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2005: Police quell unruly party-goers - 5/5/2006

Police quell unruly party-goers

By Nick Grabbe
Staff Writer - The Amherst Bulletin

Published on May 05, 2006

The first confrontation of the spring between police officers and a large group of young party-goers ended with only minor arrests Saturday night.

But police anticipate that they will be busy this weekend keeping parties from getting out of hand, said Lt. Ronald Young. Officers have visited apartments on Hobart Lane to inform residents of the town bylaws and urge them 'to be smart about their activities,' he said. Capt. Michael Kent is talking to Hobart Lane property managers, he said.

'I don't want to say it's a warning,' Young said. 'We make people aware we'll have a sufficient number of officers on and our goal is not to let it mushroom into a problem.'

He estimated that 1,000 people gathered at Townehouse Apartments on Meadow Street just after midnight on Saturday. Some of the partyers threw bottles, lawn furniture and an unlighted tiki torch, and others knocked out the lights, creating a safety hazard, Young said.

Many University of Massachusetts students live in the complex, which is north of the campus.

About 30 officers were present, and police made the decision to end the party. The youths responded to verbal commands to disperse, there was no chemical Mace deployed and officers did not put on riot gear, Young said.

'It could have gone either way,' said Detective Gabriel Ting. 'The crowd could have gotten hostile.'

One person threw a can of beer at officers, and some in the crowd appeared bloodied, but there were no reported injuries, Young said.

Reporter Kimberly Ashton contributed to this report.