"Twenty to 30 people were observed fighting, at this time Officer [Matthew] Lee tried to disperse the combatants, but was unable to stop them from fighting," according to a police incident report filed by Lee.
"This is definitely an anomaly," said Chief of Police John Carter, who said he could not recall any fight this large.
Jason Edwards '03, co-president of Drew House, said that he is not sure why a fight broke out. "We threw the party to fundraise," said Edwards. "Everyone left peacefully so I have no idea why it started."
"I'm a party monitor myself. When [co-lead party monitor] Steve Vladeck ['01] got the call that there was a scuffle, we went over to help try and calm the situation," added Edwards. "Town and Amherst police showed up. After that, the situation was pretty much worked out."
Vladeck confirmed that he went over when he heard the officer call, though he added, "We're not supposed to play any role [in physical altercations]."
Carter indicated that security personnel working the party did not see Amherst students in the fight.
When Lee was unable to break up the fight, he then radioed for assistance. Before help arrived, however, "Lee observed one young man laying face down on the pavement as five other individuals were kicking him," according to the report.
The assaulted individual was identified as a University of Massachusetts senior.
According to the incident report, Lee attempted to disperse the assailants but was unsuccessful.
"At this time Officer Lee warned if they did not stop fighting he would spray them with pepper spray. Officer Lee stated this loudly four more times and the individuals did not comply. Officer Lee had no choice but to spray as he was in fear of the life of the victim," the report states.
Lee then released a short burst of pepper spray and the individuals fled, according to the report.
Campus Police Officer Pete Sienkiewicz and Sergeant Jerry Miller of the Town Police then arrived on the scene to provide back-up.
Officers called an ambulance and had the victim transported to Franklin Medical Center. The victim informed officers that he did not want to press charges.
Events at Drew usually have the most security workers of any campus events, but there have not been a particularly high number of disturbances compared to other dorms, according to Carter. "Generally, the Charles Drew House runs very good events," he said.
Drew will increase security even more, according to Chris Owens '03, co-president of Drew House. "We plan on hiring an off-duty policeman from town to be at our events to make sure nothing happens," said Owens.
Carter speculated that this incident could have arisen from the broad advertisement that Drew does for its events. But Carter said that the heavy security at Drew was self-imposed. "They set up their own parameters," he said.
"Once you advertise outside of the immediate community, you kind of lose control of who attends. So, it may be larger than a Five College event," said Carter.
"They attract a crowd that's really from many of the other colleges and not necessarily the Five Colleges," added Vladeck.
Carter indicated that there are other events on campus that draw a large Five College crowd, such as many of the events at the Octagon, but that those events had not had many incidents.
Campus Police decided to shut down the party after ACEMS had to check on a vomiting UMass student and a student called in a noise complaint.