Fight breaks out at park on Kirkwood

A man was arrested for aggravated battery after the Bloomington Police Department responded to Peoples Park at about 8 p.m. Monday at the 500 block of East Kirkwood Avenue to a report of a fight, BPD Sgt. Cody Forston said.  

A 23-year-old victim reported Gordon Lee Butcher, 55, had battered her.

Forston said the commotion started out as a fight between Butcher and another male, at which point the victim told Butcher to shut up.

The victim said Butcher told her to leave the park. Butcher told the victim she didn’t have the right to tell him anything.

Forston said the two then got into a pushing match. The victim said she never put her hands on Butcher, but walked into him when he got into her face.

The victim said to police Butcher then poked her in her left eye, grabbed her around the back of the head, threw her and picked her up.

When he picked her up, he carried her to the sidewalk near Kirkwood at which point the victim started screaming.

Butcher placed his thumb to the victim’s throat, causing her to stop screaming and have difficulty breathing.

Forston said the fight was broken up by bouncers from Kilroy’s Bar and Grill.

The woman had injuries to her face and neck area.

When Butcher spoke to police, though, he said he was the one battered by the woman and another man.

Butcher was arrested for strangulation and battery resulting in bodily injury.

— Sydney Murray