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Mall customers said they were shoved or knocked down during Saturday night disturbance.
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LOUISVILLE — Police say a parental escort policy — similar to those found at other malls nationwide— could prevent future situations similar to a Saturday night disturbance at the Mall St. Matthews that required assistance from four police departments and forced the shopping center to close early
That night, up to 2,000 people — mostly unsupervised juveniles between middle school and high school age — disrupted the post-holiday shopping weekend by causing fights and exhibiting unruly behavior throughout the mall, said Officer Dennis McDonald, a spokesman with the St. Matthews Police Department.
The department received an initial call for service to the mall around 7 p.m., followed quickly by dozens of others as disorderly conduct by small groups of youths increased in the level of violence and gained participation, McDonald said.
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“Once this starts happening, kind of a mob mentality takes over and it starts feeding on itself,” McDonald said Sunday. “That’s clearly what happened last night. We’re still looking into whether or not some of this was pre-planned, whether there was a gang element involved.”
McDonald said that while police will continue investigating the situation, the best way to prevent future disturbances is to create a policy at the mall that requires juveniles under a certain age to be accompanied by a parent.
“We’re kind of at the mercy of mall policies,” McDonald said. “… By and large, there’s not a lot that law enforcement can do to curb these kind of problems. It’s better addressed by the mall itself, by mall management, having policies in place that can address it.”
A spokesperson for the mall said Sunday that the business is not yet ready to comment, but McDonald said the police department plans to meet with members of the site’s management next week to discuss mall safety.
Police are still unsure what started Saturday night’s disturbance, which was unusual in its breadth, McDonald said. As opposed to being limited to a natural gathering place, such as a food court, like fights typically are, the incidents Saturday took place throughout the mall.
Initial calls came from people reporting that teens were harassing customers and loitering in stores after being asked to leave, McDonald said. But as police began to arrive at the mall, the calls increased in concern, with groups breaking out into fistfights and people reporting shots fired both inside and outside the complex. The gunshot reports appear unfounded.
McDonald said six St. Matthews police officers stationed at the mall for holiday detail were the first to respond to the calls, but as more reports came in, the department requested backup. Officers from the Louisville Metro Police Department, Jeffersontown Police Department and Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office responded to assist.
“There were far more calls for service than they had the ability to respond to,” McDonald said, adding that several customers called the department Sunday to report they had been shoved or knocked down. “Things began to escalate.”
By 8 p.m., mall management decided to close the facility, which prompted the fights to spill into the mall’s parking lot, onto adjacent streets and into neighboring businesses, including several restaurants across Shelbyville Road.
Jayshawn Howard, 15, who works at the McDonald’s across the street, said he had stopped by the mall after work to shop for new clothes, but he left before any fights broke out and only saw what happened on videos sent to him by friends.
Howard said he sometimes walks around the mall with his cousin while they wait to catch a Transit Authority of River City (TARC) bus, but he doesn’t usually use the mall as a place to hang out.
“I don’t really get into that stuff; I try to stay out of trouble,” he said. “… Me and my cousin were joking, we ain’t got no money to just go in there.”
McDonald said many of the people responsible for the disturbance were juveniles who had either been dropped off at the mall or had arrived by public transportation. In an effort to resolve the situation, he said officers focused on dispersing crowds and getting people home safely instead of arresting individuals.
Following the incidents, McDonald said some juveniles were picked up by parents at the mall or on nearby streets. Others were taken home on TARC buses that had come to assist police in dispersing the crowd.
TARC spokeswoman Kay Stewart said buses made five trips carrying a total of 300 to 350 youths from the mall along Route 19, which travels from the Oxmoor Center west along Muhammad Ali Boulevard and down Cane Run Road.
“You have to give our officers some credit,” McDonald said. “They were being cussed at, stuff was thrown at them. … It could have been much, much worse. We’re very fortunate we didn’t have a police officer injured, fortunate there weren’t more innocent people hurt.”
Saturday wasn’t the first time unsupervised teens have caused problems at St. Matthews businesses, McDonald said. But he added that the latest incident is the most striking example of what can happen when private properties do not enforce policies meant to limit unruly behavior.
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Over the past few years, McDonald said he has seen an increase in teens loitering in area businesses, sometimes with $10 or less in their pockets.
“Once they get there, they’re being disrespectful, harassing paying customers, using profanity,” he said. “It just goes on and on and on. Then, when (law enforcement) encounters some of these juveniles, they’re very antagonistic. It’s almost like they want the confrontation.”
McDonald said officers can charge people who have been asked to leave with trespassing, but businesses like the mall also need to set policies that allow law enforcement to make those arrests.
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At the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn., management has established a rule that requires youth under the age of 16 to be accompanied by an adult 21 years or older from 4 p.m. until close on Friday and Saturday nights, according to its website. The policy is extended during the holiday season to include additional times and days.
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A review of multiple malls owned by General Growth Properties, which owns both the Mall St. Matthews and the Oxmoor Center, shows that several properties have established similar temporary or permanent policies, including the Saint Louis Galleria. However, neither Louisville location has such a rule listed on its websites.
A spokesperson for the Mall St. Matthews would not comment on the site’s policies.
“I know it would cost money because you have to stage a security person at entrances to stop people and identify them,” McDonald said. “But that is something that is being practiced at other malls here in the United States, and it seems to work.”
Contributing: WHAS-TV, Louisville. Follow Bailey Loosemore on Twitter: @bloosemore
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