A University football player and another student were arrested and about two dozen police officers, some with riot gear and dogs, were dispatched to contain an angry crowd when police broke up a large party at the Veterans’ Memorial Building on Saturday night, police and witnesses said.
Eugene police completely closed Willamette Street for about 30 minutes after hundreds of people poured out of the building and several fights occurred around it, police said.
Mark Roland Sunga, 19, a redshirt freshman long snapper for the football team, was arrested on charges of possessing an open alcohol container, having alcohol as a minor, having a fake ID, providing false information to police and possessing less than an ounce of marijuana, Eugene police said.
He was arrested across the street from the Vet’s Club, at 1626 Willamette St., at the time of the party and was taken to Lane County jail.
The Emerald could not confirm whether Sunga was at the party.Sunga, who was not listed as an inmate as of Monday afternoon, could not be reached by the Emerald for comment.
The Zeta Phi Beta sorority sponsored the event, an after-party for the group’s annual step competition at the University.
The Eugene Police Department’s Party Patrol first responded at 11:28 p.m. after receiving several noise complaints, EPD spokeswoman Pam Olshanski said. Officers entered the building and found that a stairwell leading up to the party on the second floor was so crowded by about 80 people that they couldn’t make it to the top in time to break up a fight, Olshanski said. Officers estimated that there were approximately 400 people on the second floor of the building, which has a maximum occupancy of 300 people, Olshanski said.
The party was then ordered closed.
Adrian Knight, a Mac’s at the Vet’s Club employee who was working the bars the night of the party, said the crowd appeared to exceed the building’s capacity. Organizers had tried unsuccessfully to move everybody to one side of the stairwell so people could pass, he said.
Several fights broke out as partiers congregated outside, he said. At one point, riot police with shields stood in a line along Willamette Street to keep people from spilling into the street, he said.
University educational studies student Jennifer Ashley Rogan, 22, was arrested on charges of disorderly conduct and interfering with a police officer. Rogan said she posted bail that night.
Olshanski said Rogan was arrested for attempting to enter the building several times despite police warnings and for acting belligerently toward an officer.
Rogan said she was arrested after commenting that Eugene police were being racists and after denying to officers that she was told to leave the area five times. She was one of only a few whites at the event with mostly blacks, she said.
Former University student LaTina Lewis, a Zeta Phi Beta member who helped organize the event, said police would not have disbanded the party if the partiers had been of a different race. She said there was no reason to break up the party.
“Everything happened after (police) showed up,” she said. “They caused the problems.”
She also said the building manager said the capacity of the building was 500 people.
Olshanski said police were faced with a large, angry crowd that included people who had been drinking.
“It was an incredible public safety hazard that had the potential to escalate to a much higher public need to respond,” she said. “Because of actions of the officers, it did not.”
Olshanski said a police car was keyed during the turmoil.
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