Towson Chamber leader warns troublemakers after latest meetup: "Our police will arrest you"

The executive director of the Towson Chamber of Commerce has a strong message for anyone looking to cause trouble in Towson: There will be consequences.

Nancy Hafford posted a video to social media addressing a large gathering in a parking lot near Allegheny Avenue on Aug. 26.

"If you want to enjoy yourself, go to our great restaurants, our great entertainment and all of the wonderful things that we have to offer, we welcome you," Hafford said in the video. "If you want to come here and act like a fool, our police will arrest you."

Hafford said the chamber heard about the gathering after seeing a social media post from two men promoting a meetup at the parking lot.

"We heard and saw that there was a post on social media with two gentlemen saying that there was going to be a hookup here," she said.

Hafford said hundreds of people showed up. Baltimore County police dispersed the crowd in less than an hour after authorities said a disturbance developed.

Police said two college-aged men were arrested on disorderly conduct charges.

"A lot of times when we have these situations that are happening, they're young adults," Hafford said. "They're not terrible thugs. Some people got stupid and then they were arrested."

Hafford credited police with responding quickly and said the situation could have escalated if officers had not intervened.

"It could have been a huge crowd that night," Hafford said. "More people could have been coming, but before they even got a chance to get here, they knew that it was all being shut down."

Hafford wants people to know disruptive behavior will not be tolerated in Towson.

"One thing that we want people to know [is] that if you come here to Towson, we want you to have a good time, enjoy our restaurants, enjoy our entertainment. But if you come here to be stupid, there's lots of eyes on the street," she said. "They will work with the police department and you'll be arrested."