Sports

Another college sports game, another melee ensues

Bob CollinsBob Collins Apr 11, 2014
5

Last night some scholars at the University of Minnesota took to the streets to stomp on police cars after the Gophers hockey team beat the University of North Dakota in a semifinal game.

A semifinal game. Kids don’t even wait until their teams actually win something anymore.

According to the U of M Daily:

The commotion started just after 10 p.m. on Thursday when senior defenseman Justin Holl netted a goal with 0.6 seconds left, giving the Gophers a win over North Dakota.

Just after 11 p.m., a few people began climbing a light pole near the intersection of 4th Street and 14th Avenue Southeast as a large mob swelled, with some trying to flip police cars, shooting off bottle rockets and crowd-surfing.

Police began using tear gas around 11:15 p.m. and some people remained on the scene into the early hours of Friday morning.

Phil Cross, a criminology senior and Espresso Royale barista, said he had to choose between tending to customers and people outside.

“I know tear gas is probably extremely painful, but I didn’t feel like there was a whole lot I could do for them,” he said.

He had a bowl of water ready for anyone sprayed with the chemical.

In more than a year at the coffee shop, Cross said he’s never seen Dinkytown streets so out of hand.

It’s unclear why some of the arrests were made, but Elder said they were likely for partaking in unlawful assembly. When three or more people gather with intent to disturb the peace or break laws, it’s considered unlawful assembly, according to Minnesota statute.

Cross said he thought it was unfortunate that most of the crowd didn’t appear to take police seriously.

University psychology student Shaili Zappa said she watched a man on rollerblades in front of the Library Bar get stopped by officers, put in a headlock and escorted into a squad car.

“He wasn’t really doing anything bad at all,” she said.

The Gophers will play for the NCAA championship on Saturday. Don’t park your car in Dinkytown this weekend.

Would a few expulsions stop this?