Police Pepper Spray Non- Violent CrowdMadison revelers taunted police but remained non-violent
Madison - For the fourth year in a row, the annual Halloween celebration on State St. ended with police unleashing pepper spray on the crowd. But in a departure from previous years, police didn't wait for revelers to turn violent before taking action. The annual Halloween party on Madison’s State St. grows tense early Sunday as police officers in riot gear use pepper spray for the fourth year in a row to move back the crowd on nearby Francis St. Portable stadium lights were brought in for the renowned event, which drew an estimated 65,000 revelers, but police didn’t wait for the crowd to turn violent before using pepper spray. A Madison party-goer uses an obscene gesture toward horse-mounted police early Sunday on State St. Revelers taunted officers, who then used pepper spray on the crowd. The cops pushed the door (of The Pub on State St.) shut. I’ve never seen anything like this. This isn’t martial law. - Noah Freed, After moving the crowds off State St., Madison police officers arrest a Halloween reveler after hitting him with pepper spray on Francis St. If you are in a large group and acting disorderly, that’s considered illegal. We have to do what is prudent to make that area safe. Instead, as bars started to empty shortly after 2 a.m., Madison police blared from speakers a public announcement declaring "unlawful" the thousands of party-goers who were congregated on the street. Minutes later, police officers in riot gear descended on the crowd, unloading pepper spray on those in their path. They instructed bars and restaurants, which remained open until 2:30 a.m. or 3 a.m., to keep patrons from leaving. Police made the decision to use pepper spray after determining that a group of party-goers who were cheering and taunting them was bound to become violent, said Mike Hanson, a spokesman for the Madison Police Department, and Mayor Dave Cieslewicz, who monitored the response throughout the night. That was different from the past three years, when police used the spray only after Halloween revelers broke windows and lighted fires. Cieslewicz and Hanson said police decided this year that the prospect of violence was enough to prompt action. "The crowd that remained was there because it wanted to provoke a riot," Cieslewicz said. "If the police wouldn't have acted, you would have seen property damages and injuries." Authorities said there was no property damage. Hanson said: "If you are in a large group and acting disorderly, that's considered illegal. We have to do what is prudent to make that area safe." But many revelers and other witnesses who were sprayed or blocked in bars questioned the decision. They said the police made no distinction between non-violent party-goers who were leaving the bars and the possible troublemakers. Police pushed into the city's side streets and continued to spray onlookers even after State St. was cleared. They left in their path young men and women who crumpled to their knees and lifted their hands to their burning faces in fits of coughing. In some cases, police continued to spray people even after they were on the ground. "Why did they do that?" screamed a girl as she ran from the masked police. "There was nothing going on. Oh my God, it hurts so bad!" "They pushed me down and sprayed me twice," said Aaron Olson, 22, a University of Wisconsin-Madison student, as tears ran down his face. A police officer sprayed Olson as he approached a police barricade at the intersection of State and Frances St. Minutes later, the police walked forward spraying dozens of onlookers, who turned and ran. Unable to see, Olson remained on the ground. When the police approached him, two officers pushed him and sprayed him again. "We don't know where to go," cried Stacy Schmucho, 23, of Madison. "They keep coming and spraying everywhere we turn." Some of those who weren't allowed to leave bars said they felt scared and trapped. Noah Freed, a UW senior, was trying to leave The Pub when, he said, police blocked the doors. "The cops pushed the door shut," Freed said. "I've never seen anything like this. This isn't martial law." David Schwoegler, co-owner of The Pub, said his bouncers blocked the doors at the instruction of the police, but that the doors were never locked. "The crowd was jumping and moshing a little bit, but I didn't see them doing anything out of order," Schwoegler said. In preparation for this year's Halloween celebration, police doubled to 400 officers their presence on State St. and the surrounding area at a cost of $350,000. UW-Madison banned out-of-town guests from the dorms, giving students who live on campus bright yellow bracelets to prove their identity. That didn't stop more than 65,000 young people from showing up to party on State St. on Saturday night, according to a police estimate. Police arrested a total of 447 people between Friday night and early Sunday, mostly for alcohol-related offenses, Hanson said. The trouble that has erupted in recent years - and the overwhelming police presence it has inspired - has only made the city a more attractive destination in the eyes of some. "Everybody wants to come here," said Adam Clark, 22, who traveled from Alaska to get a taste of the city's party reputation, which was strengthened when the Princeton Review this year named UW-Madison the top party school in the nation. "This is the place to be." As Saturday night turned into Sunday morning, many revelers expressed excitement as swarms of police worked to thin the crowd. "There are cops everywhere," one man dressed as a construction worker yelled into a cell phone. "It's awesome. You should come down here." Nearby a man in a baseball hat turned to a friend and said: "I'm not leaving until I get tear-gassed." Megan Twohey reported this story from Saturday night through Sunday morning and witnessed the confrontation between police and revelers. Last modified November 1, 2005 |