A fight near the intersection of Broom and West Gorham streets involved more than 100 people and broke into several small brawls early Saturday morning, which ended with police using pepper spray to calm the violence.
Public Information Officer Mike Hanson of the Madison Police Department said officers arrived at the scene and flashed their sirens and lights in hopes of breaking up the fight. A report issued by the MPD stated numerous individuals on the 300 block of West Gorham Street were ""engaged in a hostile environment"" just before closing time on Saturday morning.
""This fight was unusual in the sense that it was so large, there were a number of pocket fights throughout and the police presence alone had little effect,"" Hanson said. ""That's what's frustrating about this incident.""
Hanson said it is unknown how many officers were summoned to the scene, but pointed out that a large canister of the agent ""OC""—better known to students as pepper spray—was deployed to break up the fight. He also said at least three other small fights arose on the side due to the large brawl, each of which involved approximately 10 males.
Because of the size of the brawl and the use of pepper spray, Hanson said arresting those involved was extremely difficult. The report listed Maurice Grant, 22, of Madison, as the only person arrested, although a second unknown individual was charged at the scene and released. Grant was reportedly taken to jail and charged with disorderly conduct while armed.
""[Grant] was actively fighting,"" Hanson said. ""As we tried to control the scene with [pepper spray], people fled and we didn't have the resources to go chase everyone.""
The report also said the fray did not start in any particular building in the area, but noted it quickly escalated and spread into streets and on sidewalks. Hanson said police have yet to be notified of any property damage.
Cue-nique Billiards, 317 W. Gorham St., is located in the center of where the scuffle took place. Haven Ben, an employee at the pool hall, said no property damage was caused by the crowd. He said the crowd grew large but very little developed.
Ben said he saw pepper spray administered by police in an effort to break up a few smaller fights, which arose because of the crowd. Still, he said the situation was not as bad as it police made it seem.
