Square Scuffle Leads to Arrests

Harvard and Cambridge police converged on Harvard Square late Friday night to break up a stick-fight, making two arrests and scattering an estimated crowd of 200 brawlers and onlookers.

A minor and an adult who were part of the 11:20 p.m. scuffle next to Out of Town News were arrested, according to Harvard police reports.

"When you've got so many people congregating in one area, something's bound to happen," Cambridge Police Sergeant David J. Degou said at the Square fight scene. He estimated the crowd dispersed by police at 200.

Stephen A. Mitchell, a 17-year-old Cambridge resident, was arrested near the scene and charged by Harvard Police with disorderly conduct. Mitchell was later booked at the Cambridge Police Station in Central Square, Harvard Police reported.

But Degou said that overall, "very, very few Cambridge people were involved [in the fight]." He said most of the combatants were teenagers from neighboring towns.

Degou said he doubted that any Harvard students participated in the fight, which started when one combatant hit another with a stick, he said.

While Harvard Police did not release any information about the youth who was arrested, Cambridge Police reported that at least a minor at the Square brawl was brought into protective custody at the Cambridge station for public drunkenness. The minor's name was not released.

In another police-related event last week, an Apple Macintosh computer and printer, valued at $2624, was stolen at around 6 p.m. Wednesday from a Hollis Hall suite, Harvard Police reported.

Two suspects in the computer theft were spotted near Hollis, police reported, but as yet no arrests have been made.

A 20-year-old white male, about five and a half feet tall with short, brown hair, and another white male wearing a jean jacket and jeans are suspected, the report said.

Oded Salomy contributed to the reporting of this article.