molinari.
It took police only two minutes and 13 seconds from the time a call for help was placed to the time they arrived at the scene.
“Usually, we respond in three to four minutes, depending on how busy we are, but in this case we responded very very quickly,” said Molinari. “We have walking personnel, we have bicycles, we have motorcycles, we have them in cars.”
Molinari added that Union City police also have many officers trained to operate Segway-like vehicles that they call “T3s.”
“A large part of the day, we have two of them in service in the streets,” said Molinari. “We deploy them out in areas where extra personnel are needed.” He said the availability of police officers was probably why they were able to respond to scene very quickly.
Melissa Rappaport may be reached at mrappaport@hudsonreporter.com