Police Control Unruly Crowd of Late Night Tax Filers at Lincoln Ave. Post Office

A crowd of late-night tax filers became unruly Tuesday night about 11 p.m. at the Lincoln Avenue postal facility and police were called in, a police sergeant said this morning.

Officers were called at 10:51 p.m. by an off-duty police officer to what was reportedly described as a “street brawl,” sources said.

“People became  angry at the line trying to get in to buy stamps before the tax deadline,” Sergeant John Mercado said.

Within thirty minutes, officers had controlled the crowd. There were no arrests, Mercado said.

Earlier this month, postal officials had warned that Pasadena post office branches would not guarantee late-night April 15 postmarks past the regular closing time of 6:30 p.m.

“As long as it’s placed in the collection box before the final pickup on April 15th, and if it’s taken into a post office before they close during the regular posted hours, all that mail will have an April 15th postmark,” said USPS Spokesperson Richard Maher in early April. “The last collection at the Pasadena Main Post Office is 6:30 p.m., so if you can’t get your tax returns filed by that time, you would have to go to the Santa Clarita or Los Angeles mail processing facilities to get an April 15th postmark.”

Maher had warned that only two Los Angeles-area post offices were available for Pasadena late filers who need an April 15 postmark but who miss the local afternoon collection time of 6:30 p.m.

It is unclear if the tax returns mailed at the Lincoln Avenue facility during or after the group disturbance were postmarked with the required April 15 date.