Five US cruise ship passengers arrested in the Bahamas after brawl and alleged assault on police

Bahamian authorities arrested five American cruise ship passengers on Monday, June 9, after officers responded to a physical altercation involving multiple cruise passengers at Nassau Cruise Port just after 4:45 p.m. local time. After detaining the three women and two men, officers transported them to a local police station, where a 'violent struggle' erupted when officers attempted to search the suspects. One woman allegedly threw a chair through a glass door, and a man kicked out the remaining glass before attempting to flee, though he was quickly subdued. Four Royal Bahamas Police Force officers were injured in the melee: two were struck about the body, one suffered a laceration to the mouth, and a fourth sustained a serious shoulder injury requiring hospitalization. The five suspects were also treated for minor injuries from the initial port altercation. A witness to the original port incident declined to provide a formal statement, and other potential complainants were unable to do so before their cruise ship departed. The five Americans remain in custody and face charges of assaulting a police officer, fighting in a public place, resisting arrest, malicious damage, and disorderly behavior in a police station.