ACADIA NATIONAL PARK (AP) – The National Park Service is investigating allegations of excessive use of force by park rangers who broke up a party at Acadia National Park over the weekend.

Rangers came upon a large outdoor party with about 45 young people at Day Mountain shortly after 1 a.m. on Monday, according to Len Bobinchock, deputy superintendent for the park.

Rangers cited two people for marijuana possession and six people for underage possession of alcohol, Bobinchock said. Two others were charged with failure to obey a lawful order and disorderly conduct, he said.

Some of the people who were on the mountain said the gathering was a midnight hike, not a party, and that the rangers used excessive force.

Tim Wild, 31, told the Bangor Daily News he was knocked unconscious when a ranger threw him to the ground while handcuffed after he objected when a ranger threw a female friend to the ground. Wild, a waiter at the Jordan Pond House, said he was taken by ambulance to Mount Desert Island Hospital in Bar Harbor and was treated for facial fractures.

In a statement, the park service said it believes rangers acted responsibly.

Whenever allegations of excessive force by police arise at any park property, the claims are investigated by a park service official from outside of that property, Bobinchock said.

The investigation is being headed by the park service headquarters in Washington and its regional office in Philadelphia.

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