Six people were arrested Sunday after a confrontation broke out at a protest near Kennywood Park in West Mifflin.

Friends and family of Terrel “TJ” Byars Jr. were holding a protest that began at the Duquesne Police Department on South Second Street shortly after 1 p.m. and was planned to end 2 miles away at the Speedway gas station at 4315 Kennywood Blvd., just past the amusement park.

Byars, 13, died after he was hit by a car Dec. 27 in front of Speedway. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner ruled his death an accident.

Those facing charges are Dominique Brown, 32, of Wilkinsburg; Terrel Byars, 36, of Churchill; Ina Pierce, 34, of Bellevue; and Dnico Perry-Ellis, 24, of Churchill.

They were each charged with obstruction, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct.

Also arrested were Devon Archibald, 35, of Pittsburgh, who faces child endangerment, obstruction and disorderly conduct; and Andre Campbell, 36, of Braddock, who faces obstruction and disorderly conduct.

According to criminal complaints, West Mifflin police were called just after 2 p.m. to assist Duquesne police on Route 837 for a crowd of 50-plus people walking down the middle of the road, blocking traffic and refusing to move.

Police said they tried to speak with the protest organizer and Byars’ mother, Naomi White, but called her uncooperative. She was advised that the group was not allowed to block traffic and that officers would assist the group if possible, according to the court papers.

“The crowd disregarded that and continued walking down Rt. 837 into West Mifflin Boro, and continued blocking all four lanes of traffic, causing major traffic delays,” the report said. “While this was occurring, normal traffic continued passing both southbound and northbound on Rt. 837. Due to their actions, and vehicles continuing to attempt to bypass the large crowd, officers remained in the roadway attempting to remove multiple participants from the roadway.”

This created a hazard, police said, and officers tried to disperse the crowd by giving verbal orders.

According to the complaint, multiple participants became irate and started “getting in officers’ faces,” yelling and refusing to cooperate.

Some of the participants became physical with officers, according to police. Others tried to obstruct police from making arrests, according to the police report.

Brown, police said, interjected herself while officers attempted to make arrests. She was screaming and refused to get off the road, police said.

Byars also interjected while officers tried to make arrests, police said. He was grabbed by multiple officers and told he was under arrest but continued to resist. He was sprayed with pepper spray before being taken into custody.

Pierce got between police and another protester, and ran at police, officers said.

TribLive was unable to reach West Mifflin police Chief Gregory McCulloch.

McCulloch told TribLive news partner WTAE that four people were arrested and that an officer was injured but was not taken to the hospital.

WTAE spoke later to White, who said the peaceful protest was interrupted for no good reason.

“I wanted to do a peaceful protest, so I could get answers,” she said. “So I could get my voice heard about what’s going on with my son because I am not getting the answers that I want or that I need, to get the peace that I need for myself and this household.

“Today was supposed to be peaceful,” she said. “We was walking with a majority of kids, my son’s friends and family. And it was all interrupted, for no reason. To mace us, it’s ridiculous.”

In a statement, West Mifflin Mayor Chris Kelly said the borough’s police were not notified about the march in advance.

Kelly said had they known, West Mifflin police would have escorted them to keep them safe.

“We recognize that people grieve in different ways, and for some, bringing their grief into the public sphere can be part of the process of seeking understanding and closure,” Kelly said in his statement. “However, civil disorder does not serve that purpose and instead creates barriers where compassion and unity should exist.”

West Mifflin police requested help from nearby agencies, including Allegheny County Police. County police responded to the scene, but a spokesman was not able to provide any information.

A petition is also calling for Kennywood Boulevard to be renamed for Byars. The petition had just over 1,300 signatures as of Sunday.

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