Police are trawling through footage as they investigate how a social media event descended into public disorder, with trail bike riders taking over a Mayfield park and risking lives.
A major operation, involving the police helicopter from above and the specialist riot squad on the ground, unfolded at a skate park on Ingall Street from about midday on Sunday, June 14.
Police say up to 200 people and up to 40 unregistered trail bike riders attended an event advertised on social media by commercial enterprise Bad Apples.
"Their behaviour in the park and on our public streets was nothing short of dangerous. It put people's lives at risk," Newcastle City Police District commander, Superintendent Kylie Endemi, said.
"What transpired in Mayfield ... was deplorable behaviour by some people."
Police were forced to deploy capsicum spray, intervene in a brawl and close roads in an effort to keep the public safe and restore order as the chaos escalated. Two trail bikes were seized at the scene.
Illegal trail bike riders damaged a highway patrol vehicle and a privately-owned car, taunted police, churned up muddy tracks at the park and on lawns, and hooned along local roads.
Superintendent Endemi said officers had attended about midday after gathering intelligence about the event, promoted as 'Newcastle vs the World', and forming an operation around the risks it could pose.
She said people were allowed to attend public spaces and participate in peaceful events, but what happened in Mayfield was "far from that".
She slammed some of the behaviour as "quite disgusting" and that had put lives at risk, including those of young children at the park to enjoy a Sunday afternoon.
Police made one arrest at the scene after officers were forced to intervene in a brawl that erupted on the side of the road. A woman was released without charge pending further investigations.
A major investigation was continuing on Monday as police combed through high-quality footage from body-worn and in-car cameras, the PolAir helicopter and mobile phone videos.
"I want to make it clear to all those who chose to behave in that unlawful manner, that you might not have been arrested yesterday, but that does not mean police will not come and knock on your door," Superintendent Endemi said.
"We will identify those who chose to behave in such a deplorable manner, and we will take the necessary action against them to ensure we do not see a repeat of this incident on our streets again."
"We are investing significant resources in relation to this investigation."
Footage circulating on social media shows a gang of trail bike riders, many with their faces covered, riding in the area, including on footpaths, roads and front lawns near Dangar Park. Some appeared to perform wheelies or skids and rode towards people. Crowds swarmed and a fight broke out.
Police allege a commander tried to engage with event organisers at the scene to seek cooperation in restoring order, but they refused to assist.
Police say Bad Apples did not notify police of the event, which promised cash giveaways.
Police have defended their response and significant resourcing at the park, saying they did not arrest riders at the scene but they did keep the community safe, with no major injuries.
The operation involved PolAir, highway patrol, Newcastle police and the Public Order and Riot Squad.
"Getting the balance right in terms of intervening in this unlawful behaviour is extremely important. Police face a difficult challenge in these circumstances," Superintendent Endemi said.
"We need to be extremely careful in how we intervene so as not to cause injury to the riders of those bikes, or to innocent members of the public, or to police."
A Mayfield resident told the Newcastle Herald they saw event promoters sitting on the back of a ute throwing goods to the crowd.
"It was like a circus," she said.
"They had their faces covered. They wouldn't stop churning up the grass."
The resident called police to report the motorbikes "zooming up and down the street" but they appeared undeterred by police and "whizzed around a bit more".
The resident described the events that unfolded as "disgusting".
A City of Newcastle spokesperson said crews were assessing the damage to the park and any remediation that may be required.
"City of Newcastle is extremely disappointed by the unauthorised gathering and associated anti-social behaviour including the use of trail bikes at Dangar Park in Mayfield over the weekend," they said.
"City of Newcastle strongly condemns this dangerous activity, which has resulted in damage to a much-loved shared community space."
