Three people were arrested and several Mossos d'Esquadra officers suffered minor injuries after disorder during Olot's Festes del Tura early on Monday, 7 September. The regional police said the incident began when two groups of young people, numbering about 100 people, were shouting insults at each other in Plaça Can Joanetes at about 3.30am.

For festivalgoers in central Olot, the immediate consequence was that police cordoned off the square and dispersed the crowd. More than 50 officers, including around 20 members of the ARRO public-order unit, were deployed alongside the Policia Municipal d'Olot, according to information the Mossos gave to Girona Notícies.

Attempt to prevent an arrest

Officers first separated the two groups because their behaviour was becoming increasingly aggressive, police said. The confrontation between the groups was therefore the initial cause of the intervention.

The more serious disorder began after officers identified a 20-year-old man who was subject to an active order requiring his arrest and placement in a centre. When police moved to detain him, part of the crowd allegedly pushed and confronted officers in an attempt to prevent the arrest.

Three people detained

The Mossos, Catalonia's regional police force, said the following people were arrested:

  • a 20-year-old, who was also accused of resisting and disobeying officers;
  • a 19-year-old, accused of assaulting an officer; and
  • a 17-year-old, accused of assaulting an officer as well as resisting and disobeying officers.

Police said several officers sustained minor injuries before the area was brought under control. The arrests and alleged offences have been reported by El Caso and Girona Notícies, citing police information.

Anyone attending future crowded events who sees a confrontation developing should move away from the immediate area, keep clear of police cordons and follow directions from Mossos d'Esquadra or Olot's municipal police.

Primary sources: dsp.interior.gencat.cat, mossos.gencat.cat. Reported by elcaso.elnacional.cat, GIRONA NOTÍCIES, festamajor.de, naciodigital.cat, garrotxadigital.cat, es.ara.cat, elpais.com, elnacional.cat, cronicaglobal.elespanol.com, diaripublic.cat, El Caso.