Pubdate: Tue, 23 Aug 2005
Source: Daily Herald, The (Provo, UT)
Section: Pg A1
Copyright: 2005 The Daily Herald
Contact:  http://www.newutah.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1480
Author: Rashae Ophus Johnson
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mdma.htm (Ecstasy)

WITNESSES SAY UNDUE FORCE USED AT RAVE

Firsthand accounts conflict so starkly that one might wonder whether law 
enforcement busted two separate events last weekend in Spanish Fork Canyon. 
Yet the Diamond Fork-area location is among few details confirmed by both 
the roughly 300 partygoers and about 90 law enforcement personnel who 
dispelled them at 11:30 p.m. Saturday.

Uprock Records of Salt Lake City promoted the event as an "album-release 
party" on fliers and Internet sites like www.utrave.org. In addition to 
live performances by DJ Craze of Miami and Spor from the United Kingdom, 
the party featured typical highlights like a laser light show, barbecue, 
oxygen bar and glow sticks.

Undercover deputies and SWAT members depict a rave with rampant illegal 
activity. Beyond the anticipated drugs -- ecstasy, cocaine, marijuana, 
mushrooms -- they discovered counterfeit money, guns and an overdosed 
17-year-old girl.

But where the stories drastically diverge is the raid.

The Utah County Sheriff's Office reported 18 citations for disorderly 
conduct, failure to disperse or related charges; 21 alcohol-or drug-related 
offenses; two for assaulting a peace officer; and two related to firearms. 
Sheriff Jim Tracy said most of the crowd left peacefully, and deputies 
exercised a "takedown method" only to arrest those who actively resisted.

Witnesses, however, allege "soldiers" and SWAT members held "AK-47s" to 
partygoers' heads, punched girls in the face and unleashed an arsenal of 
everything from attack dogs to tear gas.

"At about 11:30 a helicopter began circling the party," said one partygoer 
in an e-mail to the Daily Herald. "Out of nowhere huge semis filled with 
National Guard, SWAT and the police rolled up. Soldiers came out of the 
bushes and rushed down to the party carrying M-16s, AK-47s, nightsticks and 
Tasers. They proceeded to attack random people and push their might around 
on people who had done nothing."

Partygoers and rave fans worldwide are circulating video footage through 
the Internet to support such claims -- while Tracy used the same clips to 
defend law enforcement.

"No excessive force was used," he said emphatically.

The SWAT personnel -- including teams from Utah County, Provo, the state 
Department of Corrections and the Department of Public Safety -- are always 
prepared with a wide arsenal of riot-fighting gear, including tear gas and 
canines, but Tracy said they did not use any such weapons Saturday night. 
The tactical gear is camouflaged similar to military fatigues, but neither 
the National Guard nor any other military was present.

Josh Witbeck, one of the security staff hired by organizers for the event, 
has interacted with police at several similar events during three years as 
a bouncer in Salt Lake-area nightclubs, but police hostility, like he said 
he observed Saturday night, is rare.

"I was trying to keep the crowds as calm as possible. I knew better than to 
interfere with the cops, but we all got treated pretty poorly," he said. 
"I'm not going to place all the blame on the police, but they treated every 
person here like a criminal."

Tracy said a primary issue was promoters did not obtain the mass gathering 
permit required by Utah County for events with more than 250 people. To do 
so would have required at least 30 days notice and approval from the 
sheriff's office. County officials acknowledged that organizers did receive 
a health permit regulating such aspects as portable toilets and on-site 
emergency medical personnel.

Brandon Fullmer, manager of the Uprock Records company that promoted the 
event, argues that he also obtained the mass gathering permit. He said 
authorities were denying him a copy of it for proof, but a county official 
agreed to write a letter verifying it.

"We were not there to start any problems," Fullmer said. "What the cops did 
was wrong."

Regardless, Utah County authorities defended the raid.

"That's all smoke and mirrors," said County Commissioner Steve White. "They 
were selling drugs. They were committing illegal acts, and as soon as that 
happened it doesn't matter what kind of permit they had."

So while Fullmer is consulting his attorney about a possible lawsuit, local 
law enforcement vow to crack down on the increasingly popular raves.

"There's a legal way to do this, and there's the illegal," Tracy said. "If 
young folks want to get together and listen to music and dance, we don't 
care if they go about it the legal way."

Tracy said they are monitoring the Internet, searching for fliers and 
dispatching helicopters on reconnaissance missions over Utah Valley to 
locate such gatherings before they expand to thousands of people -- beyond 
what law enforcement can control.

"If they're going to run one on a Wednesday night, we'll find it," he said. 
"We will ensure we find them and have them curtailed before they ever get 
to that point."
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MAP posted-by: Beth