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March 1, 2005

Brawl erupts at Toad's
Incident clears club; police arrest woman in a separate incident

BY ANGELA TREVINO
Staff Reporter

A brawl broke out at Toad's Place on York Street late Sunday night after a performance by rapper Lloyd Banks, forcing the remaining patrons to evacuate the club.

Brian Phelps, the president of Toad's Place, said the fight took place in the coat room 10 minutes after the main stage show ended, but that it did not result in any arrests. The brawl occurred shortly after a woman was arrested for refusing to cooperate with the police officers at the club, although the two events were unrelated, he said.

Phelps said the two incidents were handled by the seven New Haven police officers on duty

Police officers stand outside of Toad’s Place Sunday night after a brawl broke out in the club’s coat room following a Lloyd Banks performance. During the same show, a woman was arrested for refusing to cooperate with the police.

CODY DASHIELL-EARP/PHOTO EDITOR

at the venue that night. But at least 12 police cars blocked off York Street after the incident while about 20 police officers directed the crowd.

Banks, who performed Sunday for a crowd of about 700 spectators, was not personally involved in the fight, Phelps said.

"We had a little skirmish," Phelps said. "Nothing to do with [Banks], but one or two of his 40-person entourage may have gotten out of hand. People were squeezing in trying to get their coats."

But Tiphanie Phelmetta, who was inside the club when the brawl took place, said Banks was involved in the fight, along with some of the members of his entourage.

"Everything about this was just stupid as hell," Phelmetta said. "Lloyd Banks stopped the show, and he was like 'What? Who wants it?'"

Phelmetta said she was forced out of the club by security guards before she had time to get her jacket.

Morina Reynolds, a 28-year-old New Haven resident, was charged with interfering with a police officer at the club, New Haven Police spokesperson Bonnie Winchester said.

"When the officer tried to move her away from an altercation, she became belligerent and had to be removed from the scene," Winchester said.

Phelps said Reynolds was arrested a little after 11 p.m. for behaving inappropriately.

"She was giving the cops a hard time. She wouldn't shut up," Phelps said.

Winchester said the police report stated that Reynolds was not injured, but she could not say whether other individuals had sustained injuries because the report only spoke of Reynolds. She said the report did not say who made the call to the police, but that it may have been made by one of the police officers on duty at the club.

Phelps said Toad's Place was filled almost to its 750-person capacity Sunday night, and that 25 security guards were also on duty with the New Haven police officers to ensure the safety of all individuals at the show. He said Yale seniors from the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity had also volunteered to help the event run smoothly.

Despite the number of security measures taken by the club, Phelps said fights are sometimes difficult to avoid in an environment where individuals consume alcohol.

"If you have alcohol, you'll have occasional disturbances," he said. "Once in a great while, maybe once a month."