The fireworks started a day early for two parade-goers, who got in a scuffle in the middle of Appleton Avenue Tuesday during the annual "Land Grab" for the best spots in the Menomonee Falls Fourth of July parade.

Just minutes after police gave the crowd the go-ahead to stake out their spots along the Independence Day parade route, two men got into a heated dispute about a particular plot of land in the median near Homestead Drive.

The conflict was caught on camera by Falls Cable Access. They mounted a small camera onto a remote-controlled helicopter to get the shot.

According to a Menomonee Falls Police Department report:

It all started at roughly 6:40 p.m. when one of the parade-goers confronted an officer demanding they be allowed to stake out a large area for the parade. The subject told the officer they deserved a large area because they had been camped out along the roadway since 4 p.m., and had been watching the festivities from that particular spot for 15 years.

The officer told the subject to wait until 7 p.m. like everyone else - despite their veteran land-grabbing status.

The subject didn't like that response.

The person then challenged the officer, and asked how much a citation would be if they simply walked out and staked out the spot before everyone else. The subject was advised to conduct themselves in an orderly manner, and set a good example for the children.

However, when the staking started, the veteran land-grabber saw another person staking out his traditional spot. He then pulled out the stakes and threw them onto Appleton Avenue.

At about that time, an officer suddenly heard three women screaming, and saw three men in the middle of the road. As one of the men tried to get up, he started coming toward the officer, and was taken down.

At several points in a conversation with police, one of the men repeatedly interjected by saying, "How stupid...for a parade." An officer could detect the mild smell of alcohol on one of the men.

Both men were issued citations for disorderly conduct.