No roughhousing! St. Charles committee wants maximum fines for fighting

City of St. Charles Government Operations Committee members pushed for an amendment to the city’s fighting ordinance that would increase the fine for fighting to the state maximum of $750 for a first offense at their Nov. 6 meeting.

The amendment, which is meant for a zero-tolerance approach to fighting, was recommended for approved in a unanimous vote and is expected to go before City Council for final approval at their Nov. 20 meeting.

Chief of Police James Keegan recommended the amendment to committee members. He said the St. Charles Police Department takes a “zero tolerance” approach to fighting in public places. Under the amended code, fighting of any kind, or inciting a fight in a public place would be prohibited, and all offenders may receive citations.

The amended language reads, “It shall be unlawful for any person to fight, or intentionally provoke a fight with physical contact of another.” This updates the language in the current ordinance which reads, “No person shall physically fight with another person without legal justification.”

Keegan said the amendment is not in response to an increase in offenses, and that they have seen great results from their current policy. He said the amended language was made at the suggestion of a local hearing officer, to address specific instances where involved parties don’t want to file complaints.

Keegan said the ordinance would primarily be used in instances when two or more “mutual combatants” engage in a public fight and an aggressor cannot be determined, or when the victim does not want to file a complaint against a clear aggressor.

Alderperson Bryan Wirball suggested, in addition to the amended language, raising the maximum first-offense fine for fighting from $500 to $750, which is the maximum allowed under state regulations.

City Attorney Nicholas Peppers said while each citation would be for the maximum fine of $750, the actual amount each individual is fined will be determined by their case’s hearing officer, and may be less than $750 based on facts and circumstances.

Alderpersons David Pietryla and Ron Silkaitis both said they were in favor of enforcing a zero-tolerance policy with maximum fines from the start, and allowing the adjudication process to determine the ultimate fine amount.

Alderperson Ryan Bongard questioned the reasoning behind increasing the maximum fine for a first offense when there has not been an escalation of crime, and cited a concern that raising the fine may send a message that there is a problem.

Wirball defended the increase saying, it will improve police officers’ ability to enforce the no fighting policy.

“This gives him [Keegan] the tool he needs to set a zero-tolerance policy,” Wirball said. “Why not maximize it and give him the tools he needs to do what he needs to do? I don’t think anybody is going to look at tonight’s meeting and say, ‘oh my god, things are out of control,’ I really don’t.”

Keegan said the frequency of fighting in the city fluctuates based on weather and events, but on average his department sees about six fights per month.

Should the amendment receive council approval at their Nov. 20 meeting, the amended language and first-offense fine increase would go into effect immediately.