Sports Coach Violently Attacked With Umbrella During Game: Police

A man was charged on Thursday, accused of attacking a sports coach at a rugby tournament with an umbrella.
Police say that on July 27, a fight broke out during a rugby game in Salt Lake City, Utah. The coach, Semisi Tupouata, tried to settle it, but was struck multiple times with an umbrella, leaving him unconscious and unable to see out of his right eye, according to a court document shared with Newsweek.
39-year-old Takes Mafileo Vakapuna was charged on Thursday in a district court in Salt Lake City with aggravated assault resulting in serious injury, a second-degree felony.
According to medical documents shared with the Salt Lake City Police Department, Tupouata’s right eye needed surgery to treat traumatic eye injury, and 16 days after the incident he was unable to see out of it.
The report shared with Newsweek stated that Salt Lake City Police Department Officer R. Thomas investigated the incident and spoke to various witnesses. One, Sephina Lialina Afu, reportedly said that Tupouata’s eye was “cut open and swollen shut.” Afu also provided footage of the incident, which police say led them to identify Vakapuna.
Another witness, Eseta Ngalu, said she rushed to help the rugby coach once he was on the ground, after seeing Vakapuna strike him, and later described his eye injury as “gushing with blood.”
Police spoke to three other witnesses who provided information that led to the charges against Vakapuna, according to the report.
According to Neighborhood Scout, Salt Lake City has one of the highest crime rates across American cities, and is the most dangerous place to live in the state, as residents had a one in 13 chance of becoming a victim of either violent or property crime. Residents have a one in 102 chance of becoming a victim of a violent crime, which includes assault.
It was reported to be the 11th most dangerous city in the U.S. in a 2023-24 dataset, according to Fox 13. US News also ranked Utah as the best city in the country in 2024.
Despite this, the outlet also reported that Salt Lake City also ranked in the top 100 cities to live in America in 2023-24, in spot 58.
Desirability, value, job market, quality of life and net migration were the five categories in which the rankings were decided.
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