University police broke up a disturbance at the Dinkytown McDonald’s with pepper ball launchers early Sunday morning.
The store’s employees requested police help to clear the restaurant at closing time, when it was still full of people, University police Deputy Chief Chuck Miner said.
As the police arrived and the crowd of at least 20 people began to disperse, a fight started between two women outside the entrance, Miner said.
The reporting officer, who brought a pepper ball launcher to the scene, launched rounds of pepper balls at the ground in front of the fighting women, releasing pepper spray into the air.
Miner said the pepper ball rounds are useful in “large-crowd scenarios” for clearing people out while keeping officers at a safe distance.
No arrests were made after the crowd was cleared.
