Call In The Cavalry

APD Chief Scott Livingston (right) presents his budget to the Amherst Finance Committee

In his budget presentation to the Finance Committee  last week Amherst Police Department Chief Scott Livingstone brought the fiscal watchdogs up to date on his response to the $160,000 Davis Report -- especially timely since the anniversary of the unforgettable Blarney Blowout fast approaches.

While the Town Manager has added two new police officers to his FY16 budget (starts July 1st) the net result is really only one increase for APD, since a 3-year Department of Justice grant that formerly financed one officer will no longer pay for that officer.

Thus the Chief is still looking at ways to add patrol officers to his overburdened department.

His second in command, Captain Jennifer Gundersen outlined a grant proposal for more officers that has been submitted, but the problem is Amherst is a safe and somewhat wealthy community, which lowers the odds for grant approval.

Captain Gundersen also told the Finance Committee the cost to implement joint training with UMass PD -- another Davis recommendation -- is $1,200 per hour, with 24-36 hours required. Not the kind of money that's easy to find in a tight budget.  

The good news from the Chief, however, is Amherst recently signed the "Western Mass Mutual Aid Pact." This will  allow the surrounding towns police departments to respond when a call is put out for help.

 Blarney Blowout 3/8/14

Interestingly regional law enforcement departments started working on this pact in response to the freakish Springfield tornado in the summer of 2011.  Fire Departments have been successfully using mutual aid for many years now.

The Chief stated the activation notice has already been issued for March 7th.  So unlike last year, a bevy of local police officers will be available to back up Amherst, UMass, and State police. 

And presumably UMass will continue to use the successful tactics recently employed for the Super Bowl, most notably banning guests on campus the weekend of the event.  Last year 7,000 visitors registered the night before Blarney Blowout.

The winning formula is really quite simple:  less students, more cops.

Why No Riot?

UMass Southwest towers:  Ground Zero for potential riots

At one point about a half-hour after the Super Bowl ended joyously, a nitwit dressed only in a t-shirt, despite subfreezing temperatures, fell head first about 4 feet out of tree, drawing both gasps and cheers from the crowd that numbered around 1,000.

 Crowd peaked at around 1,000

That's when I thought, "Here we go."

My memory quickly rewound to the 2013 Blarney Blowout when AFD needed to get to an intoxicated young woman passed out in the center of a large crowd of maybe 2,000 gathered on the quad of Townhouse apartments and they were met with snowballs, bottles and cans.

APD had to move in to assist and soon thereafter six students (all of them from UMass) were arrested.

 5 minutes after the game ended Police and Media outnumbered students

But this time around more than a half-dozen UMPD officers moved in quickly and got the injured party out of the center of the crowd and safely ensconced him in the lobby of Washington tower to await AFD arrival. 

Other than that incident, at no point did I fear the jubilant crowd was going to suddenly turn ornery and require police response by officers dressed in riot gear.

Reason #1 for the safe celebration this time around was the ban on friends in dorms policy instituted by UMass officials for this particular event.  Had the jubilant crowd been twice the size, with half of them non UMass students, the few idiots who want to act out could have had far more impact.

The trees on the Southwest concourse probably would not have survived the night.

And yes, not having police show up dressed in riot gear or sitting upon those majestic horses probably also helped keep the instigation level low.  TV journos also picked safer spots further away from the action to stage, thus being a little less conspicuous to the revelers.

Posted to "Fade" a couple hours before game time

A heavy police presence with state PD vehicles parked at many entry/exit roads leading into Southwest and the MSP helicopter buzzing Southwest earlier in the day certainly sent a message that authorities were not playing around.

The weather was also helpful.  Below freezing, but not so far below to cause instant discomfort.  Yet after a half-hour I was uncomfortably cold, and right about that time the crowd started to dissipate.  

Does this bode well for Blarney Blowout?  Hell yes!  As long as UMass sticks to the same game plan we should see the same result.  As Mr. Davis pointed out in his $160,000 study the presence of 7,000 extra "guests" on campus made a HUGE difference that day.

And maybe last night will also set a positive precedent with college aged youth that you don't have to be destructive to have a good time.

 Students in Boston also behaved

Did any of those 1,000 students awaken this morning feeling shortchanged because no dispersal order was barked over a loudspeaker, and tear gas did not waft into crowd center?

 Happy, happy, happy students

A good time was had by all (well, except for the idiot who fell from the tree).

Good job UMass PD, Mass State PD, APD, AFD, UMass admins and most off all, UMass students.   

Sláinte!

#####

Alcohol problem still needs a lot of work

No Guests, No Riot?

UMass Southwest Towers house 5,500 students

Red Sox World Series win "celebration" 10/30//13

Apparently UMass is heeding advice from the $160,000 Davis Report, a postmortem of the Blarney Blowout, by trying to limit the number of guests UMass students can have on campus for Superbowl Sunday.

On the eve of Blarney Blowout the visitors reached 7,000, which should have been a clue that the stage was set for an epic event.  Kind of like radar picking up a sky full of planes closing in your sleeping fleet moored in paradise.

Will it work?  Probably not.  Even without "guests" UMass Southwest area has a h-u-g-e population density with 5,500 college aged youth packed into a quarter mile square area.

And come this Sunday, all too many of them will be under the duel influence of alcohol combined with all those endorphins released by watching large men thump each other on a field of battle. 

Blarney Blowout: Caught On Tape

North Pleasant/Fearing Street 2:30 pm. Have to wonder what his mother would think

The 3/9/13 Blarney Blowout -- with "only" six arrests -- was my Story of the Year for that news filled year, and unless a C5A falls out of the sky and vaporizes our pitifully small downtown commercial district, the Blarney Blowout of 3/8/14 -- with 58 arrests -- will be a repeat winner.

The recent pumpkin fest mayhem in Keene, N.H. certainly demonstrated Amherst is not the only college town where student parties can merge into one giant blowout.

 Keene State College 10/18/14 (Seth Meyer photo)

Although I do notice a lot less hand wringing over the actions of N.H. local and state police -- almost all of them in full riot gear -- using tear gas, O.C. spray, dogs, sponge bullets and a helicopter to restore order.

There were some striking similarities between the two disturbances:  both were caused by college aged white kids with no social justice goal in mind, other than the infamous "right to party."

And in both cases public safety personnel were caught off guard (despite plenty of advance warning signs) by the sheer magnitude of the events, especially how early in the day the trouble started.

In Amherst, heavily outnumbered police managed to bring the crowds under control by 3:00 pm with no real injuries.  The final confrontation took place near North Pleasant and Fearing Streets at the "gateway" to UMass, almost contiguous with the outskirts of Amherst downtown.

New Hampshire authorities were trying desperately to keep the marauding students away from the heavily promoted, family oriented pumpkin festival in city center, although their riotous behavior got even worse after darkness fell.

 North Pleasant Street, high noon:  Dead stop.  PVTA buses cancelled.

I have been a strong supporter of the police response that day simply because I was there and saw first hand why chemical munitions were needed.  Now we have further proof, in the form of video shot that day by a UMPD officer, who was hit by flying debris well before the pepper balls starting flying.

Responding to my Freedom Of Information request UMPD gave me a digital folder containing all the video shot that day:  59 MPG clips ranging in duration from 3 seconds to 3 minutes.  Most of them pretty useless.

The filming didn't start until after the rowdy crowds had been dispersed in the North Amherst Brandwine and Puffton Village Apartments area, but they do capture the major confrontation near the Pike Frat House, 374 North Pleasant Street on the corner of Fearing Street where the crowd of students was estimated at 2,000.




The $160,000 Davis Report seems to question, in general, the use of chemical munitions and more specifically if the crowd was given enough time after the "order to disperse" had been given.  If you watch the two almost contiguous videos the total time from the moment the dispersal order was given until the first pepper ball fired is 30 seconds.




Two seconds after a large bottle of alcohol (not empty) exploded at their feet, well within striking distance of APD Chief Livingstone (who was not wearing protective gear), police opened fire with pepper ball guns.

Also note that the total number of surrounded police is less than 10, so they were outnumbered by way more than 100-1.

According to North Western District Attorney spokesperson Mary Carey this morning, all but one of the 58 arrested have completed their journey through the justice system.  No one received a jail sentence. 

 Maye he was too drunk to hear the dispersal order?

Nitwit holding Barstool Sports banner.  Website that revels in juvenile behavior (with a special fondness for UMass bad behavior)

Taken after the original confrontation in North Amherst, but before the major confrontation at Pike Frat on North Pleasant/Fearing Street

I'll See Your Blarney Blowout & Raise You

 Keene State College this afternoon (Seth Meyer photo)

Looks like police in bucolic Keene, New Hampshire didn't read the $160,000 Davis Report deconstructing police response to the March 14 Blarney Blowout.

And by the looks of photos posted to social media the drunken angry crowds do not appear quite as large as those faced by Amherst and UMass police that ignoble day.

 Blarney Blowout March 2012

When alcohol fueled college aged youth start throwing beer bottles and cans -- some of them full -- police simply have to act.  And if they are not wearing riot gear there's a much greater chance of the officer being injured.

 Blarney Blowout March 2013

It really is a chicken and egg kind of thing.  If rowdy youth listened to heavily outnumbered police and dispersed rather than dangerously escalating things via thrown objects, tear gas would not fill the air.

Blarney Blowout March 8, 2014

More Blarney

Cian Davoren, age 22

This morning in Eastern Hampshire District Court before Judge Shea, one of the last remaining Blarney Blowout cases (out of 58 arrests) ended in a last minute plea deal just before the Judge was to call in a jury. 

Cian Davoren, age 22, had been arrested March 8 around 1:30 PM (close to peak time for the mayhem).  According to ADA Matt Russo he was one of between 4,000 and 5,000 college aged youth acting out of hand, and refusing to comply with police orders to disperse.

Although in Mr. Davoren's case he approached officers and was giving them grief over his sister getting a dose of pepper spray. 

Apparently chivalry is not dead among UMass students. 

But when you push your case before heavily outnumbered police officers and repeatedly ignore their request to back off, you get arrested -- chivalry or not.

The two charges (rioting and failure to disperse) were merged into one count of "disorderly conduct" and Judge Shea imposed the usual sanctions:  Case continued without a finding for one year, four months probation, $200 "restitution" fine fee to Amherst Police Department, and a letter of apology to APD.

While I have no problem with the resolution of this particular case, coming on the heels of the $160,000 Davis Report, which focused blame on the wrong party, the timing certainly could have been better.

Blarney Snuff Out

 Townhouse Apartments quad 5:15ish

Saturday was supposed to be the "Half Way to Blarney Blowout" celebration, but with the massive (bad) publicity generated by the release of the Davis Report Thursday night the downtown bars didn't dare enact it this year, and the main offenders agreed not to even open until 5:00 PM vs their regular 11:00 AM opening time allowed by license.

But that did not stop many hundreds of "college aged youth" from gathering in the usual spot this afternoon, the grassy quad inside Townhouse Apartments in North Amherst.  Last year that was the  scene of the Blarney Blowout riot, but with only 6 arrests vs this year's 58.

Beer bush

When I first saw the huge number of party goers and the exceedingly small number of police officers (half dozen) I thought about calling up Mr. Davis to have him come do a live demonstration for the Amherst Police Department on crowd management.

Hey, for $160,000 you would think a follow up demo would be in order.

Without donning riot gear, or using "chemical agents," or even raising their voices, the police sorted out the crowd in 20 minutes or so starting with the apartments playing loud music.  Once the music died the crowd got the message and slowly dispersed, leaving behind a mess.

The BIG difference between this and the Blarney Blowout of March 8, 2014?  When the officers politely asked for something, they got it.  In other words, cooperation. 

Interestingly, the kids had no problem invoking their First Amendment rights, as dozens whipped out their smart phones to record the officers, and a fewer number hurled an expletive deleted or two from the protection of their second floor apartment.

Yet some of those very same individuals questioned why I was recording the scene. Which makes you wonder, what is it they would not want parents or guardians to see?

Townhouse Apartments quad March, 2013

Blarney Blowout BS

Town Manager Musante and UMass Chancellor Subbaswamy looking glum

While there's not a single "recommendation" made by Mr. Davis in his 65 page, $160,000 report -- especially increased APD staffing -- that I oppose, there's one sentiment I strongly disagree with:  police used too much "force" breaking up the unruly crowds and by donning riot gear in the face of incoming rocks, bottles and cans, officers incited the mob to further violence.

 Last night's media reports blaming police response

 

APD Chief Livingstone (left) UMPD Chief Horvath (right)

Both beleaguered police chiefs stood firm in their support of actions taken by vastly outnumbered officers that regrettable day, with UMPD Chief Horvath going so far as to say it would have been "negligent" for officers not to move in to disperse the crowd once things got out of hand -- which occurred before the riot gear appeared. 

 Print, Television, Digital media in attendance

Despite the last minute notice (3:52 PM yesterday afternoon) the Friday morning press conference was well attended by the media, although only a small percentage of the outlets who carried stories about the Blarney Blowout in the days after the extraordinary event.

 

Ed Davis (center with yellow tie)

Chief Livingstone (white hat) on scene Fearing & North Pleasant streets March 8, 2:00 PM

With his officers outnumbered 100-1, with their backs to the very outskirts of Amherst town center, and with rocks, bottles and ice chunks starting to rain down on them from above, the police had no choice but to break up the surging unruly crowd.  

Yes, by means other than asking "pretty please." Now I fear police will think twice about ever using force again.  

Certainly, by all means, let's hope for a better future:

Blarney Blowout Report: Finally!

Townhouse Apartments, Blarney Blowout March 2013 (6 arrests that year)

So I could have guessed that Umass would use a Friday -- the day when mainstream media takes a siesta -- to release the long awaited $160,000 Ed Davis report, analyzing the largest disturbance in recent town history, aka the March 8 Blarney Blowout.

 Town center March 8, 2014 10:00 AM

Amherst police arrested 55 "college aged youth while UMass PD arrested only three.

But I still think tomorrow's press conference will get respectable media exposure -- as well it should.

Amherst Is No Ferguson

Police in riot gear disperse crowd at the gateway to UMass

Ever since the start of summer I've been anxiously anticipating the release of the Ed Davis study otherwise known as the Blarney Blowout Report -- not that I think taxpayers will get their $160,000 worth.

But now in the wake of the Ferguson, Missouri troubles, I'm hoping it doesn't come out for a while, at least until things settle down in that troubled town.

Other than the image of police clad in riot gear there's no real comparison between what is going on now and what happened in Amherst on March 8.  Although I'm sure clueless critics will try to make that association.

First off,  our police were outnumbered 50-1, as opposed to Ferguson where police seem to outnumber protesters. And at the Blarney Blowout, fueled by copious amounts of alcohol, police came under direct attack from the unruly mob via rocks, bottles and chunks of ice.

The effervescent event was covered by local media in real time and the national media quickly picked up those dispatches.  But no reporters were hassled by police, much less arrested. 

Amherst police do not use rubber bullets, military grade smoke bombs, or tear gas grenades, or patrol in heavily armored vehicles.

And they do not shoot unarmed citizens.

Ever.

Amherst and UMass police made 58 arrests at the Blarney Blowout

Blarney Blowback

Jared Dawon, age 21, stands before Eastern Hampshire District Court Judge David Ross

In a last second change of heart Jared Dawson, a senior at UMass, decided not to take chances with a jury this morning on the serious charge of "assault and battery on a police officer" during the infamous March 8 Blarney Blowout, where thousands of out-of-control college aged youth disrupted the entire town of Amherst.

Assistant District Attorney Bob Obsitnick told the Judge that Dawson was front and center of a large crowd that was being "volatile, aggressive and destructive."

Amherst and UMass police were trying to push a crowd of 3,000 from Brandywine Apartments/Puffton Village back towards the center of the campus just after noon on March 8th.

Dawson refused to disperse and was "hovering" while flipping officers the middle finger and yelling "Fuck you!"  This unruly behavior only served to incite further the immediate crowd around him.

He was hit with a one second burst of OC spray from 4 feet away and wrestled to the ground where he then assaulted an officer with a "meaningful kick."

His lawyer admitted that his client's conduct "was disorderly" and that the Blarney Blowout was a "black mark for the town and University" but Dawson has no prior record, works for his Dad, and is willing to do community service.

Judge Ross paused, then looked directly at Dawson saying, "The difficulty with these cases is with that many intoxicated people there's a real public danger.  Disorderly conduct has a whole different meaning in that context."

The Judge then said he would accept the plea but, "I don't want to underplay the significance of what you got involved in."  So he added an extra provision to the standard "letter of apology".

Judge Ross ordered the defendant to apologize in person to the officers involved and to write TWO letters for publication:  one to the Amherst Bulletin, apologizing to the entire town and the other to the UMass Daily Collegian to inform fellow students of the "consequences of this kind of behavior."

In addition Jarad Dawson was placed on probation for six months (with a $65/month charge), ordered to perform 20 hours of community service, pay $200 in restitution to APD, and a $50 witness protection fee.

At the conclusion of the hearing, out in the hallway, with his brothers and father alongside him, Dawson apologized and shook hands with the three members of APD who had come to Court ready to testify at trial. 

#####

According to DA's office, Blarney Blowout tally sheet as of July 7:

To date, there have been no jail sentences. 

There was a total of 60 cases, 20% (12 cases) of those are completely closed, 67% (40 cases) are still on probation, and 13% (8 cases) are still open and have PTH dates set.

Blarney Still Blowing

March 8, 2:15 PM Fearing/North Pleasant Street intersection

As the world -- or at least our little part of it -- anxiously awaits the release of the $160,000 Davis Report to ascertain what went wrong with the Blarney Blowout (besides everything), the throng of college aged youth arrested that despicable day are still appearing in Eastern Hampshire District Court, one on Monday and another on Tuesday.

 Jared Dawson, left, expensive attorney, right

On Monday Jared Dawson, age 21, had a brief pre-trial hearing with both his dad and a fairly expensive looking lawyer present.  Probably because of the severity of his charges: disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, assault and battery on a police officer, inciting a riot.

His case will go to trial and it's been scheduled for July 30.

Page 2 continues:  tucked his arms into his chest so he could not be handcuffed.

On Tuesday Judge Payne disposed of another Blarney Blowout case, that of Samuel Douglas, age 21, in what seems to be usual plea deal:  $200 restitution to the town of Amherst, 20 hours community service, $200 probation fee and a letter of apology to APD.

 Samuel Douglass, age 21

A pretty good deal considering he was charged with failure to disperse, inciting a riot, and disorderly conduct.  But not assault and battery on an officer, which seems to make a major difference -- as well it should.

Blarney No Blowover

Blarney Blowout, March 8 "in the area of 374 N. Pleasant Street"

At almost the three month mark from that day of infamy, the court system is still dealing out justice to those (58) "college aged youth" arrested during the Blarney Blowout.

Dana Mahar standing before Judge Payne

On Monday in Eastern Hampshire District Court before Judge John Payne, Dana Mahar, age 22, accepted what now seems to be the standard plea deal:  Case continued without a finding for six months (probation) plus $200 restitution to Amherst Police Department, 20 hours of community service  and a letter of apology.

 Page 2 continues: " ... from the other individuals in the area.  Additionally, during the struggle, the strap on my pepper ball gun broke and caused the gun to fall.  This rendered it temporarily out of service."

Meanwhile, I'm told the (Ed) Davis Report with recommendations on how to avoid another Blarney Blowout should be completed within the next three weeks "or so".

Hey, for $160,000 I guess it's better they spend a little extra time to get it right.