Coney Island brawl caught on camera, NYPD officer injured

CONEY ISLAND, Brooklyn (WABC) -- A violent, ugly brawl ended with eight young people in handcuffs and an NYPD officer in the hospital.

Cell phone video captured the fight Friday night on West 12th Street near Luna Park in Coney Island.

It was right around 11:30 and for some reason a large group got into a fight, fists were flying and at one point a female was on top of another, holding down her head down to the pavement with one hand and with the other delivering piercing punches.

"Clearly we need at any hour just a little more presence here, and for safety, eyes on the street late at night," said Alexandra Silversmith, Alliance for Coney Island.

Silversmith is talking about more police where the fight happened.

Monday, Eyewitness News did see officers patrolling.

The video shows the NYPD officer on the ground. Authorities tell Eyewitness News someone in this group intentionally knocked her down.

After more than a minute of chaos, another officer had to use pepper spray to break up the unruly crowd.

Back in April, there was another fight, this time a teenage boy was the target.

After that incident, more police were added to the area which is a destination for millions of people.

Officials point out, this summer has been relatively quiet with no issues on Memorial Day or Fourth of July weekends.

They believe this was an isolated flare up.

"Where it happened was actually on a city street, not within any amusement park or any venues in Coney Island," Silversmith said. "All of them do have their own security, so it's safe within their gates, but this was a city street, so Coney Island is unique because there are city streets going throughout."