Between social media and eye-witness accounts, there was plenty of evidence of an out-of-control situation at Ballard’s Beach Resort and on the Block Island Ferry on Monday during and after Ballard’s Reggae Festival that this year was held on Victory Day. As Tuesday wore on, more videos appeared.One that was shared with ABC 6 shows a fist fight breaking out between several men at Ballard’s during the concert. Other videos show people fighting in line at the ferry, and upon boarding the boat. Later that night, television newscasts showed a heavy police response to the ferry dock in Galilee.Just a couple of weeks ago, Ballard’s owner Steven Filippi had said in a letter to the New Shoreham Town Council and copied to The Block Island Times: “I’m eager to demonstrate Ballard’s deep commitment to implementing prudent measures to protect the health, safety, and welfare of Block Island’s residents and visitors.”This was in response to a problematic Fourth of July at Ballard’s and subsequent “compliance checks” on July 16 and 17 by state police to assess whether liquor license holders were properly requiring proof of age before serving alcohol. Ballard’s failed the compliance check on both days.Around 3:30 in
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