John Culatto
POLICE had to use pepper spray and batons to arrest seven Royal Marine commandos who got into a large brawl in Ocean Village early Friday morning.
But the elite commandos did not go down easily, injuring seven Royal Gibraltar Police (RGP) officers and one member of the public who were trying to subdue them.
The incident unfolded around 4am after a call to the police control room.
It said that seven serving members of the military were having a brawl outside Ocean Village Gym.
Police officers rushed to the scene but soon found it tough to arrest the trained killers.
The soldiers belong to an elite 550-person unit of the Royal Marines responsible for guarding the UK’s nuclear weapons.
In a Royal Marine publicity video online users can see the sort of high-intensity warfare they could have unleashed on the forces of the law.
“Response Team officers were required to use captor spray, baton tactics and unarmed defence tactics,” the RGP said in a statement.
The fight to subdue the commandos was so intense they had to call the Gibraltar Defence Police for backup.
Finally, police arrested seven of the Royal Marines on varying charges of violent disorder, resisting arrest and assaulting police.
They were Kyle Connell, 20, Anthony Houghton, 36, Graham Tait, 42, Cameron Bull, 23, Connor Holborn, 24, Sandy Dove, 36, and Samuel Bates, 26,
A special court released them all on bail until their trial on Tuesday.
Police issued a statement asking members of the public to come forward who saw or got videos of the incident.
“We are aware that a number of people witnessed this incident and some recorded video footage using their mobile phones,” the RGP spokesman said.
“We would like to speak to any witnesses as this information will help with our investigation.”
The Ministry of Defence in Gibraltar confirmed the arrest of the men to The Olive Press.
“We can confirm that seven service personnel from 43 Commando were arrested by Royal Gibraltar Police on April 28, 2023,” the MoD Media Officer said.
“As the matter is the subject of an ongoing investigation it would be inappropriate to comment further.”
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