Police officers injured breaking up large gathering in Colorado
Three SWAT officers were injured Saturday while responding to a large gathering near the University of Colorado Boulder, the Boulder Police Department said on Twitter.
An alert issued by the school at 8 p.m. Saturday said police were responding to a party in an area known as University Hill.
Few people at the gathering wore masks and there was no social distancing among the hundreds who were in the street, according to the Daily Camera, a Boulder newspaper.
The paper also reported that some in the crowd set off fireworks and flipped at least one car.
Police arrived on scene shortly before 8:30 p.m and used loudspeakers to tell the crowd to disperse or risk arrest, tear gas or use of force, the Daily Camera reported.
Three SWAT officers sustained minor injuries when they were hit with bricks and rocks, police said. An armored vehicle and firetruck also sustained heavy damage, police said on Twitter.
The crowd was dispersed around 9:30 p.m., police said.
Video from CNN affiliate KUSA shows a street littered with debris and at least one car with extensive damage.
The Boulder Police Department said on Twitter it is reviewing all of its officers’ body camera footage and reviewing social media posts “to identify the individuals involved in damaging property and assaulting first responders.”
“Detectives will review every lead we have to identify and arrest those responsible for this reprehensible and unacceptable behavior,” said Chief Maris Herold in a post from the department.
CNN has reached out to the Boulder police for comment.
The university called the gathering “unacceptable and irresponsible,” and said it is aware of allegations of “violence toward police officers.”
“Any student who is found responsible for having engaged in acts of violence toward the law enforcement or other first responders will be removed from CU Boulder and not readmitted,” the university said in a statement.
The large gathering came a day after Colorado Gov. Jared Polis extended the state’s Covid-19 mask mandate, which has been in place since July 2020. Nearly 6,000 people have died in Colorado due to Covid-19, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
