ORONO — Police officers from as far away as Hampden responded to assist local officers with dispersing another huge party at The Grove, the largest apartment housing complex in town used by University of Maine students, police Chief Josh Ewing said Sunday.

Police started to receive complaints about the large gathering at around 11:30 p.m., the police chief said in an email interview.

“By midnight, The Grove assistant manager asked for a large crowd to be dispersed,” Ewing said. “Bangor, Hampden, (Penobscot) County, State Police, Old Town, Veazie and UMaine (law enforcement) assisted.”

Ewing said he believed three people were arrested Saturday night, but he didn’t have details about their charges. A similar party took place at the complex when it opened in 2012.

“Last evening, our security team identified a growing party at the property and worked with the local police department to disperse the crowd,” Jason Chudoba, vice president of Integrated Corporate Relations Inc., which handles public relations for Campus Crest, said Sunday in an email. “The safety and well-being of our residents is our top priority and concern. Any activity that compromises the safety of the community will not be tolerated.

“We will continue to employ strict measures and work in close collaboration with the police to try and prevent similar instances in the future,” he said.

Two residents, who live in Building 15 of The Grove, said Saturday’s party was loud and included about 300 to 400 men and women, most of whom appeared to be fellow University of Maine students. The residents, who asked not to be identified, are studying English at the university.

“There were lots of cops there,” one said.

The roommates lived in Old Town last year but said they felt “out of the loop,” so they decided to move to The Grove, which can house up to 620 residents, for their senior year.

“We kind of expected it,” one said of the party. “It will die down. It’s the first weekend.”

Both attended a party at The Grove that occurred on move-in day at the complex in September 2012, which police say caused “near-riot conditions” and crazy behavior by students — one of whom was recorded by cellphone skateboarding off the roof of one apartment building, and the video was posted on social media.

“It was one of my best college experiences,” one of the female roommates said of the party two years ago.

This year, though, the older students stayed in their apartment while the party took place outside their door.

“We went out (Sunday morning) and there wasn’t any damage to our vehicles, so we were happy,” one said.

To prevent a huge party at the start of classes last year, management of The Grove, owned by North Carolina-based Campus Crest Communities Inc., paid to have four of five Orono police officers patrol the private apartment complex the weekend before classes began.

Two neighbors, who live at the adjacent Freeman Forest housing complex for the elderly at 4 Marsh Lane and who asked not to be identified because of fears of “retribution,” said the noise from the student gathering woke them.

“It’s terrible,” said the woman, who has lived at Freeman Forest for five years. “We watched the place be built.”

Her husband said the couple did not expect the noise coming from the complex to be that bad, “because we have students over there,” he said, pointing to smaller adjacent housing units on Marsh Lane.

The couple, who have grandchildren attending the University of Maine, said things are relatively quiet during the week but on the weekends it can get loud.

“They really like to party,” the husband said of The Grove residents.

“They’re a bunch of hoodlums,” his wife said.

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