Questions Emerge About City’s Response to 1,000 Person Melee Near PC — No One Arrested

Questions Emerge About City’s Response to 1,000 Person Melee Near PC — No One Arrested

As GoLocal was the first to report, the Elmhurst neighborhood was in upheaval early on Saturday morning as a group estimated by Providence Police to be 1,000 people smashed a car, brawled in numerous fights, and there were reports of gunshots.

Multiple people were hospitalized.

Despite the destruction and violence, not one person has been arrested and charged.

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The crowd, believed to be made up predominantly of Providence College and Johnson & Wales students who rent apartments off of Eaton Street, as well as some non-students, all went home after the melee.

 

 

July 4th Weekend

The incident stands in contrast to an incident at a house party over the July 4th weekend in which Providence Police entered a home on Friendship Street, threw one of the partygoers down the stairs, and punched another young man repeatedly while detaining him.

That party had no reports of violence. The complaints were related to the noise ordinance and that it was a disturbance. Moreover, the July 4th weekend party was mostly contained inside the home and was made up primarily of Providence minority attendees. SEE THAT VIDEO HERE.

At the time, Jorge Ventura said that the party was dispersing when the Providence Police returned to the home.

Multiple people were charged in that July 4th weekend episode.

At the time of the incident, Ventura said, “On July 4th at around 1:30 AM, I and others were victims of police brutality by the Providence Police Department. A couple of hours before the cops violated me and my girlfriend’s rights and what felt like our humanity, they came and told the homeowner that the party had to be over by 1:00 AM/1:30 AM, and we were very understanding and agreed to the time they gave us.”

 

Smiley Tough on Providence Residents

Regarding that incident, Providence Mayor Brett Smiley’s spokesman, Josh Estrella, said, "Following multiple noise complaint calls, Providence police officers responded to Friendship Street at approximately 1 AM Saturday. Officers on the scene attempted to disperse the crowd, while many individuals at the location acted in a disorderly manner and obstructed officers conducting their duty. Four individuals were arrested."

Ultimately, the charges were dropped against Ventura and the others.

 

Smiley Refuses to Answer Questions About Inconsistency in Handling of Events

GoLocal emailed Smiley’s office about the inconsistency between the July 4th weekend event and this weekend's holiday event. He refused to respond. His communications director said they would, but never sent a statement.

 

Providence College Blames Outsiders and Says Police Did Not Notify the School

Steve Maurano, Associate Vice President, Public Affairs, Community & Government Relations, told GoLocal that Providence police did not tell PC officials about the melee until hours after it concluded. And said, "PC Public Safety was not notified either. I presume it was because PPD was busy dealing with the situation. They likely didn’t have time to just stop and call us. The priority was dealing with the situation at hand."

"As far as the mayhem, the assaults, and the fights – yes, those were not PC students," said Maurano.