Boulder County DA Investigating Weekend University Hill “Party”
Boulder Police spent much of Saturday trying to disperse a growing crowd of partiers near CU Boulder's campus.
On Saturday (Mar. 6), hundreds of what appeared to be CU Boulder students stormed the streets of Boulder's University Hill neighborhood.
(Warning: video contains profanity)
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According to the Denver Post, as many as 800 revelers packed the roads near Pennsylvania Avenue and 10th Street, with virtually no masks and no social distancing in sight.
Police were first notified about a large party on University Hill around 5 p.m., according to Boulder police chief Maris Herold; a special unit was sent to “dialogue” with groups of 10 or more, Herold said. But by 5:40 p.m., the crowd had swelled into the hundreds. A SWAT crew was requested at 5:48 p.m., she said.
(Warning: video contains profanity)
The videos above show footage of hundreds of people on the street, flipping and damaging a car, and setting off fireworks before police eventually took control of the crowd around 9 p.m. Saturday night.
At that point, the crowd had already damaged many residents’ cars, smashed the windshield of an armored police vehicle, damaged street signs and thrown bottles, bricks and rocks at police. Three police officers were injured in the midst of Saturday's chaos.
On Sunday (Mar. 7), city police Chief Maris Herold joined with city, county and University of Colorado Boulder officials to condemn the party. She and others vowed to identify and hold responsible those who damaged property or attacked police, as per reports from the Denver Post.
District Attorney Michael Dougherty called Saturday's street "party" a “tremendous setback” for the city’s COVID-19 effort, and said his office will prosecute anyone who committed crimes during the “dangerous, selfish” event.
“I hear people refer to it as a party,” he said. “I don’t regard people flipping over a car as a party. I don’t regard people throwing bottles and rocks at firefighters and police officers as a party. Those are criminal acts.”
The university is committed to disciplining all students who committed crimes during the gathering, and is also working to identify who organized the event, CU Boulder Chief Operating Officer Patrick O’Rourke said on Sunday. All students who were in attendance could face disciplinary action, including expulsion.
“I want to apologize to our University Hill neighbors in the Boulder community,” O'Rourke said. “We are very sorry this occurred and we will hold students accountable.”
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