Weekend disturbance downtown ended without any major issues, police say

A disturbance in downtown Rochester over the weekend ended peacefully without any arrests, Rochester Police Capt. Jeff Stilwell said Monday.

The rowdiness began early Saturday when a large group of people spilled onto First Avenue Southwest after bar close. Stilwell described the crowd as “unruly”; there were reports of fireworks going off in the streets.

However, while there was some agitation directed toward the officers who had blocked off the street, the crowd was mostly celebratory, Stilwell said. He stated that some of the crowd appeared to have gathered downtown after celebrating Juneteenth at MLK Park earlier in the evening.

Video posted to the social media service Snapchat shows people gathering in the street — many in support of the Black Lives Matter movement — as law enforcement officers look on. Some in the group are clearly inebriated.

Stilwell said once officers stopped blocking the street, the crowd dispersed without any major issues. The captain added that while he recognizes some downtown residents were concerned about the gathering, the department’s objective was to minimize involvement unless there were instances of violence or property damage — none of which occurred.

The following night, one business in the entertainment district, Dooley’s Pub, made the decision to close early as a result of the disturbance. We reached out to Dooley’s for comment, but did not hear back.

Sean Baker is a Rochester journalist and the founder of Med City Beat.