PROVIDENCE, R.I. –– Scandalous, indeed.

A sorority party with that name drew hundreds of young people to Brown University Saturday night, ending with fights, police pepper spray, injured campus officers and four arrests. Some partygoers tried to wrestle the gun from a university police officer.

Providence police are now opposing two other parties planned for Nov. 20 and Dec. 5 on the Brown campus.

“The position this department will take is: ‘We’re against anything Brown wants to permit,’ ” Providence Police Chief Dean M. Esserman told his command staff Tuesday morning. “Everything for the rest of the year is canceled, period.

“I think things were completely out of control.”

Esserman was particularly upset at the attempt to take the gun from a Brown officer. “What’s going to happen if the Providence police don’t get there in time to protect your people?” Esserman asked Brown Deputy Chief Paul Shanley. “I think that could have been bad.”

The struggle over the officer’s gun isn’t mentioned in a message sent to Brown undergraduates on Monday by Margaret Klawunn, the university’s vice president for campus life and student services.

Instead, Klawunn’s message focuses on the Brown officers’ use of pepper spray to break up the disturbance, in which three campus officers suffered minor injuries. “Pepper spray is used very infrequently on our campus; when it is discharged, there is a full review of how and why it was used to determine if the use was consistent with departmental policies and protocols,” the message stated.

The university is also reviewing the management of the Scandalous event and Brown’s own policies on large public events, the message said.

Until this weekend, the annual Scandalous party, sponsored by the Delta Sigma Theta sorority, hadn’t had any problems. “It’s unfortunate this incident happened,” said spokeswoman Marisa Quinn. “We’re taking it very seriously.”

THE SORORITY, one of 14 Greek organizations at Brown, was established as a sisterhood of black college-educated women with a mission of public service. The Lambda Iota chapter in Providence includes members from Brown, Bryant and Johnson & Wales universities, the University of Rhode Island and other four-year colleges, according to its description on the Brown Web site. The sorority did not return an e-mail requesting comment.

Brown students had obtained an entertainment license from the city for Alumnae Hall from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m., and the application was signed by one of the university’s deans, according to the city Board of Licenses. The doors were closing at 1 a.m., but the event was continuing until 2, Klawunn said during an interview on Tuesday.

Admission was limited to people with IDs from colleges in Rhode Island, although other people could ask in advance to be added to the guest list, Klawunn said. A later review found that the sorority had followed the list, she said.

But notice about the Scandalous event went viral on the Internet — attracting hundreds of people from outside the campus.

Alumnae Hall’s capacity is 585 people, and a fire marshal was posted at the door, Klawunn said.

“We don’t think there were more than 600 people in the area,” she said.

Brown University refused to release the campus police report on the incident on Tuesday, calling the report “an internal document.”

However, the Providence police released their incident reports and also described what officers found when campus police called for help at 1 a.m. Sunday.

THE PROVIDENCE OFFICERS found an unruly crowd of hundreds of people outside the hall at 194 Meeting St., and dozens of people yelling obscenities at the Brown police. The Providence police estimated that more than 500 people were inside, as well. The campus police told the Providence officers that someone in a fight had threatened to get a gun and come back to the party.

One person was seen covered in blood from a possible stabbing, the police said, but disappeared before he could be found for medical treatment.

Four men from Massachusetts were arrested. Kenny Jean, 21, of Bridgewater, and John Germainmartinez, 19, of Boston, were charged with assault on an officer and resisting arrest. Mario Montes, 21, and Jide Disu, 21, both of Randolph, were charged with disorderly conduct. They are not Brown students, Quinn said.

Esserman said he spoke briefly about the incident with university president Ruth Simmons at a conference on youth violence at Brown on Monday. He said she told him she was aware of it.

“To hear that someone tried to take a gun off a Brown police officer and that they had to use pepper spray is serious,” Esserman said Tuesday. “That’s an enormous concern for me, whatever uniform they’re wearing.”

amilkovi@projo.com