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Public frustration with violence continues in the City of Asbury Park in the wake of the city’s first fatal shooting of the year and a large fight on the West Side that residents claim resulted in acts of police brutality,

Several city residents spoke at the Wednesday Asbury Park City Council about police conduct during a large fight that took place in the 1500 block of Springwood Avenue early Saturday morning.

The fight allegedly started after police say they attempted to issue a summons to 28-year-old Mario Deshader for urinating in public. Deshader became “uncooperative,” according to police, and a fight broke out.

Two of the individuals that were arrested came to the Wednesday council meeting, one of the women who was charged with failure to disperse and claims the police pulled her down by her hair and broke her wrist while arresting her, and Knoryl Hammary, 24, who was charged with aggravated assault on a police officer, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and obstructing justice and claims Asbury Park police officers slammed his head on the ground while they were arresting him, sending him to the hospital, the two told the Sun outside of the meeting.

Neither one of them spoke at the microphone, nor have they or any of the other individuals arrested during the fight filed any formal complaints with the police department, according to Asbury Park police Chief Mark Kinmon.

Kinmon has instructed the department’s internal affairs office to conduct an investigation of the incident based on what he is hearing transpired, just as if they did have a formal complaint filed, he said.

“If there is a problem I am going to address it and take any action that is necessary, be it suspension or termination,” he said.

As far as widespread police brutality, Kinmon is “confident that does not exist but improvements need to be made,” in the department, he said.

He asks anyone with video evidence, who believes they were treated unfairly, or who may have experienced use of excessive force to come forward. In addition, he personally spoke to members of the audience at the council meeting to ask them specifically to come forward with their concerns.

Several sources tell the Sun videos of the fight exist, but none have surfaced.

“The reason those who were assaulted by the police don’t file a formal complaint is because they don’t trust the city’s internal affairs department and are exploring other avenues,” Duane Small, a city council candidate last year and president of the Asbury Park chapter of the National Action Network, told the Sun.

“We have good police officers in Asbury Park but you do have bad ones and they should never be allowed to police themselves,” he said. A “civilian review board” may help keep officers in line, because they should not be able to police themselves and, sooner or later, either one of the members of the police force are gong to kill a kid or vice-versa, Small told the council.

Felicia Simmons [pictured above, speaking at microphone], a member of the Asbury Park Board of Education, also suggested a “community council” could be put into place to help monitor the police, and that the city’s cameras need to be fixed, she said.

“I have concerns about the acts of violence and it happening in front of a broken camera that has been broken for months,” she said. “A state senator told me there are only 13 cameras working in the town.”

“This young lady who was pulled down by her hair and thrown down on the ground is 125 pounds – one thing we need is police officers who are more tuned-in with the needs of the community,” said resident Daniel Harris.

Councilman John Moor said all of the members of the city council are “concerned — and deeply concerned” about the shootings and that the violence should be an agenda item at every council meeting until the issue is solved.

“Our number one priority is to stop the violence in this town,” he said. “Every council in the past has been trying — we have got to step it up a notch is my opinion.”

“Are we going to follow up on this? Absolutely,” said Councilwoman Amy Quinn, in response to finding out what took place during the fight.

Mayor Myra Campbell, who lives on the West Side, said her heart goes out to all of the families that have lost a loved one to an act of violence in the city, because when it happens it just “opens up the wound again.”

Monitoring the corner stores where most of the shootings emanate from and job creation should be top priorities to help end the violence, Campbell said.

“These shootings — it’s a friggen epidemic and it’s not just here in this city,” said Councilman John Loffredo. “And not just in Jersey. I don’t know if it needs to be a national discussion — we’re open to anything but the state really has to come in and buckle down and take the reins on this. It’s becoming a horrible situation.”

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