Eden Prairie Police Chief Matt Sackett said Saturday’s heavy law enforcement presence at a youth basketball tournament at Eden Prairie High School was aimed at quickly deescalating crowd-related scuffles and ensuring public safety after the event exceeded capacity.
“There was a larger crowd than expected, and we felt that a bigger response early on would help curtail the scuffles and get people moving out,” Sackett said in a May 14 voicemail to Eden Prairie Local News. “We did start with our close-by neighbors that would normally assist us, and the coordinated effort helped restore order fairly quickly.”
Officers were called to the high school at 5:49 p.m. Saturday, May 10, during the Prep Hoops North Battle at the Lakes tournament. Police said the crowd exceeded fire code limits. As officers worked to disperse attendees, several minor scuffles broke out. No injuries or arrests were reported.
Sackett said a temporary communication issue caused early confusion about where help was needed but was quickly resolved.
“There was some confusion on where help was needed, but we (worked through) that and had a good response to quickly bring order to it and get people moving out,” he said.
He confirmed that a Minnesota State Patrol helicopter was in the air providing traffic and crowd monitoring. Sackett said he was unaware of any news helicopters overhead.
“They were great in assisting with traffic and egress, helping keep people moving out safely, just providing that aerial view,” he said.
Addressing community concerns about a lack of immediate communication, Sackett added, “We try to communicate as fast as we can. Sometimes it’s not always as fast as people would like, but if there were specific threats to a neighborhood or to the general public, we certainly would have included that much earlier. We just wanted to be able to handle the situation, get things safe, and then put out what we could when we could.”
His comments followed concerns from nearby residents who reported hearing sirens for a prolonged period and spotting helicopters overhead. Videos posted online added to the uncertainty, leading to rumors about what had transpired.
Prep Hoops, the tournament organizer, addressed the incident in a statement issued Monday:
“Unfortunately, one of Saturday night’s games was overshadowed by poor decisions made by a few individuals,” said Jenna Wetzel, event customer experience manager. “This was an isolated incident and does not reflect the standards or values we uphold. We’re addressing the situation internally and remain firmly committed to providing a safe, respectful, and competitive environment at all of our events.”
Eden Prairie Schools stated on social media that Prep Hoops North had rented space through the district’s standard facility rental process but “did not follow our rental agreement,” including requirements for crowd management.
The district said it worked with police to secure the facility and end the event “to ensure the safety of all attendees.” The remainder of the tournament, scheduled to continue through Sunday, was canceled.
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