While their accounts—and opinions—of the event vary, Thursday night's "Flash Rave" at Lupton Library is still fresh on the minds of many UTC students. We received a tremendous amount of feedback via the comments section of our initial post, as well as via email and Twitter. We also spoke with Sergeant Jerri Weary of the Chattanooga Police Department regarding the incident as well as the department's policies regarding use of force.
Many students were outraged at what they saw as an excessive use of force by the UTC Campus Police and the Chattanooga Police Department:
"The VAST majority of the students outside did nothing wrong and yet I saw police took actions against students that was excessive, they were walking away and doing what they were told, but yet they were still maced." -UTC Student (1)
However, other students who were at the library to study on Thursday night were less than sympathetic to the ravers' outrage:
"A library is not a dance club, it is a place to study and do work. Some of us folks that have jobs and families go to the library at that time to study and get work done because that is when we can go. Do not blame the Chattanooga cops for something that would have never happened in the first place if people would have been smart about the whole situation." -UTC Student (2)
According to Sergeant Weary, the Chattanooga Police Department responded to a call from UTC Campus Police requesting assistance with "a disorderly crowd and crowd control." Sgt. Weary indicated that the initial call from UTC estimated a crowd of more than 200 students—which is consistent with crowd estimates by students who were there—but that a "much larger crowd was observed (exact number unknown)." Once they arrived, Sgt. Weary states that the 40 officers on the scene attempted to disperse the crowd before further actions were taken:
"Officers used police presence and police cruiser public address systems to get the crowd to disperse. Oleoresin Capsicum (OC spray) was also used to disperse the crowd after verbal commands were ignored. "After arrival and assessment of the situation, our officers used the minimal amount of force necessary to get the crowd to dispersed and followed policy according to the Use of Force Continuum adopted by our department." -Sergeant Jerri Weary, Chattanooga Police Department
When asked about the department's policy on the use of force, Sgt. Weary explained:
"The Chattanooga Police Department has a use of force policy that allows the use of OC spray at any time deemed necessary by an officer to maintain control of a volatile or potentially volatile situation. The use of OC spray is a fluid tactic meaning that it may be utilized at the officer's discretion as a temporary incapacitator at any point in the use of force continuum after verbal intervention if the officer feels that a physical confrontation is unavoidable; depending on the circumstances, verbal intervention may not always be possible or practical prior to the use of OC and/or the electronic weapon." -Sergeant Jerri Weary
The UTC Police Department did not respond to our request for more information.
John Hawbaker
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