Ocean City police are investigating two weekend brawls on the boardwalk, including one that resulted in the stabbing of a 22-year-old man.
Police said Joseph Tyrice Cromartie, 20, of Clinton, was fighting with another man near Fifth Street and the Boardwalk early Sunday morning when people began gathering to watch.
By the time uniformed officers on bicycles arrived, the crowd was very large and behaving in a disorderly manner, police said. When officers attempted to separate the two men who were pushing and yelling at each other, police said Cromartie became combative and assaulted the officers. Police used a taser to subdue and arrest him.
The crowd then began "taunting and making threatening statements toward officers," police said. The officers at the scene called for backup and additional police arrived, including K-9 and mounted patrols, as well as Worcester County Sheriff's deputies and Maryland State Police troopers. The crowd was quickly dispersed, police said.
Police charged Cromartie with assaulting a police officer, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. He was released on his own recognizance.
A couple hours later, police were called to the Stowaway Grand Hotel at 21st Street and the Boardwalk for a report of a man bleeding heavily in the lobby.
According to police, witnesses said the Washington D.C. man had been in a fight on the boardwalk involving at least 30 people. The victim, who police did not identify, was stabbed numerous times and helped into the hotel by unidentified citizens. He was later transported to Peninsula Regional Medical Center, where he was listed in stable condition, police said.
Anyone with information about the stabbing can call Ocean City Police Det. David Whitmer at 410-530-5390.