Death raises questions about police tactics; alcohol to be sold

BOSTON -- The death of a college student from a pepper-spray-filled projectile sparked anger and questions Friday about whether police used too much force to break up rowdy Red Sox revelers outside Fenway Park.

The mayor said more police will be at neighborhood bars during the upcoming World Series to make sure fans do not get too drunk or rowdy, but he backed off his threat to ban alcohol in the area during the games.

Police commissioner Kathleen O'Toole said police are considering discontinuing the use of the weaponry that killed Victoria Snelgrove as officers tried to contain an estimated 80,000 fans who poured into the area after the Red Sox victory Wednesday at Yankee Stadium in New York.

O'Toole said the officers showed "great restraint" but had to fire the projectiles after a few revelers set small fires and threw bottles at police and vandalized property, endangering others. Snelgrove, a 21-year-old Emerson College student, was hit in the eye and died hours later.

The plastic balls of pepper spray, which are propelled from devices similar to paintball guns, are meant to prevent serious injury as police agencies try to control large groups.

"We want to use the least force necessary in order to maintain the crowd," O'Toole said. "Very unfortunately, it resulted in a horrible action."

Mayor Thomas Menino decided against invoking a rarely used state law to ban the sale of alcohol "in cases of riot or great public excitement" after meeting with about two dozen bar and restaurant owners Friday.

Instead, the city and bar owners agreed to limit the number of people lining up to get inside Fenway-area clubs and to prevent live television coverage inside the bars so that patrons do not get rambunctious as they play to the cameras.

Fifteen people, including a police officer, suffered minor injuries in the game's aftermath, and Boston police reported eight arrests, mostly for disorderly conduct.

Several people who were near the area where Snelgrove was shot said the crowd seemed under control when the pepper-spray balls were fired.

Doug Conroy, 33, of Portland, Maine, said he and several other people had climbed the rafters of Fenway's famed Green Monster when police began to order them back down. He said he saw an officer in riot gear shoot something into the crowd below him.

He said he heard a woman scream, then heard sobbing. "A lot of people then looked over and saw her lying awkwardly on the sidewalk and blood coming out of her nose. She wasn't moving and we were just hoping she was just unconscious," Conroy said.