Metropolitan Police Department officers broke up several campus parties over the weekend and arrested a bevy of students in what an PD police official described as a response to a recent string of complaints from local residents.

Approximately 22 people were arrested on charges of possession of an open container of alcohol and public urination near campus over the weekend, according to MPD Lt. Felicia Lucas. Lucas said she didn’t know how many of those arrested were Georgetown students.

“Citizens have a right to be up in arms about the loud parties and disorder that we see going on,” Lucas said. “We’re trying to deter this sort of activity.”

There were 11 arrests near campus the previous weekend for possession of an open container of alcohol and public urination, according to an internal MPD memo.

Brett Clements (COL ’08), who represents most of the Georgetown campus on the local Advisory Neighborhood Commission, said that local residents have been complaining more than usual to PD and ANC commissioners during the past several weeks.

Clements said that the anger intensified when students loudly celebrated the Georgetown men’s basketball team’s defeat of Duke last month.

Despite the large number of people arrested, Lucas said that the police department is not specifically targeting students and added that officers have been enforcing public urination and open container statutes on M Street and Wisconsin Avenue.

Oliver Gunn (COL ’08), who was arrested Friday night for possession of an open container on Prospect Street outside of Village A, said that he met at least a dozen other Georgetown students at the police station.

Gunn said that he was stopped by four police officers who approached him from an unmarked car that had just pulled up. He was holding an empty cup that had earlier used to hold alcohol when he was spotted by police, Gunn said.

“I threw the cup on the ground and tried to casually walk away,” he said.

Nonetheless, Gunn said he was stopped and handcuffed by one of the officers, and was taken in a paddy wagon with three Georgetown students who had been arrested at the same location.

Gunn said that he received a citation and was released about three hours after he was detained.

Several other parties were broken up by DPS Friday night, including one on 34th Street, one at Village B and two others at Village A, Emma Hunt (NHS ’08) said. Hunt added that she had to go to the police station to bail out a friend.

“It seems like they were trying to make an arrest quota while at the same time scaring students,” said Michael Wattles (MSB ’08) who witnessed several arrests.

Hoya staff writers Thomas Bennett and Moises Mendoza contributed to this report.