BATTLE CREEK (WWJ) - Two women arguing over a man quickly spun out of control at a Battle Creek hotel over the weekend and led to three stabbings and a police chase at speeds of over 100 mph, police said.
The Battle Creek Police Department said two female suspects were arrested following the brawl that began in broad daylight outside the Baymont by Wyndham Hotel on the 4700 block of Beckley Road.
Multiple police officers were dispatched to the hotel around noon Saturday, Nov. 25, on reports of a 22-year-old woman being stabbed and others attacked with broken glass from a vase during a 15-person fight in the hotel lobby.
"There were a lot of things occurring very quickly on scene," Jim Martens, Road Patrol Lieutenant said to WWMT.
When police arrived at the scene, people allegedly involved in the incident began to leave and were reportedly unwilling to speak with officers.
As police attempted to interview any remaining witnesses, two men from the hotel got into their vehicle and backed into a police patrol car with an officer inside, peeling off at high speeds.
Body cam footage released from the department on Tuesday shows the back of the car ramming into the cruiser. Moments later, an officer is seen drawing their weapon on the vehicle before it takes off.
The officer inside the vehicle was uninjured in the crash, police said in a press release, and other officers pursed the two men, who accelerated to speeds of up to 100 mph in Leroy Township.
"A vehicle driving that fast and in a reckless manner is going to put the citizens in danger, and that is also one of the reasons we terminated the pursuit," Lt. Martens said.
Police said they also called off the chase when they determined the two men had nothing to do with the fight.
Back at the hotel, officers found the dispute originally began between a 28-year-old woman and a 22-year-old woman who were at odds over a man.
The 28-year-old allegedly stabbed the younger woman in the head with the shard of glass and slashed a hotel employee when they attempted to break up the fight.
The younger woman received medical attention for "cuts and wounds," police added. The condition of the employee is unknown.
Roughly 90 minutes after police responded to the massive brawl, they received another report of a third stabbing involving the 28-year-old woman from the initial hotel fight in the 100 block of Grove Street.
Lt. Martens said the woman allegedly stabbed a female friend of the first victim with a knife.
The 28-year-old woman later called dispatch to tell her side of the story. Police later took her into custody and arrested the first victim too, Lt. Martens said.
The older woman managed to elude police, but ended up calling the department to share her side of the story. After reviewing the evidence, officers said the first victim maybe responsible for the starting the incident.
"It appears the 22-year-old may have initiated the assault and used mace on the 28-year-old," Lt. Martens said
Both women were eventually taken into custody. Felonious assault charges were filed against the 22-year-old while the 28-year-old is facing assault with great bodily harm and assault with intent charges.
Martens called the incident an "explosive situation" that grew to involve people that knew one another, as well as people -- like the hotel employee -- that had to do with it.
"I would assume there were people that had nothing to do with this, that kind of got caught up into it, you know one staff member got hurt, it was an explosive situation that definitely got out of hand quickly," Martens added.
