Pittsburgh Juneteenth organizers implement chaperone policy after fights in Market Square

Law enforcement was called to break up a massive fight in Pittsburgh's Market Square on Friday night. 

According to Pittsburgh Public Safety, police had to shut down Market Square around 9 p.m. after a series of large fights outside the Chipotle. 

Officers said the fight involved about 40-50 juveniles, and pepper spray had to be used to break it up. 

However, the situation escalated, and officers from multiple zones had to be called in to help clear the area. 

Police recovered three guns from the scene, two of which were found in Market Square, and another was found nearby. 

In total, five adults were arrested, and two boys and two girls were cited. 

Four officers had to be treated for pepper spray exposure, police said. 

New policy enacted in Market Square, organizers say

Event organizers of the ongoing Juneteenth celebrations in Market Square have enacted a chaperone policy that went into effect Saturday afternoon and will remain in place through the remainder of the festival.

No children are permitted in Market Square without an adult to avoid disrupting the ongoing Juneteenth celebrations, event organizer William "B." Marshall told KDKA-TV on Saturday.

"They were acting a fool yesterday, and were not gonna have that no more," Marshall said in a video he posted to Facebook announcing the changes. "We are not going to let all these kids mess up what we've been doing all these years for the adult community."

Originally described as a "curfew" in the video, Marshall told KDKA-TV that may not be the right word to describe the policy, saying it would be in effect all day, but only for the part of the festival in Market Square.

"We're going to have some extra security people down there, so I think some of the city people, the regional organizations will be down there to interact with your children to make sure everything is safe, and to make sure that people come down with their families to enjoy the celebration," Marshall said

When asked how they'd enforce the policy, Marshall said they were sending out the message about the new rules and that an outreach group is involved in talking to the kids.

"The local organization REACH will be down there monitoring the area to make sure we don't have any ruckus or any problems down here in Market Square," Marshall said.

The policy isn't something city police would enforce, Pittsburgh Public Safety Director Sheldon Williams told KDKA-TV in an interview. Officers would, he said, be in the square, ready to move in if needed. 

He explained that Marshall informed their officers about the new policy.

The chaperone policy will be enforced in addition to the regular police presence within the area, as organizers have secured the necessary permits to operate and enact such policies within the square.

"Not prompted by us at all, but definitely [we want] to tell people we're supportive of his efforts," Williams said.

"We're looking for better ways for community leaders and the like to come alongside us to give appropriate spaces for our kids to let them know that they're part of the community and hopefully curtail the desires for them to gather and then have this conduct begin to erupt," Williams said.

The chaperone policy comes on the heels of recent "teen takeovers" in parts of Pittsburgh, most recently after 400 teenagers took over a park in Pittsburgh's East Liberty neighborhood on Wednesday night, sending a nearby Target into lockdown while officers used pepper spray to break up the crowd.

Williams added that it's not large gatherings of kids alone they are worried about, rather, he says, it's certain behaviors that become an issue.