BOSTON -- Nightclub patrons had a sobering experience in Maine over the weekend when a street cleaner turned its hoses on the crowd.

NewsCenter 5's Lynn Jolicoeur reported that in Portland, Maine, police use a Public Works Department water truck to hose down the Old Port area of town each night to hurry up departing club goers. The truck usually sprays the ground wetting people's feet at about 1:20 a.m., despite several businesses staying open until 3 a.m. But this past Saturday, the operators of the street cleaner directly sprayed the people in the street.

"I've never seen anything like it, but it's like a riot -- when you see police turn fire hoses on rioters," nightclub owner Brain Hanson said.

Hanson said the nightly "soaking" outside his nightclub has him steaming.

"They're spraying the side of the building -- to push people away like bugs," he said.

Hanson said the street cleaner started aiming the stream at patrons Saturday night. Hanson filed a civil rights complaint with the city.

Portland Police say they are reviewing the incident.

"I think that's a bit of a stretch to infer that there was a purposeful violation of civil rights. Perhaps inept or inappropriate operation of the wash canon," Portland Deputy Police Chief Tim Burton said.

The city should wash itself of the water policy, Hanson said -- or at least give patrons a chance to start heading home.

"There should be a reasonable period of time when people can leave the Old Port without being run down by a high-pressured water truck," he said.

Police started the late-night hosing a couple years ago.

The Public Works Department and police are conducting investigations into the incident.