cheka.
12th November 2016, 10:12 AM
teens ()\()\()\()\()\()\()\()\()\()\
http://cambridge.wickedlocal.com/news/20161109/witness-cambridge-police-acted-reasonably-during-galleria-riot
CambridgeSide Galleria was evacuated and six juveniles were arrested Monday night following a riot that erupted during a public meet-and-greet with rapper Desiigner and Celtics player Jaylen Brown.
The event, which drew over 1,000 people, took a turn around 5:50 p.m., according to police, when a large group surged forward, knocking down barriers and other people in line.
A 15-year-old Brookline High student, Dan Nikulin, said the crowd started to get rowdy when Desiigner arrived late to the 5:30 p.m. event and Brown hadn’t even shown up yet. To add to the crowd’s frustration, a limited amount of tickets were released to the first 200 attendees, which meant almost the entire crowd would miss meeting Desiigner and Brown, according to both Nikulin and Jeremy Warnick, communications director for the Cambridge Police Department.
Nikulin, who was able to get one of the last tickets for the event after arriving two hours early, was at the front of the second line when people behind him started to push and get angry.
“The moment that Desiigner walked out, people started running toward him,” said Nikulin. “The police did everything they could to try and stop them; they put benches there, stood in formation to stop people from rioting.”
Desiigner walked out a couple times to look at the large turnout and was quickly rushed back into the store because the crowd was getting too aggressive, Nikulin said. After giving the crowd several chances to cooperate, police used pepper spray, according to Warnick.
“I feel very strongly about it: I think the police handled it well,” said Nikulin, who got pepper sprayed in both eyes. “The police were trying to be reasonable, and not violent. By the fourth time, they had really no choice. So they put up the pepper spray and everyone freaked out.”
“That was certainly not a preference in having to deploy the OC spray,” added Warnick. “But there were a lot of concerning things that ended up happening.”
As the police attempted to disperse the crowd, glass, bricks and other objects were thrown at the officers, said Warnick. Some were screaming at the police, threatening to kill officers if they were not let into the store, Nikulin said.
“It was very odd, and very dangerous,” Nikulin said. “ I was scared. It was a very sketchy situation.”
No officers were injured. Some attendees, including Nikulin, were treated after being exposed to pepper spray.
To add to the chaos, the event, which took place in Champ Sports, was on the third floor of the Galleria, which made an evacuation particularly tricky, said Warnick.
As crowds were forced down the escalators, a large group formed a mosh pit in the center of the first floor as one person played loud music.
Six juveniles — four males and two females between the ages of 14 and 15 years old — were arrested on various charges including trespassing, disorderly conduct and disturbing the peace.
In the end, no one got to meet Desiigner or Brown.
“I have no idea why it went out like that,” said Nikulin. “I’m not sure why people reacted in that way. I have no idea what went through people’s heads when they decided ‘Let’s run toward police and threaten them, they’ll definitely let us in.’
http://cambridge.wickedlocal.com/news/20161109/witness-cambridge-police-acted-reasonably-during-galleria-riot
CambridgeSide Galleria was evacuated and six juveniles were arrested Monday night following a riot that erupted during a public meet-and-greet with rapper Desiigner and Celtics player Jaylen Brown.
The event, which drew over 1,000 people, took a turn around 5:50 p.m., according to police, when a large group surged forward, knocking down barriers and other people in line.
A 15-year-old Brookline High student, Dan Nikulin, said the crowd started to get rowdy when Desiigner arrived late to the 5:30 p.m. event and Brown hadn’t even shown up yet. To add to the crowd’s frustration, a limited amount of tickets were released to the first 200 attendees, which meant almost the entire crowd would miss meeting Desiigner and Brown, according to both Nikulin and Jeremy Warnick, communications director for the Cambridge Police Department.
Nikulin, who was able to get one of the last tickets for the event after arriving two hours early, was at the front of the second line when people behind him started to push and get angry.
“The moment that Desiigner walked out, people started running toward him,” said Nikulin. “The police did everything they could to try and stop them; they put benches there, stood in formation to stop people from rioting.”
Desiigner walked out a couple times to look at the large turnout and was quickly rushed back into the store because the crowd was getting too aggressive, Nikulin said. After giving the crowd several chances to cooperate, police used pepper spray, according to Warnick.
“I feel very strongly about it: I think the police handled it well,” said Nikulin, who got pepper sprayed in both eyes. “The police were trying to be reasonable, and not violent. By the fourth time, they had really no choice. So they put up the pepper spray and everyone freaked out.”
“That was certainly not a preference in having to deploy the OC spray,” added Warnick. “But there were a lot of concerning things that ended up happening.”
As the police attempted to disperse the crowd, glass, bricks and other objects were thrown at the officers, said Warnick. Some were screaming at the police, threatening to kill officers if they were not let into the store, Nikulin said.
“It was very odd, and very dangerous,” Nikulin said. “ I was scared. It was a very sketchy situation.”
No officers were injured. Some attendees, including Nikulin, were treated after being exposed to pepper spray.
To add to the chaos, the event, which took place in Champ Sports, was on the third floor of the Galleria, which made an evacuation particularly tricky, said Warnick.
As crowds were forced down the escalators, a large group formed a mosh pit in the center of the first floor as one person played loud music.
Six juveniles — four males and two females between the ages of 14 and 15 years old — were arrested on various charges including trespassing, disorderly conduct and disturbing the peace.
In the end, no one got to meet Desiigner or Brown.
“I have no idea why it went out like that,” said Nikulin. “I’m not sure why people reacted in that way. I have no idea what went through people’s heads when they decided ‘Let’s run toward police and threaten them, they’ll definitely let us in.’