Unruly Fan Pepper Sprayed and Arrested Outside New Boyz Concert

Red Clay Restaurant in Roanoke, Virginia, played host on Monday night to a New Boyz concert that benefited the Children’s Miracle Network. The event attracted hundreds of fans and the venue was quickly packed. More than 250 people were allowed in, while dozens of would-be concert goers were disappointed when they were cut off at the door. Lines formed quickly and overwhelmed the venue’s ability to accommodate all those whishing to attend.

Employees had set the limit of attendees lower than usual for this evening in order to keep the event from becoming overly crowded or uncontrollable. Ironically, the chaos prevented inside the restaurant quickly spread to the streets outside of the restaurant instead.

As trouble was anticipated two dozen police officers were on hand with weapons and video cameras to document the behavior of concert goers and police alike. Officers lined the streets (the restaurant is located on Campbell Avenue) and moved in when the crowd became unruly. As crowd control was the intended goal, pepper spray was opted for over other methods of containment.

Some fans deny any unruly behavior and/or fighting and assert that they were simply standing in line waiting to eventually get into the concert when pepper spray was indiscriminately used. The video taping will either prove or disprove this assertion.

The Roanoke Police Department state that only one person was sprayed by pepper spray and arrested for disorderly conduct. At about 9 pm the crowd dispersed without any further altercation.

Although there is some dispute over the number of people affected by the pepper spray, its use evidently broke up a chaotic crowd that could have easily turned violent. Police documentation of the event should clear up any lingering questions, though the lack of multiple arrests seems to corroborate the Roanoke Police Department’s version of the events.