With 500 to 800 estimated individuals at the height of the incident, a Colorado party left several police officers injured following the massive party's dispersal at the University Hill in Colorado.
Based on numerous authorities, the number of attendees in the school's event prompted the police to disperse the event.
According to CBS News, the SWAT team members assisted the police, who used gas and a siren in breaking up the said gathering. Maris Herold, the chief of the Boulder Police, shared to the reporters that two canisters worth of tear gas was used in dispersing the people in the gathering.
The police chief also said that no rubber bullets were used in the police's actions based on her knowledge. She added that it was handled properly by the police.
The Boulder police mentioned that the crowd turned violent, injuring numerous officers after bricks and rocks were thrown at them during the dispersal. A fire truck was also damaged while a car was overturned.
The dispersal conducted by the police finished at around 9 p.m. and left broken glass and debris on the streets. Even some residents helped in cleaning up the mess left by the gathering.
Herold stated that no arrests were made during a press conference starting from 5 p.m. until 9 p.m. She also believed that it would not be considered best practices to send officers into the crowd of people.
Herold also shared that because of the number of individuals that needed to be handled, their department will be relying on the bodycam footage. She added that the footage would be released during the follow-up investigation on the injured officers, The Denver Channel reported.
A man who did not identify himself said that the party and the subsequent clash with the police were bound to happen as they have all been caged up for months. As a result, there would be an explosion, and it was what happened during the party.
On their Twitter account, the University of Colorado issued a statement that they condemned the party. The university also stated that any student who will be found responsible for the acts of violence toward law enforcement or even first responders would be removed from CU Boulder and will not be readmitted.
The University also added that at the time that health officials and police have referred public health order violations to their student conduct office, they responded immediately and imposed discipline when violations were proven. Also, the university mentioned that the disciplinary actions include interim exclusions from campus and 45 suspensions so far in the academic year.
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Lastly, the university stated that they will continue making clear and protecting not only their community but also their campus as it is of utmost importance and that they will not tolerate such violations, CBS Denver reported.
On the other hand, the party had been called 'shameful' by the 12th Judicial District Attorney's Office who also issued a statement. The office stated that they would look closely into the investigation as private properties were damaged, first responders were assaulted, and left injured officers.
