3 Philly police officers pepper-sprayed while responding to large crowd

Three Philadelphia police officers were taken to the hospital after being pepper-sprayed while responding to a group of 400 to 500 people, Philadelphia Police Inspector DF Pace told NBC10.

According to Pace, the crowd of “mostly” juveniles gathered between 7 and 8 p.m. in the area 40th and Market and 40th and Walnut streets in West Philadelphia.

The large crowd had accumulated in part from the University of Pennsylvania football and soccer homecomings, which were happening in the area on Saturday night, as well as social media posts inviting local residents to come socialize in the area, Pace said.

Some people in the crowd started to behave unruly, causing the police to step in and try to break it up, Pace said.

As police were making an arrest, another person in the crowd pepper-sprayed the officers, police said.

Overall, several arrests were made while dispersing the crowd, but the exact number was not immediately available, Pace said.

The person who used pepper spray also remains at large and is not known, police said.

The three officers were listed in stable condition at the hospital and are expected to be released without serious injuries, Pace said.

Additionally, the pepper spray used was from someone in the crowd and not an officer’s, Pace said.

SEPTA police and University of Pennsylvania police assisted Philadelphia police in the incident.

The crowd has dispersed and a police presence will remain in the area throughout the night, Pace said.