16 Police Forces Called to Bloody Wedding Brawl

Groom arrested, bride treated for alcohol poisoning
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 23, 2015 2:26 AM CDT
16 Police Forces Called to Wedding Brawl
Officers from more than a dozen police departments were called to the rowdy wedding.   (Shutterstock)

A wedding reception in Berks County, Pa., turned into something resembling a regional police convention when officers from 16 forces turned up to deal with rowdy guests—including the groom, who spent his wedding night in jail. From what police could piece together, the reception at a venue in Ontelaunee Township started to turn ugly when partygoer Mandi Groh punched another woman in the face after she complained about Groh allowing her drunk 14-year-old son to drink beer, WFMZ reports. The brawl grew and, according to a police report, by the time Northern Berks officers turned up, some of the guests were shirtless and bloody, reports the Reading Eagle.

"Several people were trying to be a calming influence in all of this, but at that point, alcohol had taken over," wrote one of the responding officers, who received help from the Fleetwood, Hamburg, Penn State, Berks County, Wyomissing, Bern, Spring, Tilden, Reading, and Muhlenberg forces, among others. The first officers to arrive on the scene had called for all available assistance when the crowd "was getting riled up" and turning on them, the Eagle reports. Four officers were injured and a total of seven people, including groom Nicholas Papoutsis, who allegedly challenged officers to a fight, were arrested. Police say the "very upset" bride was treated for alcohol poisoning and dehydration, reports the Eagle. As for that 14-year-old, he blew a 0.16, twice the legal limit for adults. What the wedding venue's owner had to say: "I wish the couple luck in the future because it's not a very good start." (Another wedding party in the state went very wrong.)

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