A viral street brawl on Bates Street has Birmingham residents pressing city leaders for concrete safety measures in the downtown shopping and dining district.

The fight, which broke out late the week of Aug. 6 and involved at least two groups throwing punches in the middle of the road, was a central topic at the Tuesday, Aug. 11 city commission meeting. As we reported that day, Commissioner Brad Host called the incident "very disturbing" and urged fellow commissioners to take a late-night "field trip" downtown to observe conditions firsthand.

Host told CBS Detroit the city needs to evaluate what can be done to protect visitors to the Old Woodward corridor.

Residents who spoke at the meeting pushed further, demanding a heavier police presence. One resident put it bluntly: "It's like a scarecrow — put a police car with lights on it in the street. I notice, I go by the police station, and you got police cars sitting in the lot."

The same meeting included the swearing-in of a new police chief, though the department had not responded to media requests for comment as of Aug. 11.

Garcia Bragg, the eyewitness who filmed the altercation and whose video circulated widely online, offered a different take on police performance. Bragg said officers arrived within minutes of the fight breaking out, a timeline his own footage appeared to confirm.

The brawl is not isolated. Fox 2 Detroit reported Wednesday, Aug. 12 that a July 19 incident on South Old Woodward involved a Dearborn Heights man sparking multiple fights inside and outside a bar, along with a public urination arrest and open-intoxicants citation the same weekend.

No specific policy proposals have been formally introduced. No expanded patrols, security cameras or changes to bar closing times are on the table yet.

Residents can contact the Birmingham Police Department's non-emergency line at 248-530-1870 to report concerns.