Holiday Ends in Brawl for One St. Louis Park Family

The “most wonderful time of the year” turned sour for one St. Louis Park family when an argument over money turned into a brawl between father and son on Christmas Day.

According to the police report, when an officer arrived at their home in the Lenox neighborhood around 2:30 p.m., the father and his young adult son were outside in the street arguing, with the younger man’s mother standing in the middle of the two attempting to mediate. After separating the two, the officer questioned each man separately.

The son, who was staying at his parent’s house for a few days over Christmas, said his father became upset when the discussion turned to “finances.” When the son told him to “settle down,” the father became angry and started yelling and “shaking like a crazy person.” The son said his father then went outside, threw himself on the hood of the family car, and “flopped around on it for a minute.”

The father then stormed back inside, the son said, and “immediately” attacked his son with punches and tackles. The brawl, the son said, continued until his mother separated the two and he walked outside the house. The son refused medical treatment.

When interviewed, the father told police he had been “stressed out lately” and that he did “pound” on his car hood. However, the father said, when he came back inside, his son “rushed” at him. The pair wrestled until his wife stepped in, he said. He denied initiating the fight.

According to police, the mother said her son became upset at his father for “stressing” about finances, when they both “blew up at each other.” She said both initiated the physical fight, and told police “they are both hotheads.”

No charges were filed. According to police, the father went to stay with his other son, and the son went to stay with his girlfriend. A handwritten note on the police report comments that a local family counselor was notified.