Minneapolis / With no impetus but spring, party morphs into riot

People attempt to flip a car Saturday night after starting a fire on Seventh Street near the University of Minnesota campus.

[In Awe]

This is what happens when you mix kids and alcohol.

[WiLdFaN]

Hats off the the MPLS Police Force!

[pumpkin]

all you liberals must so proud that these liberal college kids are just exercising their right to free expression. so proud indeed.

[The Loon]

A "right of passage" in which no one was seriously injured. Lucky.

There is no right to riot. Indeed, in reality, there is no right to watch people riot. Hopefully, those arrested have learned to avoid riots.

[Abbie]

Is there a right to watch people riot on YouTube?

Did the police use projectile weapons that were left over from the Republican National Convention? Pepper spray, tear gas, "impact rounds"? Do they still have a good supply of this stuff?

Will the student rioters be charged under the terrorism provisions of the Minnesota version on the USA PATRIOT Act? Some people on the street likely felt terrorized. Who masterminded the riot? Will there be criminal conspiracy charges, like those pending against the RNC 8?

[MinnEditor]

I firmly believe that any and all students that participated in this atrocity, and can be identified, should not only be expelled immediately, but also prosecuted to the full extent of the law, and banned from attending any other American university. I always hoped that this kind of idiotic behavior only happened "somewhere else", but it's apparent that college students and alcohol become idiots, wherever they mix. Very sad.

[The Loon]

Even a minor knowledge of history will show the same thing in every country in every era. If a crowd riots the police will show up at some point and crush the whole crowd as if they are bugs.

An adult learns that once a crowd goes riot, get away from the crowd or else.

[to hard]

He added: "This tied up a lot of our resources ... the officers could have been out dealing with real crimes and making things safe."

So this was not a real crime? sounds like it to me.

[citizen taxpayer]

What do you expect from the "ME GENERATION". It is all about me and I don't have to take responsibility. Gather any video and get these idiots charged. Of course the media would never cooperate as it is more important to the TV crews to get the story rather than the criminals. I find it payback when the media gets turned on by the crowds

[The Big Bopper]

Since the U of MN can't spank these children, I believe they deserve a BIG TIME OUT.

[Nate O]

A better police reaction, notably a more timely arrival, would have drastically altered the course of the evening. As a student who witnessed the events of Saturday night, I heard, myself multiple calls to 911 that got the same response, "Tell me about it" before 8p.m. There was no secret that parties had been going on all weekend and especially Saturday. The police knew this and had they stepped up patrols in the neighborhood in accordance with ANY type of large gathering across the metro area (at the Coffman Union on campus there was maybe a 2:1 student to cop ratio) this could have been avoided. Why were those police officers even maintaining security at an event which was cancelled? Would it not have made more sense to deploy them to actually fight preventable behavior, as those interviewed for this story say?

Any police reviews that claim a need for expanded budget should be met with a full scale review of ways to utilize existing budgets through proper management, which we saw Saturday night as clearly lacking from members of the Minneapolis Police Department.

[Nate O]

Furthermore the Spring Jam party gone wrong was not an expression of anything but predictable drunken males of college age gathering in a large setting at night. Could any of those variables have led to this, and not in fact anything political?

And before we all jump all over the University of Minnesota and its' students we should review the number of those arrested and how many were actually U of M students. I think, if you research yourself, you will be surprised to find out that most were not in fact U of M students.

[John T]

I think the police need to change their policy and procedures to at least saying "Hey break it up" over a loudspeaker before firing tear gas and projectiles into a crowd. Violence begets violence.

Also, it should be illegal to plant "instigators" to rile up a crowd into riot status like they did at the RNC.

[Me Generation]

What was a large keg party that spilled into the street( I've been to many that didn't turn out this way)
turned into a "riot" when police showed up in "riot gear". I fully agree with the John and Nate on this one. It could have easily been prevented with some prevention. But, it's almost like they had the left over equipment from the RNC and jumped at the chance to use it.

And what do liberals have to do with college kids? I'm sure there had to be at least one white shoe sportin, gator shirt wearing, daddy trust fund kid in there somewheres.

[pumpkin]

Me Generation wrote:

What was a large keg party that spilled into the street( I've been to many that didn't turn out this way)
turned into a "riot" when police showed up in "riot gear". I fully agree with the John and Nate on this one. It could have easily been prevented with some prevention. But, it's almost like they had the left over equipment from the RNC and jumped at the chance to use it.
And what do liberals have to do with college kids? I'm sure there had to be at least one white shoe sportin, gator shirt wearing, daddy trust fund kid in there somewheres.

And then you whiners complain about the police being too heavy handed and out to get people? Get a life you whiners. You can't have it both ways. You bitch and moan about the police being too proactive, and out of your other mouth you bitch and moan about them not doing anything? Which is it??????

[pumpkin]

John T wrote:

I think the police need to change their policy and procedures to at least saying "Hey break it up" over a loudspeaker before firing tear gas and projectiles into a crowd. Violence begets violence.
Also, it should be illegal to plant "instigators" to rile up a crowd into riot status like they did at the RNC.

I guess your comment means it is Okay for them to start fires in the street? Or are you justifying it because these kids were white? Because had they been black I bet you would have been the first to call for them being taken down.

[Krazi]

With no impetus but spring?...... so alcohol doesn't count?

[frat house]

citizen taxpayer wrote:

What do you expect from the "ME GENERATION". It is all about me and I don't have to take responsibility. Gather any video and get these idiots charged. Of course the media would never cooperate as it is more important to the TV crews to get the story rather than the criminals. I find it payback when the media gets turned on by the crowds

Besides crime this is another reason why families have to escape to the burbs to live. Who wants to plop down a life's savings for a house in an area of drunken college rentals. I used to an acquaintence who lived near a college and just gave up due to the trash left on the curb and the flowing alcohol during the school year.

[Just Sayin]

Me Generation wrote:

...It could have easily been prevented with some prevention...

prevented with prevention. wow, that's so brilliant.

[Don Riley]

The Eye says, "Me Generation, John T, & Abbie are representative of the Liberal Slime that is pervasive on the U of M Campus. These 60's relics should just dry up and blow away. These people have zero respect for law, order, and decency. The sad part is, they also represent the people that are teaching and lecturing in the class rooms of Colleges, Universities and High Schools of America."