Iowa City police respond to downtown fights

IOWA CITY - The Iowa City Police Department broke up multiple fights downtown involving juveniles Wednesday night.

According to a news release from the police department, officers first responded to the Robert A. Lee Recreation Center at 7:26 p.m. for a report of a group of juveniles who were disrupting patrons and ignoring requests from staff. Responding officers found a juvenile male fighting with two female subjects, police said. After ignoring police commands to leave the recreation center, the juvenile was cited with trespass and interference with official acts. He was later released to a guardian.

Less than two hours later, police responded to the area of Clinton and Washington streets for a report of a fight with multiple bystanders. Several subjects fled the area as officers arrived, police said. As officers were investigating this fight, approximately 20 juveniles ran toward the pedestrian mall where a larger group was fighting near the fountain. Police said there were three or four separate fights going on and pepper spray was used to break up the melees.

Police said several of the juveniles involved in the pedestrian mall scrum were also involved in the prior incident at the recreation center. The fights stemmed from previously unreported incidents that occurred during the school year, police said. One subject, a 16-year-old female, was charged with disorderly conduct after the second round of fights. Additional charges are pending, police said.

The Johnson County Ambulance Service was called to the scene to provide treatment to anyone exposed to pepper spray. The fights remain under investigation.