A Ugly Scene Goes Down in P-Town

We thought Oldies dee-jays were cheerful types who spun the Bay City Rollers and favored loud colors. But Barry Scott, who has a show on Oldies 103.3, is furious with the Provincetown Police Department after they hassled him while he was at a P-Town birthday party on Saturday night.

Police say Scott was disturbing the peace because the music he was playing was too loud. Police officers told Scott to turn it down three times and told him to shut it off the last time. Scott made an announcement to the audience, and then the police swung into action, hurting Scott's nose, leg, and toe.

The chief issue at stake is whether or not Scott's announcement justified the physical response from the P-Town police. One witness told the Globe what Scott said:

Ladies and gentlemen, the Provincetown police have asked me to turn the music off, and they don't seem to like us very much, and at this point we don't like them very much. It is sad that homeowners and taxpayers in Provincetown cannot enjoy a birthday party in their own home.

That's actually polite compared to what he could have said when told to shut off the music.

EDGE Boston has a loooooong account of Scott's story. They also provide the P-Town PD's version of what Scott told his audience when the music died:

The Provincetown Police are here to ruin our night. We hate them.

Although the message is the same, the P-Town PD clearly had another interpretation of Scott's tone. One witness told EDGE Boston that Scott absolutely did not say the word "hate." Of Scott's injuries, the P-Town PD report also says Scott's "nose inadvertently came in contact with the external window frame." Another witness said that Scott repeatedly told police he wasn't resisting arrest.

Hmmm. So the next time someone socks you in the face, they can say your nose "inadvertently came in contact" with their fist. We weren't there, but that language is, well, awkward.

A GLAAD spokesman is looking into the matter to find out if it was a hate crime.

All charges alleged until proven under law. Image of Barry Scott from his profile page on 103.3 fm.