Early Saturday morning, five males were arrested and charged with various crimes in connection with assaults that happened on Lisbon Avenue. Five UB students were injured and taken to local hospitals. According to witnesses, the Buffalo Police Department took over 20 minutes to arrive on the scene. The Buffalo Police claim that the priority of the call was upgraded upon receiving reports of gunfire. Based on student testimonials, however, there were no gunshots fired at the scene.
The Scene
Last Friday night, and into early Saturday morning, Lisbon Avenue turned into a fight scene. A fraternity party turned sour after two uninvited individuals were denied entry into an Alpha Epsilon Pi home.
At around 11:45 p.m. Friday, two African-American males approached the house at 211 Lisbon Ave. and asked to enter the party. A fraternity brother who was manning the door didn't recognize the men and refused to let them in.
According to witnesses, one of the men proceeded to climb onto a car that was parked in the driveway and began to jump on the roof, denting the vehicle.
An AEPi brother promptly called the Buffalo Police Department, but didn't get through until 11:50 p.m. By then, the man who was jumping on the roof of the car had stomped through the back windshield and proceeded to throw bottles at people on the front porch.
After the two individuals left, members of AEPi decided to end the party early on behalf of everyone's safety.
"We didn't want any trouble so we kicked everyone out of the party. [Close to] 100 kids then started walking down the street," said a sophomore fraternity brother who asked to remain anonymous.
UB students headed down the block toward Main Street where several men wearing dark hoodies began attacking males.
"Over 20 [men] started randomly jumping [those who left the party]. They were stomping on them and punching them in the face," the fraternity brother said.
The attackers used brass knuckles, beer bottles, and baseball bats, numerous witnesses said.
"This is the way they did it: if they hit you and you went to the ground they would jump on you," said Matt Huberfeld, a sophomore communication major. "But if you didn't go down they would leave you alone and go to the next person."
Brothers in the fraternity rushed down the street to help those who were being attacked but didn't get to the scene soon enough. Five UB students were sent to the hospital with injuries ranging from broken jaws to fractured eye sockets.
Police Reaction
Several students interviewed felt that the police response time was too slow.
"The police didn't get there until after 12:15 a.m.," Huberfeld said. "The response time was ridiculous, and we told them. They responded that there was another stabbing off South [Campus] and they were understaffed."
Buffalo Police Spokesman Mike DeGeorge explained that the priority of the call changed three times over the course of 20 minutes, ultimately prompting officers to respond quickly.
"Over the course of the night, the call priority changed a number of times," DeGeorge said. "Originally, it was reported as a priority three, meaning that a fight broke out and that everything was OK. After that, it was reported as a priority two, meaning that it was a larger fight and different addresses were given as to where the location was. After it was reported that shots were fired, it was reported as a priority one, and police were at the scene within three minutes."
Brett Berman, a senior business and psychology major and president of AEPi, was not at the party. However, part of his responsibility is to report such incidents to the national chapter. To do so, he interviewed many of his fraternity brothers who attended the party to get a general feel for what transpired late Friday night.
No one recounted gunshots.
Campus police records indicate that a call alerting them to the matter was received at 12:07 a.m., over 20 minutes after the initial emergency call was placed to BPD. According to John Woods, the University Police Department Assistant Chief of Police, UPD is limited by its jurisdiction.
There are only three ways that campus police can respond to an off-campus incident: if it falls within a block of North or South Campus; if they are working in collaboration with BPD; or if they witness a crime in action.
Friday night fell under none of these criteria, so all that UPD could do was hope for the best.
The Future
Police ordered the students who lived at 211 Lisbon Ave. to gather clothes and personal belongings and leave their home immediately after the fight. UB Judicial Affairs provided temporary housing for the students at a local hotel, but according to Berman, this was short-lived.
Eight UB students are now displaced from their home, entangled in complications with their landlord, and forced to find alternative housing.
Members of AEPi are reaching out to the UB community to increase awareness and hopefully push for changes that will increase safety off of South Campus.
A forum will be held at the Gloria J. Parks Community Center located at 3242 Main St., on Thursday at 6:30 p.m., and students hope that community efforts like this will help prevent future violence.
According to AEPi members, various on-campus fraternities and sororities have reached out to help by providing moral support and places to stay for the displaced students.
"Mostly all of on-campus Greek Life has reached out to us and said that if we needed anything they would be there for us," said an anonymous fraternity member. "But what we went through this weekend is something that no frat should have to go through."
Berman has proposed a solution that would place a part of the University Heights under UB supervision, eliminating the jurisdictional line that UPD is unable to cross.
"For the safety of our students, given the history of crime in the University Heights, the school should set up [an] on-campus Greek housing system so students can stay safe on student grounds," Berman said.
DeGeorge feels that efforts have been made in the past and plans to continue to work at making students and community members feel at ease.
"There are many police initiatives in [the University Heights] with Buffalo Police and UB. I think that the community is brought in well and I think that things have improved in the last couple of years," DeGeorge said. "There will be incidents from time to time not only in the University District but in the city as a whole. But I think overall things have improved and as I said, I'm starting to see a change for the better in that neighborhood."
There is a Facebook group called "University Heights Community Meeting," which outlines the information about Thursday's meeting.
Despite the difficult night, all five UB students have been released from the hospital and seem to be recovering well. Berman was adamant, however, that the university should no longer turn a blind eye to the Heights.
"It's time for things to change," he said.
Buffalo Police arrested DeAndre Smith, 18, of East Amherst Street; Brennen L. Bryant, 18, of LaSalle Avenue; and Edmund L. Allen, 16, of Germaine Street on charges of first-degree burglary, first-degree gang assault and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon. Two juveniles also were charged.
E-mail: news@ubspectrum.com
