Police called in at K-shopkeepers' party because of fighting

Drunken guests punch security men and each other

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Security guards were attacked at the Finnish K-shopkeepers event, the K-Team Days, at the Helsinki Fair Centre on Saturday evening, and at least one of the injured guards had to be taken to hospital.
      According to the information gathered by Helsingin Sanomat, an attacker struck a guard in the face with his own forehead, while another guard was hit and kicked.
     
Units from the Helsinki Police Department were summoned to the Fair Centre around midnight, when the guards announced that the event was getting out of hand and that they no longer were able to guarantee the security of participants.
      A number of disturbances had occurred in the course of the evening, including resisting security guards and assaults of varying types. Apart from hitting security guards, some guests also punched each other.
      The police decided to close the event, attended by around 4,000 people.
      ”We were just listening to Uriah Heep, when it was suddenly announced that the party was over. No reason was mentioned”, reported a cook who had been present at the event.
      However, a lady who had participated the event many times over the past few years did not see any fighting at any point during Saturday evening’s party.
      ”I did not notice anything unusual during the entire evening, and the interruption of the party came as a complete surprise to me. Everybody left peacefully, though”, she said.
      According to Esa Kiiskinen, the chairman of the K-Team, the police interviewed around a dozen people.
     
Only three perpetrators were arrested. The one who was suspected of assault was taken off to the Pasila police prison, while the other two spent their night in the Töölö police lockup. They are suspected of violently resisting security guards.
     
The guests were fairly intoxicated, as according to the police, the retailers had been allowed to buy drink vouchers for their employees in advance.
      A number of shopkeepers, employees of stores, and business partners attend the celebrations organised by the K-Team on an annual basis.
      According to the website of the K-Team, the purpose of such events is to raise the morale of the team.
      The familiar Finnish K current consumer goods stores, of differing sizes, are part of the Kesko retailing chain, which also has interests in hardware stores and agricultural supplies.


Links:
  K-Team (in Finnish)
  Kesko (Wikipedia)

Helsingin Sanomat