Kingston Police shut down University Ave. last night after at least one beer bottle was thrown in the direction of police, according to a Kingston Police press release.
The report states that at approximately 11:30 p.m., patrol officers were driving through the crowd when the bottle was thrown, striking the hood of a marked cruiser.
Due to the size of the crowd, estimated to be as large as 2,000 people, police officers couldn’t clear people from the streets or make any arrests due to safety reasons. Instead, the street was contained and access was shut off for one block from William St. to the south and Johnson St. to the north.
At least eight uniform patrol officers — normally available for regular calls for service, including 9-1-1 dispatches — were re-assigned to contain the street party.
After the incident, many took to social media to express their discontent with the party-goers.
Dear Queen’ students:What transpired last night in the University District has many community incredibly upset…
Posted by Office of the Rector on Monday, September 7, 2015
The reported behaviour last night in the University District is very troubling. 1/
— Daniel Woolf (@queensprincipal) September 7, 2015
Other students took to the streets the next morning in an attempt to restore community relations.
Taylor Maherson, ConEd ’15, woke up Monday morning to social media posts about the incident and decided to take matters into our own hands. Maherson was later featured in social media posts by Rector Mike Young.
“What happened last night wasn’t a good representation of our university, and I wanted to do what I can to change the narrative,” she said.
Maherson spent over two hours on University St. that morning cleaning up the debris of broken beer bottles and cans.
Taylor Maherson, pictured, spent Monday morning cleaning up broken bottles and debris from the Sunday night street party. (Photo by Victoria Gibson)
According to the police report, no charges or arrests were made in relation to the illegal street party.
The Kingston Police release stated that they’ll continue to discuss the issue with Queen’s University istration, the Alma Mater Society and the City of Kingston. The Kingston Police were unavailable for comment due to the long weekend.
Beer bottles littered the sidewalks of University Ave. and Johnson St. following the Sunday night street party. (Victoria Gibson)
— with files from Victoria Gibson
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