Tonyank
BuckeyeNation 4 Life
EAST LANSING, Michigan (AP) -- Police used tear gas early Sunday to disperse a crowd at a large party near the campus of Michigan State University after fights broke out and officers were pelted with bottles and cans.
About 80 officers worked to control the crowd early Sunday in East Lansing, Michigan.
Police said in a statement that 3,000 to 4,000 people had gathered for the Cedar Fest party late Saturday. They said 52 people were arrested and 48 others were ticketed for various offenses.
Nearly every officer at the scene reported being struck by a flying object, Police Chief Tom Wibert said at a news conference Sunday. Four small fires were reported and windows were smashed on two police vehicles.
"I don't see how we could have dispersed the crowd without tear gas," Wibert said. He said the gas was used as a last resort and officers showed restraint throughout the night.
Wibert said the injuries to some officers and partygoers were mostly cuts and bruises.
Authorities said the crowd became increasingly unruly after 1 a.m., and about 80 officers from various jurisdictions worked to contain the crowd.
Wibert said police initially used only loud, smoking munitions rather than tear gas to try to get the crowd to leave, but only about half of the people dispersed. Tear gas was fired at about 2 a.m.
Police use tear gas on crowd near Michigan State campus - CNN.com
I was at the tigers game. Sounds like that was fun though.
