MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Police chief Ed Preston said his officers avoided a potentially dangerous situation early Friday morning in downtown Morgantown by using pepper spray to disperse a crowd that had become unruly.
Preston said the city’s fire marshal and an employee at The Cellar bar on High Street were involved in an altercation and police were called to assist. Once there, someone pulled a fire alarm inside the bar, pouring the large crowd into the street. Both High and Fayette streets were blocked by the crowd.
Preston said officers ordered the crowd to disperse four times via public address systems and warned those in the crowd they would be sprayed if it did not leave immediately.
The chief said the crowd refused to disperse and became confrontational. Officers then deployed the pepper spray and utilized physical force and impact weapons as means of crowd control.
Preston said no arrests were made and no injuries were reported. He said the situation could have escalated but officers responded properly by clearing the area.
Preston said police did not use physical force.