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Jeff Daniels Making Music at Kent Stage
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More than 50 people arrested. Rocks, bottles thrown at officers
By Marilyn Miller
Beacon Journal staff writer
POSTED: 07:36 a.m. EDT, Apr 27, 2009
KENT: Kent State University students have accused city police of sparking Saturday's fiery riot involving hundreds of students at the annual College Fest party.
Students said the riot, which included students pelting officers and firefighters with rocks and bottles and starting several fires in the middle of East College Avenue, began when police roughed up a female student while arresting her.
''That's what set people off and people started throwing things at the police because nobody thought that was right,'' said Greg Schultz, 21, a Kent State junior who watched from his house. ''The girl wasn't doing anything.''
Police refused to comment Sunday about the accusation.
A brief news release issued by authorities said ''partying students and others began pelting police officers with bottles and rocks at the scene of an arrest.''
More than 50 people were arrested during the annual off-campus block party.
Several officers suffered minor injuries when they were struck by objects, according to the release. The riot was quelled about 10:30 p.m.
A news conference with police is scheduled for 10 a.m. today.
On Sunday, the remnants of charred mattress coils, pieces of wood, doors, stair steps and even a bicycle were piled up on a median strip.
Empty beer cans and debris were discarded on lawns on both sides of the street. Some students cleaned up their yards Sunday afternoon, while others collected trash.
Passers-by curious about the weekend event cruised down College Avenue, through the remaining rubble and pieces of broken glass.
''There had to be 1,000 people outside, and one fire was about 20 feet high,'' said Mike Mooney, 23, a Kent State senior.
Students complained that police officers shot rubber pellets and pepper balls when students didn't immediately go back into their houses.
''We were sitting on the roof watching the fire in the middle of the street, when the officers started firing the pellets,'' said Kyle Baker, 21, a Kent State junior who lives on College Avenue.
''We never heard what they were saying, music was blasting everywhere. But once they started shooting, we got the point.''
He said he and a few other guys scrambled to get back into the house through an upstairs window.
Front porch windows were broken and students showed off their wounds, pointing to spots where ''rubber pellets'' hit them on their legs, thighs and arms.
The news release from police doesn't mention firing rubber pellets. Videos posted on the Internet show officers shooting toward crowds that moved back toward the houses.
According to the statement, officers from other departments and Metro SWAT assisted ''to restore order to the street'' and arrested ''people who failed to leave after multiple warnings'' to disperse. The crowd continued to throw objects at officers and built several fires in the street, the statement says.
The crowd also pelted firefighters with ''rocks, bricks and bottles,'' the release said.
Senior Erica Busch, 22, said police started staking out the street about 3 p.m. Saturday and by 7:30 or 8 p.m., authorities ordered people to go back in their houses.
''You couldn't sit outside. You had to stay inside,'' she said.
That caused a problem for some students, who said they were trying to get home.
''We were sober and just wanted to get back to campus,'' said 19-year-old Brenna West, who lives in a dormitory.
''I was supposed to get back on campus for the rest of the events for Relay for Life, but couldn't get to the conclusion of the event,'' said Seth Treanor, 20, a junior. ''We had to wait two and a half hours before we were allowed to leave.''
Other students complained that they were denied access to College Avenue, where they lived. They went out to get something to eat, came back a few hours later, but still couldn't get home.
Devon Clemente, 21, a junior, said he was arrested in front of his house.
''I was holding a cup of water and just standing in front of my house,'' he said. ''I wasn't doing anything wrong. They handcuffed me and stuck me on a bus with about 30 other people and charged me with failure to disperse.''
Most people arrested were charged with failure to disperse, a misdemeanor. Clemente said he was lucky because he was able to find someone awake by noon to bail him out.
The defendants are expected to be arraigned Wednesday or Thursday in Kent Municipal Court.
Kent State officials declined to comment about the incident.
''We are very disappointed in the event, but until we get an accurate picture of what happened that night, we are not giving any comments,'' university spokesman Tom Neumann said. ''We want to wait until we have all the details.''
Marilyn Miller can be reached at 330-996-3098 or mmiller@thebeaconjournal.com.
KENT: Kent State University students have accused city police of sparking Saturday's fiery riot involving hundreds of students at the annual College Fest party.
Students said the riot, which included students pelting officers and firefighters with rocks and bottles and starting several fires in the middle of East College Avenue, began when police roughed up a female student while arresting her.
''That's what set people off and people started throwing things at the police because nobody thought that was right,'' said Greg Schultz, 21, a Kent State junior who watched from his house. ''The girl wasn't doing anything.''
Police refused to comment Sunday about the accusation.
A brief news release issued by authorities said ''partying students and others began pelting police officers with bottles and rocks at the scene of an arrest.''
More than 50 people were arrested during the annual off-campus block party.
Several officers suffered minor injuries when they were struck by objects, according to the release. The riot was quelled about 10:30 p.m.
A news conference with police is scheduled for 10 a.m. today.
On Sunday, the remnants of charred mattress coils, pieces of wood, doors, stair steps and even a bicycle were piled up on a median strip.
Empty beer cans and debris were discarded on lawns on both sides of the street. Some students cleaned up their yards Sunday afternoon, while others collected trash.
Passers-by curious about the weekend event cruised down College Avenue, through the remaining rubble and pieces of broken glass.
''There had to be 1,000 people outside, and one fire was about 20 feet high,'' said Mike Mooney, 23, a Kent State senior.
Students complained that police officers shot rubber pellets and pepper balls when students didn't immediately go back into their houses.
''We were sitting on the roof watching the fire in the middle of the street, when the officers started firing the pellets,'' said Kyle Baker, 21, a Kent State junior who lives on College Avenue.
''We never heard what they were saying, music was blasting everywhere. But once they started shooting, we got the point.''
He said he and a few other guys scrambled to get back into the house through an upstairs window.
Front porch windows were broken and students showed off their wounds, pointing to spots where ''rubber pellets'' hit them on their legs, thighs and arms.
The news release from police doesn't mention firing rubber pellets. Videos posted on the Internet show officers shooting toward crowds that moved back toward the houses.
According to the statement, officers from other departments and Metro SWAT assisted ''to restore order to the street'' and arrested ''people who failed to leave after multiple warnings'' to disperse. The crowd continued to throw objects at officers and built several fires in the street, the statement says.
The crowd also pelted firefighters with ''rocks, bricks and bottles,'' the release said.
Senior Erica Busch, 22, said police started staking out the street about 3 p.m. Saturday and by 7:30 or 8 p.m., authorities ordered people to go back in their houses.
''You couldn't sit outside. You had to stay inside,'' she said.
That caused a problem for some students, who said they were trying to get home.
''We were sober and just wanted to get back to campus,'' said 19-year-old Brenna West, who lives in a dormitory.
''I was supposed to get back on campus for the rest of the events for Relay for Life, but couldn't get to the conclusion of the event,'' said Seth Treanor, 20, a junior. ''We had to wait two and a half hours before we were allowed to leave.''
Other students complained that they were denied access to College Avenue, where they lived. They went out to get something to eat, came back a few hours later, but still couldn't get home.
Devon Clemente, 21, a junior, said he was arrested in front of his house.
''I was holding a cup of water and just standing in front of my house,'' he said. ''I wasn't doing anything wrong. They handcuffed me and stuck me on a bus with about 30 other people and charged me with failure to disperse.''
Most people arrested were charged with failure to disperse, a misdemeanor. Clemente said he was lucky because he was able to find someone awake by noon to bail him out.
The defendants are expected to be arraigned Wednesday or Thursday in Kent Municipal Court.
Kent State officials declined to comment about the incident.
''We are very disappointed in the event, but until we get an accurate picture of what happened that night, we are not giving any comments,'' university spokesman Tom Neumann said. ''We want to wait until we have all the details.''
Marilyn Miller can be reached at 330-996-3098 or mmiller@thebeaconjournal.com.
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