March 16th, 2014 by WCBC Radio
On Saturday, March 15, 2014 the annual Hooley Pub Crawl was held in Cumberland. Due to a significant number of incidents that occurred at this event three years ago in 2012 the Cumberland Police Department became involved in the planning of the event in regards to safety measures and increased security to ensure the safety of the participants as well as those citizens, not participating in the event, attempting to travel throughout the city unimpeded.
This year the department deployed seven officers from 1:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m. specifically assigned to the event. At 5:00 p.m. the number of officers grew to twelve for the remainder of the event. The department also had the complete compliment of patrol officers assigned to the two shifts working on this date which provided for an additional nine officers from 7:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. and an additional eight officers from 7:00 p.m. until 7:00 a.m. to handle calls for service throughout the city and to assist at the event if needed.
The event was well attended this year with large crowds gathering at the participating venues. Officers were placed in the immediate area of those venues in an effort to keep the peace and deter any bad behaviors. Some incidents did occur throughout the day and into the early morning hours in which most were alcohol related in some form. A brief summary and time line of these incidents that were directly related to this event is as follows:
6:10 p.m. officers located an individual who was underage consuming an alcoholic beverage on Pershing Street. The individual was cited for the violation and released.
8:25 p.m. officers respond to Park Street in regards to an assault. The investigation revealed that a male assaulted his ex-girlfriend on the street. The victim sustained a minor injury and the suspect had fled the area upon arrival of the officers. Victim was referred to District Court to pursue charges if she wished.
9:59 p.m. officers responded to a disturbance on S. Centre Street.
11:58 p.m. officers responded to an establishment on N. Mechanic at Baltimore Street in reference to a large fight in which a knife was allegedly displayed. A large crowd had gathered in front of the establishment but officers were able to identify at least one of the parties involved; however, lack of cooperation hampered any efforts for further investigation. A knife was located in the parking lot by an officer who secured the weapon. Deputies from the Allegany County Sheriff’s Office and troopers from the Maryland State Police who were on patrol in the area responded and offered assistance in clearing the crowd from in front of the business. These individuals were dispersed as they were not allowed to reenter the business and no other admittance was allowed for the remainder of the night to avoid any further problems.
12:22 a.m. officers responded to the 400 block of Henderson Avenue for a disturbance at a tavern. Upon arrival the parties had separated and left.
12:23 a.m. officers responded to the 300 block of Fayette Street in reference to some suspicious subjects. Upon arrival the officer located the individuals who were intoxicated. One of those individuals was found to be under the age of 21 at which time he was cited for the violation.
12:28 a.m. officers responded to the 800 block of Mechanic Street where it was reported that a female had climbed on top of a table located on the deck outside of the business and lost her balance. Upon losing her balance she fell into the Wills Creek Flood Control. Officers were dispatched to the various bridges overlooking the waterway as a motorcycle officer drove onto the trail in an attempt to locate the individual. The motorcycle officer was able to locate the female in the middle of the creek; however, he could not reach her due to the swift current. The Cumberland Fire Department and the Bowling Green Swift Water Rescue Team respond to the scene. The motorcycle officer as well as a Maryland State Trooper assisted with the launching of the boat into the water which forced them to enter the creek to do so which allowed the rescue team to reach the female. She was then transported to the Western Maryland Regional Medical Center for treatment.
12:33 a.m. officers were directed to an individual on Pershing Street who had been involved in a fight and was now creating a disturbance. Officers contacted the individual and advised him to leave the area. A few minutes later the officers located this same individual standing in the middle of Mechanic Street yelling at people and refusing to move out of the way of traffic. The individual was placed under arrest. While walking him to the station that individual attempted to drop a small baggie of cocaine onto the ground; however, the officer was able to recover it and charged him with the additional violation.
1:04 a.m. officers responded to the 300 block of S. Centre Street for an intoxicated individual lying in the grass beside a business. Officers contacted the individual and arranged for a sober friend to pick him up.
1:26 a.m. officers responded to Helen Street for a disturbance. These subjects had just returned home from drinking and were arguing with each other. They were told to keep the peace. At approximately 3:29 a.m. officers responded back this residence where one of the individuals from the earlier disturbance had assaulted one of her guests from the previous complaint. This individual was placed under arrest at that time.
Officers also responded to minor disturbances at 1:36 a.m. at an establishment on S. Centre, 1:43 a.m. at an establishment on Beall Street, and at 3:39 a.m. to a private residence on Fort Avenue. All of these calls were due to intoxicated individuals arguing or pushing each other which result in no charges being filed but parties being separated for the night.
Three individuals were arrested for DUI offenses throughout the early morning hours. The first arrest occurred at 12:22 a.m., the second one at 2:02 a.m. and the third occurring at 3:37 a.m.. The stops were the result of traffic violations witnessed by the arresting officers.
The last related incident was the discovery of the glass portion of an entry door to a business located on N. Centre Street appeared to have been kicked in sometime over night. The building is currently vacant and it did not appear as if anyone made entry. This investigation is continuing.
Despite the numerous calls for service the event appeared to be well managed by the businesses that participated as they provided extra security to check ID’s at the doors before admitting anyone inside. The crowd was large due to the fairly decent weather conditions for March. It appeared that the majority of the participants were enjoying the event and caused no issues for the police. The officers assigned to the event were present at the various venues throughout the day into the early morning hours and it is felt that this helped deter any further serious issues from occurring.
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