Additional details emerged Tuesday about a fight that turned violent at a weekend party in Alumnae Hall, during which four people were arrested.
At one point during the conflict Saturday night, an individual "tried to grab at a Brown officer's gun in his holster," Providence Police Department Chief Dean Esserman told The Herald. Department of Public Safety officers initially handled the incident before calling for backup from PPD.
The four people who were arrested are all Massachusetts residents and are not Brown students, according to the Providence Journal. Two men, 19-year-old John Germainmartinez of Boston and 21-year-old Kenny Jean of Bridgewater, Mass., were charged with resisting arrest and assaulting an officer, according to the Journal.
Jide Disu and Mario Montes, both 21-year-olds from Randolph, Mass., were also arrested and were written up for disorderly conduct, the Journal reported.
"It's very clear to me and to all of us how seriously Brown is taking the event that happened this weekend," Esserman said, adding that it was "not unusual for Providence Police to be called to backup Brown police."
Esserman told The Herald that at an open staff meeting Tuesday he said he was considering opposing future parties at Brown, including one he said would be held on Friday. The chief said he had spoken to Brown's director of public safety and chief of police, Mark Porter, and decided that PPD would not oppose that party.
"Our initial reaction was to oppose it," Esserman said. But he said his discussion with Porter led him to believe the party would not have "a similar, large, open crowd" as the party in Alumnae Hall had. Saturday's event, hosted by the Delta Sigma Theta sorority, was open to students from all Rhode Island colleges and non-students who notified the sorority ahead of time.
Esserman said PPD would discuss future parties with DPS and consider each one "case by case" to decide appropriate action.
"We have a very long working relationship with Brown University," Esserman said. "We were all very concerned."
During the event, DPS officers also used pepper spray to break up a fight, according to Vice President for Campus Life and Student Services Margaret Klawunn, who sent a campus-wide e-mail Monday night about the incident. Both the incident involving the gun and DPS's use of pepper spray are being reviewed internally by Porter and DPS, she said.
Klawunn said she estimates DPS uses pepper spray about once a year in similar situations.
"There are a lot of things we're reviewing about the event in terms of what happened on our campus," Klawunn said.
She said she did not see the incident "as an argument against arming Brown police," adding that "most of our events go very successfully and without incident."
Klawunn said University officials are also reviewing the organization and management of Saturday's event to decide what measures should be taken in the future to prevent similar incidents. The review will include an examination of all the event management details, such as requirements for entrance, the number of event staff present, the positions of security personnel and how future events are promoted, she said.
Because the organization of Saturday's event is still under review, Klawunn said she could not comment on whether the sorority would face sanctions from the University. Administrators are going over details of the event with the sorority, she said, adding that the sorority's leadership has been "very cooperative."
DPS is conducting its own evaluation of the incident, including the details of police response, said Vice President for Public Affairs and University Relations Marisa Quinn.
"The Department of Public Safety is a fully accredited and licensed force," she said. "It is held to the highest form of accountability."
Quinn added that it was important to wait to assess the incident until after Porter and DPS had completed their investigation.
"It would be premature to determine what the outcome of the review will reveal," she said. "We certainly have full faith in how the officers handle themselves."
Evangeline McDonald '13, who attended Saturday's party, told The Herald the next day that she had seen two fights erupt among attendees, noting that at one point "there was a kind of powder in the air and everybody started coughing."
McDonald also said she "saw blood on a kid's shirt."
"It had several blood splashes — you could see handprints on the shirt," she said.
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