DATE: Saturday, June 14, 1997               TAG: 9706140338

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B3   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY NANCY YOUNG AND LARRY W. BROWN, STAFF WRITERS 

DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE                        LENGTH:   65 lines

PEPPER SPRAY STOPS FIGHT AT WESTERN BRANCH GRADUATION OFFICERS WILL VIEW VIDEOTAPE TO SEE WHO STARTED THE ATTACK ON ONE OF THE GRADUATES.

An attack on a graduating senior disrupted Western Branch High School's graduation Thursday night, prompting police to use pepper spray to break up the scuffle.

On Friday, the day after 370 students graduated in a ceremony at the school's football stadium, school officials and police were still trying to piece together exactly who started the fight. No one was seriously injured, although a few at the event had burning and itching eyes from the spray, according to Art Brandriff, the school's principal, and several observers.

``I'm still not sure exactly what happened,'' Brandriff said. ``From what we heard, it was some kind of neighborhood thing.''

Tanya Ahmad-Khan, one of the graduates, said, ``Someone yelled `Fight!' and everyone ran toward the middle of the field.''

Brandriff and other observers said the fight appeared to be started by one or more people in the audience, who ran onto the field just after the ceremony and attacked Mark Overby Jr., a graduating senior. The attackers were not believed to be students at Western Branch, Brandriff said.

Police broke up the fight within 10 minutes by using pepper spray, he said.

Brandriff said neither Overby nor any of the graduates appeared to be hurt. He said he saw Overby walk out with his mother, but decided not to question him then.

``Of course he was upset. It wasn't the time to deal with it,'' Brandriff said. Overby could not be reached Friday for comment.

Police said details of the incident were still under investigation.

Capt. Billy Spruill said Friday that four officers were assigned to the graduation and, after the fight erupted, two other police units were called in. No one was arrested, but officers had to use Capstun spray to disperse the crowd, he said.

There was an assault report made, Spruill said, but no one asked for medical attention.

Spruill added that part of the fight was videotaped by someone at the graduation. Police plan to use the tape to help identify those involved.

``There was a small number of police officers there. They did a good job in stopping it quickly,'' said a parent in the audience, who asked that his name not be used. He said his son, who was not involved in the fight, had red, swollen eyes from the pepper spray.

``It's a shame they had to get pepper-sprayed at their graduation,'' said the parent. ``But nonlethal breakups are better than bullets flying.''

Brandriff said he didn't think any arrests had been made, but he would be working with the police in conducting an investigation.

``If we can determine that someone actually hit someone, we certainly want to press charges against them,'' Brandriff said. ``I imagine a judge would look harshly on this kind of thing happening at a graduation. It's not like it's a fight in a bar.''

``It's unfortunate that someone came to the ceremony with the intention of hurting someone,'' said School Board chairman Barbara B. Head, whose daughter Julie graduated from Western Branch on Thursday. ``Because that's what they (graduates) will remember.'' MEMO: IF YOU CAN HELP

Police are asking anyone who videotaped the incident at the Western

Branch High School graduation, or who has any information about it, to

contact Captain Billy Spruill of the Chesapeake Police Department at

382-6505.

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