Despite efforts to explain why Madison police officers used pepper spray on crowds during Halloween weekend, students failed to hide their rancor toward police during an open forum hosted by the ASM Halloween committee and the police department Tuesday night.
Angry and upset students voiced concern about how police handled this year's Halloween.
Police showed video footage of the event, hoping to further explain why decisions were made and to detail the full extent of Sunday morning's trouble.
Police officials commended the police efforts, adding the use of horses and stadium lights greatly helped crowd containment. They considered the event a success due to the lack of property damage and injury.
\Not only did they do an outstanding job, they protected the city that night,"" Police Chief Noble Wray said.
However, students attending the meeting disagreed, claiming the police focused too much on pepper spray rather than on proper crowd control. Students were upset that residents of State Street were not allowed back to their homes once the street had been cleared and sprayed.
""When you talk about 75,000 people and managing them, there will obviously be unintended consequences,"" Wray said. He apologized personally for any accidental problems they may have caused.
Video clips showed fights, objects being thrown, the large bonfire and an uncontrollable crowd that had to be contained. It was clear in the film that pepper spray worked after many attempts to dispel the problems, even though officers had to feel the effects of the spray themselves.
Students said the police were too quick to use pepper spray, claiming the crowd had been trying to leave and the officers still continued to spray. However, officials said the footage made clear police had to be strategic about their means of containment or risk further trouble.
""The primary goal in an event like this is to protect life and to protect property,"" Wray said. ""Our goal was not to physically touch the crowd, our goal is to provide the best and quickest escapes we can.""
Other students said police were overbearing, citing individuals for small problems when they should have been focusing resources elsewhere.
""We wanted to isolate the small group of people with disorderly behavior and hold them accountable,"" said Capt. John Davenport, officer in charge of the special events team. Davenport emphasized that managing the crowds was the key goal to future Halloween success.
Though police and students remained in opposition, neither side wanted to see the end of Halloween, but rather improve it.
Police officials and students shared ideas on how to prevent riotous behavior. With limited police resources, Wray cited student accountability as a key factor in creating a successful Halloween.
""I'll be very clear. We are at our resource limit. This event needs to get smaller,"" Wray said.
Assistant Police Chief Luis Yudice commended ASM and police for their efforts, despite the riotous behavior.
""We had a planning effort for Halloween this year and because of that effort, this year's Halloween was more of a success than the past two years,"" Yudice said.
""When we have our planning process next year, step forward and be a part of it ... we're all in this together to make this a safe and orderly event,"" he said.
