Oakland residents hire off-duty city officer for Homecoming weekend

Rowdiness, vandalism and loud noise drove some South Oakland residents to arrange for preemptive… Rowdiness, vandalism and loud noise drove some South Oakland residents to arrange for preemptive measures against the wild behavior that comes with Pitt’s Homecoming weekend.

“At the beginning of this year, we noticed some fairly large parties that concerned the residents,” said Nathan Hart, vice president of Oakland Community Council, which aims to improve Oakland’s quality of life.

The residents decided to call upon an off-duty city officer to patrol South Oakland from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. this weekend, which is Pitt’s Homecoming weekend.

“Homecoming weekend seemed to be the most logical weekend,” Hart said about why residents chose this weekend to hire an off-duty cop.

Residents have cited vandalism, excessive noise and public urination as reasons for hiring the off-duty officer.

A city representative said hiring an officer costs $45.15 per hour, which means residents will have to pay around $180.

“We are hoping that things stay calm and the officer doesn’t have to cite anybody,” Hart said.

Hart said that the noise and vandalism that come with parties worry the residents.

“If there is a party that has an excess of a couple hundred people and the hosts are selling entry, that is our main concern,” he said.

South Oakland resident Rose Palmieri acknowledged disturbances in the neighborhood.

“This year it hasn’t been too bad with the students,” said Palmieri, who lives on Dawson Street. “They get rowdy whenever the games are over. When we won the Super Bowl, they took couches off the neighborhood here and burned them on the sidewalk, which is ridiculous, you know, but other than that, not too bad.”

Pitt was not immediately available for comment.

Pitt students in the area were sympathetic with the concerns of the long-term residents, and thought students who host parties should start to reconsider their behavior.

“I think it is unfortunate,” junior Andrew Serby said. “I don’t think it is excessive enough, personally. For people that live here, it is getting out of hand, and people should take this as a sign to settle down a little bit.”

Senior Jayson Myers said the excessive rowdiness is a good reason for the residents to hire an off-duty cop.

“It does definitely get a little rowdy on weekends and probably does need to be taken down a bit,” he said. “However. the students should take a lot of that responsibility on themselves.”

Hart said that the Council may look into hiring an off-duty officer next year, as well. This weekend will serve as a trial run to decide whether hiring an officer effectively calms the rowdy students.

“We really want a sustainable solution that meets students’ needs and the longer-term residents’ needs so we can live in harmony.” Hart said. “I was in a fraternity in CMU, so I understand.”