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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1997 Apr 17 - The Register Article: "Injured Officer Says More Should Have Been Done"The Register Thursday, April 17, 1997 page 3 Motel Bash Spoils D -Y Junior Prom Injured Officer Says More Should Have Been Done By John Basile YARMOUTH—To Dennis -Yarmouth Regional High School Principal Patrick Schettini, the disturbance at a South Yarmouth motel early Sunday morning should be a "wake-up call" to parents of high school students who will be attending proms and after -prom parties this spring. Yarmouth and state police were called to break up a crowd of 150 to 200 young people gathered at the Brentwood Motor Inn on Route 28. Of the people at the party, Mr. Schettini estimated less than half had attended the D -Y High School junior prom earlier in the evening. Police confiscated a large quantity of beer and other liquor and a small amount of marijuana at the Brentwood. "I was upset and saddened about what happened, but I also feel very fortunate we are not dealing with the death of one of our students," Mr. Schettini said. "We could have lost one of our kids." Several rooms at the Brentwood were rented for par- ties last Saturday night. Two were rented by a Dennis woman who is the mother of a former D -Y student. D- Y school resource officer Nicholas Pasquarosa said the woman knew the rooms were to be used for an after prom party and that there might be trouble. The woman could face charges. Other rooms were rented by D -Y students or former students who are 18 or older. Two Yarmouth police officers went to the motel Saturday evening and spoke to the manager after learn- ing that some students were planning to go there for a party after the junior prom. At midnight, the motel manager reported to police that a large group of young people had congregated at the motel. At that point the manager agreed to hire a private police detail to con- trol the situation. Retired Sgt. Peter Ellis, who was hired as the detail officer, arrived on the scene just after 1 a.m. Sunday. He told the selectmen Tuesday night that he found "beer everywhere and people all over the place." He went on to criticize the way the police department han- dled the disturbance earlier in the evening. "A lot of this could have been taken care of if we had responded right and cleared it up before I arrived," said Sgt. Ellis, who had to call for additional officers. During the disturbance, Sgt. Ellis was struck in the head by a beer bottle thrown from above. He required hospital treatment for a concussion. Police Chief Peter Carnes said that although things turned ugly by the time Sgt. Ellis arrived, an officer responding to an earlier call was limited in what he could do. "The officer responded to a noise complaint but everything was quiet when he was there. The officer told the manager of the motel the resources of the Yarmouth Police Department were not available to him to continue responding to keep the guests quiet," Chief Carnes said. The officer then suggested a private detail. While selectmen praised the Yarmouth Police Department's response to the incident, Selectman Herbert Schnitzer urged the department to continue an aggressive investigation of the incident. He also asked whether the department might review its policies for handling similar situations. "If people have broken the law, I would like to see them prosecuted," Mr. Schnitzer said. Mr. Schettini and Chief -Carnes went to the Brentwood on Monday and told the owner, Siddharth Siddharth, of Dennis, that they do not want to see a repeat of the scene from last weekend. Letters will also be sent to other motels in Yarmouth and Dennis urging them not to rent rooms for after prom parties or other gatherings where young people are likely to congre- gate. "We are pursuing with the cooperation of the district attorney's office the potential for other charges with regards to parents or adults who may be involved," Chief Carnes said. He added that he has heard that stu- dents from the Greater Boston area were attempting to book rooms in Yarmouth for after -prom parties and steps are being taken to discourage that. "We are not going to have wild parties going on in motel rooms," Chief Carnes said. Chief Carnes said there have been similar incidents at the Brentwood in the past two years and that rooms have already been booked there for parties after the D- Y senior prom. "We put a stop to that," Chief Carnes said, adding that there could be criminal and civil charges against Mr. Siddharth stemming from the weekend incident. The police department is also recommending that the Yarmouth Board of Health take action against the motel for having a room over capacity. Forty people were found in Room 18 of the Brentwood at the time of the disturbance. Two people already face charges in connection with the incident. One D -Y High School student, 18 -year-old Christopher Seeley of South Yarmouth, and a former student, Mark Antone, 19, now of New Bedford, were arrested. Both pleaded not guilty to charges of disturb- ing the peace. Mr. Antone is also charged with resisting arrest. Sgt. Steve Xiarhos, who was in charge of the Yarmouth Police Department's response to the. distur- bance, said more arrests were not made at the time of the disturbance because "we found no one in possession of alcohol when we arrived. We would have arrested anyone who had alcohol in his possession, believe me, but most of it was put aside by the time we got there." Some of the students identified as being at the party are athletes and under rules established by the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association, they face suspensions from competition of two games or two weeks, whichever is longer. MIAA rules state that stu- dent athletes cannot remain at any place where drugs or alcohol are being used. Mr. Schettini said he is unable to impose discipline on most of the students identified as being at the party because the party was not a school -sponsored event. While the disturbance at the Brentwood Motor Inn added a negative postscript to the D -Y junior prom, Mr. Schettini stressed that the prom itself, held at the New Seabury Country Club, was a big success. "The kids had a great time and most of our kids did the right thing after the prom," Mr. Schettini said. He added that there was one minor incident at the prom which required him to take some disciplinary action. School administrators will be stepping up their efforts to make sure there is no repeat of the incident after the D -Y senior prom next month. They have scheduled two meetings, at 7:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 30, for parents of senior students. "We're putting together an agenda: what would be healthy alternatives for after the prom and what alter- natives we don't want to see," Mr. Schettini said.