EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) -- East Lansing police say they made 52 arrests and ticketed 48 people at a party near the campus of Michigan State University where fights broke out and officers were pelted with bottles and cans.   Police used tear gas to disperse a crowd early today. Police say 3,000 to 4,000 people had gathered for the Cedar Fest party in East Lansing last night. Police say the crowd became increasingly unruly about 1 a.m. Tear gas was fired about 2 a.m. after repeated loudspeaker warnings to leave were ignored, and the crowd had dispersed about an hour later. Police say about 80 officers from area jurisdictions worked to contain the crowd. Police say some injuries to officers and people at the party were reported. The East Lansing police chief describes the injuries as mostly minor. "The volume of glass that was coming in was ridiculous," East Lansing police Chief Tom Wibert said. "The amount of people being hit was ridiculous." Wibert said police initially only used loud, smoking munitions without the burning affect of tear gas to try to get the crowd to leave, but only about half dispersed. At that point, he said, tear gas was used. Wibert said police tried to avoid the use of tear gas. "The hardcore ones wanted to be tear gassed, that's what it is," he said. "Our guys were just taking too many bottles." The city and Michigan State University on Friday had warned people to stay away from the planned event, which was an attempt to revive an East Lansing party tradition that had been ended because of past problems. The warning came following reports that the social networking Web site Facebook was being used to promote the event at Cedar Village, a student housing complex bordering the northeast side of campus. East Lansing has been the site of several past disturbances. In 2005, a crowd of more than 2,000 college students and others swarmed downtown East Lansing after the Michigan State men's basketball team lost in the Final Four. Police arrested 42 people. Damage was estimated at $8,275. In 1999, property damage was estimated at up to $500,000 when the Spartan men lost in the Final Four. Revelers overturned cars, smashed store windows and set fires. Police arrested 132 people, including 71 Michigan State students. There also were problems during the Spartans' 2003 NCAA tournament run. But large gatherings during Final Four appearances in 2000 and 2001, for the most part, were peaceful. http://www.woodtv.com/global/story.asp?s=8125083 |
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