Police needed to disperse party at Cal U
California police said one person was arrested and no one was injured at a Homecoming party on Saturday that required additional assistance from area police.
Police said they were called to a large disturbance around 12:19 a.m. on Second Street at the Jozart Center for the Arts. Jozart’s was being rented by two California University of Pennsylvania fraternities, Phi Beta Sigma and Omega Psi Phi, for the purpose of having a non-alcoholic party for college ID holders only, police said.
Christine Kindl, director of communications and public relations for Cal U, said the party was not a university sanctioned event nor did it take place on campus or at a university facility.
Kindl said when the off-campus party reached capacity for the number of people allowed inside, the party’s hired security staff began to turn folks away.
Police said there were more than 400 people in Jozart’s and at least 200 more trying to crash the party and get past security.
Kindl said some of the people who are not allowed into the party became unruly, so police were called to disperse the crowd.
According to a statement prepared Monday by California police Chief Rick Encapera, when police arrived at the party, they had information about a fight, so they attempted to disperse the more than 200 party crashers.
Pepper Mace was deployed to get people away from the front door, police said.
During the altercation, police allege that Azeeza Delphine Reed, 21, of Pittsburgh grabbed a police officer as she was refusing to leave the scene.
Police said Reed was taken into custody after allegedly resisting arrest and grabbing onto another officer.
Police said Reed was charged with aggravated assault, simple assault, failure to disperse, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct.
Police said this alleged action agitated the crowd to the point that it appeared to the officers that there might be a danger that the whole incident would escalate, so they called for back-up from area law enforcement agencies.
Encapera’s statement said several police departments, including state police, responded from as far away as Allegheny County.
Police said Jozart’s and the fraternities the rented the facility were told to shut down the party because of the noise and unsafe conditions that it promoted. Police said when they complied, this put another 400 people onto the street.
A large number of people from the party were attempting to get past the doormen of local bars, and the doorman at Pittsburgh Sports Bar asked police to help him clean out the bar because people were unruly and refused to leave, authorities said.
Encapera’s statement said there were so many people trying to get into the Wood Street Bar that the front door could not be closed and people reported smelling marijuana burning throughout the crowd.
Police remained on the streets until the crowd dissipated around 2:15 a.m.
Police said based on events, two men from the fraternity will receive citations for regulating disorderly functions.