Investigation Into Bar Fight Involving Mayor & Off-Duty Cops Threatens To Ruin Comfort Of Small Town Living

An investigation into a bar fight in Winfield, Missouri that allegedly involved the mayor and off-duty cops is threatening the comfort of small town living that the folks of 1,700 to 1,800 currently enjoy.

It's possible the residents aren’t even aware of what could unfold as a result of this investigation. FOX 2 reports that there's been little publicity and no arrests after a bar fight last month that was caught on surveillance cameras.

That's not necessarily a bad thing. The video of the fight shows a drink being thrown in the face of a man who then falls over a patio railing trying to go after the drink thrower. After that, all hell breaks loose.

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As many as fifteen men and women are reportedly seen pushing, tackling, punching and choking one another. Allegedly involved are Winfield’s Mayor and two off-duty officers.

"This has gone a little further than just what your run-of-the-mill bar argument would be," Lincoln County Prosecutor Mike Wood said of the incident.

"There’s at least one person we’ve identified as a victim who has sustained serious physical injuries and has been hospitalized."

Wood is evidently trying to get to the bottom of what took place. He's "not willing to go as far as to say that there are suspects" in the bar fight, which is a good thing.

When Small-Town Life Runs Headfirst Into a Big Investigation

If a town's mayor and a couple of off-duty cops can't get in a bar fight every now and again, without being arrested or charged, the comfort of small town living could be gone forever.

It sounds like the right thing to do, but where are they supposed to blow off steam? In bigger towns, you don’t have the luxury of being in everyone's business. Do you want to start locking the front door?

That's not to say that if the mayor and cops were involved and if they caused any harm that wasn’t in self-defense that they shouldn’t be held accountable, they should.

But that's what being paid under the table with off-the-books arrangements is for, isn’t it? Wood wants the citizens to know he's working on it.

"Whether anybody was lawfully acting in self-defense, or whether there was an initial aggressor that we need to look at," Wood added.

The officers involved, according to the Winfield Police Department, have been placed on administrative leave while an internal investigation is conducted.

Perfect. I'm not suggesting that the mayor and cops should be able to run around and do whatever they want. If you're gathering that from all of this, you're missing the point.

What I am saying is there's a balance here that should be taken into consideration. Is a pre-Christmas bar fight worth trading in your comfortable small town life for?