Police officers from around the state responded to series of disturbances in Newark late Monday night.
Around 11:30 pm, Newark Police officers responded to a disorderly party in the 400 block of South College Avenue. Officers found over a thousand people on the premise, several of whom were trespassing on adjacent properties and urinating in public.
The party was reportedly fueled by the presence of members of an internet company called "I’m Shmacked" which travels to college campus’ to post videos of parties online.
Additional officers responded in an effort to disperse the crowd and arrest the residents of the house, University of Delaware students Anthony Iadisernia and Evan Touzzoli, for hosting a disorderly premise.
Marcus Hyde, a cameraman with I’m Shmacked, was also taken into custody without incident.
But the crowd moved on, proceeding north on South College Avenue, blocking traffic and climbing on top of cars along the way.
The crowd reportedly grew to several thousand people as it turned east onto Main Street where they were met by approximately 75 officers from Newark, University of Delaware, New Castle County and Delaware State Police.
By 1:00 am, the crowd dispersed without injury or arrest, however investigation of the incident is on-going and more charges may follow.
Corporal James Spadola of the Newark Police Department believes the event was handled well.
“We’re all lucky that no one got hurt, that’s the most important thing,” said Spadola. “If any group comes to Newark looking to cause trouble or host a disorderly event, we can get a lot of cops there in a short amount of time and deal with the situation.”
I’m Shmacked announced that they were coming to Newark via their Twitter account and have also announced the possibility that they could be in town Tuesday night as well.
“We are actively monitoring Twitter to avoid any further situations,” said Spadola adding that extra officers will also be on duty.
Many images from last night’s events have been circulating on various social media platforms. One such image shows a vehicle on fire with comments attributing it to the crowd.
“We received no reports of a vehicle fire, nor did fire board, nor did officers find a burnt out vehicle at any time today,” said Spadola. “That is the mythical burning car as far as we are concerned.”
Video of the crowd on Main Street as well as the police response can be found on Newark Police Department’s Facebook page.
