Four people were arrested and 31 received citations on Dillo Day, according to police.
Revelers generally stayed safe Saturday. The only major security issue was the severe weather, which forced a midday evacuation of the Lakefill and created long re-entry lines once the music festival resumed.
Three Evanston men with no ties to Northwestern were arrested Saturday in Dillo Day-related incidents, police said. Two were charged with resisting a police officer, and the third was charged with underage possession of alcohol, disobeying police and littering.
Ricky Byrdsong Jr., 22, was also arrested Saturday near the Lakefill and charged with battery.
His father of the same name — the NU men’s basketball team’s first black coach — was murdered in 1999 by a white supremacist while jogging near his Skokie home.
Byrdsong Jr. on Saturday ignored orders from security personnel to leave the Dillo Day entry area before rapper Wiz Khalifa’s performance, UP Deputy Chief Dan McAleer said. After a security officer touched Byrdsong Jr.’s chest, the 22-year-old punched him in the head with a closed fist.
The security officer declined medical treatment, McAleer said.
“I was walking into Dillo Day with some friends and didn’t have a wristband, and I was trying to keep walking in, and I was struck in my face by a security guard,” Byrdsong Jr. said. “I immediately punched him after that, and a wrestling match ensued.”
Matthew C. Randolph of the 2600 block of Gross Point Road was charged with resisting a police officer. Randolph, 19, was arrested near the Allen Center after he kicked over a temporary security fence while trying to enter the Lakefill, McAleer said.
Merle A. Jahn of the 2000 block of Pratt Court was charged with resisting a police officer. Jahn, 20, received a misdemeanor charge due to “severe resistance” while officers caught him riding a stolen bicycle, McAleer said.
Kiel R. Marzahl, 20, of the 2400 block of Simpson Street, was charged with underage possession of alcohol, littering and disobeying police.
Police also handed out citations Saturday for disturbing the peace, open alcohol container violations, public urination, trespassing and littering. University Police issued 20 citations and the Evanston Police Department issued 11, including seven to NU students.
The same number of citations was issued on Dillo Day last year.
Additionally, 26 ambulances responded to Dillo Day-related incidents, but none of the calls were critical in nature, according to an email to city officials obtained by The Daily.
There were some “minor skirmishes” with University Police, but no one was injured, McAleer said.
— Marshall Cohen
