The incident occurred when police were dispatched to Third and Wilkinson streets on a report of a woman who was being assaulted.
Biehl, in an interview, said he was helping officers handle calls associated with the Urban Nights event including the one at Wilkinson. He said when he arrived, he said there were at least a dozen people, many of whom were juveniles, engaged in a fight.
As he tried to assist one woman, he said the 15-year-old girl approached the crowd from behind him and began assaulting people. Biehl said he used his department-issued pepper spray on the teen, who immediately stopped fighting after being sprayed in the face. She was then placed in the back of a cruiser and a decontamination solution was used to treat her for the pepper spray. The teen was released into the custody of her sister, but will be ordered into juvenile court on a disorderly conduct charge, Biehl said.
"The chief stopped an event from occurring that could have gotten much worse with young people and fighting," Riordan said. He noted that it is admirable that the chief goes out into the community on multiple occasions to act as a uniform officer.
"I think his action and leadership in this situation was admirable," he said. "I found it was an appropriate use of force."
Riordan asked Assistant Chief Robert Chabali to handle the investigation and report to him.
Friday's fracas is the second such incident during the celebration this year. Urban Nights is a semiannual event held in May and September at locations throughout downtown that showcases urban living, dining, shopping, arts and entertainment options.
On May 9, a juvenile was arrested near Main and Second streets after he was accused of displaying a handgun during a fight. Police worked to control a crowd of up to 50 people in that incident.
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