Police remain busy on last day of IUPatty's celebration
State police working the third and final day of the IUPatty's detail in Indiana remained busy Saturday, issuing 89 traffic citations, 20 written warnings and making 10 arrests for driving under the influence, officials said.
The raucous, three-day celebration thrown by students at Indiana University of Pennsylvania is not sanctioned by the university and has long been a sore spot among many in the community.
Last year, two off-campus shootings during the festivities left one person dead and three injured.
State police spokesman Cliff Greenfield reported about 3 p.m. Saturday that mounted and patrol troopers assisted borough police dispersing “a large, unruly gathering consisting of approximately 300 individuals along South 7th Street.”
“As a result of the disturbance, troopers arrested one individual for public drunkenness,” Greenfield reported.
In addition, troopers on Saturday made 16 arrests on drug-related incidents, five arrests for disorderly conduct, 10 arrests for public drunkenness, and five arrests for underage drinking. Five vehicles were also towed.
The number of citations issued and arrests made by state police this year appear to have easily surpassed the numbers from last year, according to initial police reports.
In 2017, state police reported over the entire three days making eight arrests for driving under the influence versus 12 reported this year, eight drug-related arrests last year versus 25 this year, and six underage drinking arrests last year versus eight this year. Also, troopers reported issuing 60 traffic citations last year versus 201 this year and issuing 21 warnings versus 83 this year.
The annual event got underway Thursday when a Philadelphia rap artist — who performed at the university earlier that evening — was among five men arrested on drug charges in the college town.
Rakim Hasheem Allen, who raps as PnB Rock, performed at IUP's Hadley Union Thursday, the first night of the non-sanctioned celebration that runs through Saturday.
Allen, 26, of Philadelphia, was one of five men state police arrested around 11:30 p.m. after troopers notice a vehicle driving erratically, then stopping near the corner of Philadelphia and 10th streets, blocking traffic. Police said four people got out of the car and tried to confront other drivers.
Police said they arrested Allen and four other men in the car after finding three large bags of marijuana in it.
Online court dockets indicate that Allen was released from custody Friday after posting $2,500 bond.
In an unrelated incident Thursday, a trooper stopped and searched a vehicle in Allegheny County, finding 500 grams of heroin, police said. State police said the driver, who was charged, but not identified, told investigators he was transporting the heroin to Indiana.
Local and state police have been on high alert throughout the celebration and state police added mounted officers as they enforced a zero tolerance approach to violations of the law during the celebration.
Paul Peirce is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 724-850-2860, ppeirce@tribweb.com or via Twitter @ppeirce_trib.
