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Lakeview man arrested and charged after MSU riot |
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Lakeview man arrested and charged after MSU riot
Party
 Created on 4-13-08
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EAST LANSING - A Lakeview man was one of 52 people arrested after an estimated 3,000 to 4,000 people rioted at a Michigan State University (MSU) party in East Lansing last weekend.
Justin Norton, 21, was charged with disorderly fighting or quarreling. He pleaded not guilty and faces up to 90 days in jail and a $500 fine if convicted.
Norton is a 2005 Lakeview High School graduate and does not attend MSU. Of the 52 people arrested, 28 were identified as students.
The so-called "Cedar Fest" party took place late Saturday and early Sunday at the Cedar Village Apartments, a student housing complex on the campus' northeast side.
Norton is now home at his parents' house in Lakeview under a court-imposed curfew from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. daily. He must submit to a breath test every day and is schedule for a court appearance May 1.
Norton said he was visiting Lakeview friends at MSU over the weekend. He said his arrest stemmed from a fight he had with another man at around 11:30 p.m. Saturday.
"It was me and another guy and a beer bottle had been thrown and hit my friend in the face," Norton said. "It just went from there, a bunch of yelling back and forth and I got pushed."
He said the news media has been giving the impression that he started the riot.
"I didn't start the riot," Norton said. "I wasn't even there all night. Once people started getting arrested they started getting mad and chanting. They had been chanting, 'Go green, go white,' then it escalated to '(Expletive) the police, (expletive) the police.' There was all kinds of stuff being thrown, broken glass all over the street so that you couldn't even drive through it."
He said he didn't believe the party was out of control and that police shouldn't have intervened.
"It was the normal drinking you'd see at a party with 100 people, except there was 4,000 people," Norton said. "The cops were there before dark, already dressed up in riot gear. They were counting on a riot and they got what they were counting on, I suppose.
"I don't think it was necessary for people to throw stuff at the cops," he said. "But I also think it was unnecessary for the cops to tell people to go home or they'd be arrested."
According to the city of East Lansing Web site, a total of 80 police officers and 24 firefighters responded to the incident. Hundreds of bottles, bricks, cans and rocks were thrown and nearly every police officer reported being struck by a flying object during the night.
Law enforcement used 24 smoke grenades, 20 "flash bangs," 20 stingball grenades and 13 rounds of teargas.
The East Lansing Fire Department responded to 36 service calls during the riot, including 28 medical requests. The majority of the medical calls were in response to drunken individuals or people who had been struck with blunt objects.
The fire department was unable to respond immediately to fire and medical calls due to crowd issues. Patients had to be moved to safer locations.
Two law enforcement vehicles were damaged and three fires were reported.
Justin Norton, 21, was charged with disorderly fighting or quarreling. He pleaded not guilty and faces up to 90 days in jail and a $500 fine if convicted.
Norton is a 2005 Lakeview High School graduate and does not attend MSU. Of the 52 people arrested, 28 were identified as students.
The so-called "Cedar Fest" party took place late Saturday and early Sunday at the Cedar Village Apartments, a student housing complex on the campus' northeast side.
Norton is now home at his parents' house in Lakeview under a court-imposed curfew from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. daily. He must submit to a breath test every day and is schedule for a court appearance May 1.
Norton said he was visiting Lakeview friends at MSU over the weekend. He said his arrest stemmed from a fight he had with another man at around 11:30 p.m. Saturday.
"It was me and another guy and a beer bottle had been thrown and hit my friend in the face," Norton said. "It just went from there, a bunch of yelling back and forth and I got pushed."
He said the news media has been giving the impression that he started the riot.
"I didn't start the riot," Norton said. "I wasn't even there all night. Once people started getting arrested they started getting mad and chanting. They had been chanting, 'Go green, go white,' then it escalated to '(Expletive) the police, (expletive) the police.' There was all kinds of stuff being thrown, broken glass all over the street so that you couldn't even drive through it."
He said he didn't believe the party was out of control and that police shouldn't have intervened.
"It was the normal drinking you'd see at a party with 100 people, except there was 4,000 people," Norton said. "The cops were there before dark, already dressed up in riot gear. They were counting on a riot and they got what they were counting on, I suppose.
"I don't think it was necessary for people to throw stuff at the cops," he said. "But I also think it was unnecessary for the cops to tell people to go home or they'd be arrested."
According to the city of East Lansing Web site, a total of 80 police officers and 24 firefighters responded to the incident. Hundreds of bottles, bricks, cans and rocks were thrown and nearly every police officer reported being struck by a flying object during the night.
Law enforcement used 24 smoke grenades, 20 "flash bangs," 20 stingball grenades and 13 rounds of teargas.
The East Lansing Fire Department responded to 36 service calls during the riot, including 28 medical requests. The majority of the medical calls were in response to drunken individuals or people who had been struck with blunt objects.
The fire department was unable to respond immediately to fire and medical calls due to crowd issues. Patients had to be moved to safer locations.
Two law enforcement vehicles were damaged and three fires were reported.
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Please Login to post comments| On April 13th 2008 stooge4 Said : | |
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did u all read this thats my friend
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