Pittsburgh’s annual Light Up Night is known for its holiday cheer, but some spectators say they saw more than Christmas lights this year, as scattered fights broke out among some attendees and one man allegedly punched a police officer.
Pittsburgh Police spokeswoman Emily Bourne said the Saturday night event drew large crowds throughout the core of Downtown Pittsburgh.
Videos posted online by attendees showed teens running through Downtown as police officers, both mounted and on foot, moved in.
“We responded to a number of fights (and) skirmishes as a result,” Bourne said to TribLive on Sunday.
Bourne said the fights — which mainly occurred around Wood Street and the Market Square area — caused police to detain some people and process a number for disorderly conduct.
Keshawn Sample, 20, of the city’s Homewood neighborhood was charged with assault on a law enforcement officer.
According to a sworn affidavit, Sample was among a group of people yelling at police near the intersection of Fifth Avenue and McMasters Way. As the crowd was dispersing, police said, Sample walked into an officer’s path, knocking the officer back with his shoulder and then throwing a punch that struck the officer’s side.
Sample faces a Dec. 8 preliminary hearing in Pittsburgh Municipal Court.
Throughout the night, police issued 18 non-traffic citations and arrested three people, Bourne said.
It was unclear Sunday if all three people arrested connected to the same fights.
Ken Scheer of Plum attended Light Up Night with his family and friends. He said they started walking toward Market Square around 7 p.m. when they saw a large group of teenagers and young adults yelling, screaming profanities and running in the street.
Scheer said his group felt uncomfortable and decided to walk in the opposite direction.
“I remember seeing a baby in a stroller down there and I’m thinking, ‘That is crazy,’ ” Scheer said.
Scheer said that during the commotion, other Light Up Night attendees were looking around and also began to move away from the area.
TribLive reporters attempted to contact attendees who posted about the fights on social media but did not receive responses.
While Bourne said there were no “major incidents” that took place during Light Up Night, police issued a dispersal order when the crowd of juveniles began to get rowdy.
“Officers continued to disperse crowds after all the festivities concluded and continued to deal with the altercations as the crowds thinned,” Bourne said.
