COVINGTON, Ga. —Halloween in Covington was plagued with multiple incidents that occurred throughout the night.
The Covington Police Department (CPD) told The Covington News that they responded to three incidents throughout Halloween night. While there was no official city event on the Square, patrons flocked to the Square, with the crowd becoming “increasingly unruly,” according to the CPD. The decision was made to close the downtown Square for vehicle traffic at approximately 6:50 p.m.
Around 7:20 p.m. officers responded to a group of juveniles congregating near Church Street and College Street. One citizen reported that a fight may have been occurring, leading to officers directing the group to leave.
However, part of the group later returned, leading to the first incident of the night.
“Although the group initially complied, several juveniles returned shortly after, causing minor disruptions and pushing pedestrians as they moved through the square,” the CPD said via a news release.
One juvenile, who was not identified, was detained for disorderly conduct and released to a guardian with a formal juvenile complaint.
Just 15 minutes later, a “very large group of youths” congregated in the center of the Square, with the belief that another fight was occurring. Upon officers entering the area, the crowd fled leading to a mass panic.
One bystander at Mystic Grill recorded the incident and uploaded it to the social media platform TikTok.
“It was total Chaos for a few minutes afterwards trying to calm innocent citizens and parents with small children that were in total fear of what was occurring,” said police chief Philip Bradford.
Despite the chaos, no fight ever occurred, according to the CPD.
Two hours later, at around 9:30 p.m. officers observed a vehicle driving “recklessly” on Clark Street, putting pedestrians at risk. Police arrested the driver and charged them with reckless driving. The driver was not publicly identified.
The CPD also told The News that a multitude of unattended juveniles were warned about the curfew, which is 9:30 p.m. for children 16 and under. Police detained one juvenile, but was later let go with a formal complaint pending.
Bradford expressed his concern with the number of incidents that occured, reminding parents to keep watch of their children.
“Several of the parents we interviewed last night had been misled by their teens who claimed they would be participating in organized activities on the square, which was not the case,” Bradford said. “It is critical for parents or guardians to be aware of their children’s involvement in disruptive activities like what occurred last night on the square.”
Covington mayor Fleeta Baggett also weighed in on the incidents via Facebook, responding to the TikTok video posted about Halloween night.
“I have not had the TikTok app until 20 minutes ago. This video shows the tail end of the crowd control issue that went on Halloween Night just on the square. We are aware of the others as well. I was standing in the street between the Bank and On Location Vampire Gift Shop. I had been there over 2 hours helping to direct traffic and safely move people across the street as we shut the Square off because of traffic. I was in that spot with the THIRTY FIVE other officers that were working all over the square, Floyd Steet and Legion Field. Not to mention all the officers working in thier zones. We were not “short handed”. This happened when people left Legion Field, came down the trail or Floyd Street. This not a Community Development issue or a lack of police problem. It’s a crowd control issue.
“…This was the SECOND Stampede in less than 6 months at a major event . We have the tree lighting in 3 weeks. I will not sit back and watch this happen a third time.”
City officials will hold a work session at 4:30 p.m. on Monday Nov. 4, two hours before the start of the regular meeting. It is expected that safety concerns will be the main topic of discussion.
