Six juveniles involved in Platte City street fight

Platte City police officers responded to what a witness described as an organized street fight last Friday afternoon. According to PCPD Det. Al DeValkenaere, officers were dispatched to Fourth Street and Gates Drive West in Platte City at about 4:30 p.m. last Friday after a resident called to report a fight in progress between six juveniles. The caller said it appeared one juvenile was on the ground and being kicked in the head area by at least two others. The caller told police when the juveniles heard the approaching sirens, two of them fled the scene. When officers arrived, they located four juveniles, all males from the Platte City area, approximately 15 years of age, at the scene. They found the other two, also males approximately 15 years old, a short distance away. DeValkenaere said the juveniles gave conflicting reports about the nature of the alleged fight and who started it, but one juvenile said another had recorded the incident on a cell phone. Officers subsequently located the phone and are studying it for possible evidence. DeValkenaere said all six juveniles were released to their parents after their parents made written promises that all would appear at a to-de-determined juvenile court date. While there were no serious injuries reported, DeValkenaere said the incident was unusual in the Platte City area. “We don’t see too many fights like that, where they apparently came together for the sole purpose of fighting,” he said. “Most are heat-of-the-moment things.”