UTC Flash Mob Ends With Crowd Being Pepper Sprayed By Cops

What's embarrassing to UTC is not the students, just the people who sit on message-boards, insulting students.

Good for UTC. I can't say what the kids did before the flashrave, but what they were doing was fun and harmless. They have the right to assemble. And why put them down for it?

Yep the cops were way out of line. I was actually trying to leave the library to go my room and I was almost trampled by the cops and threatened. I had an 8:00 final and they were not going to let me out of the library. The actions they took against the students were uncalled for. I have been to on-campus events were that actually may have been necessary but not last night at Lupton. Police need to get over their authority trip, we know you're in charge.

What a bunch of whiners."It was a rave to believe our stress". What are you going to do when your kid's sick, your wife's found an "internet interest", and your boss looks at you like your shirt's smeared with what you dropped that morning? And running from one cop, or a BUNCH of cops, spraying mace? Cowards.You're lucky it wasn't Kent State in 1971, when the only thing they got sprayed with was BULLETS.

why were they spraying febreeze?

The news should be ashamed at how badly thier reporters have gathered information, because atleast half of this article is entirely untrue. Never once did any students chant anything like "take the library", we only chanted "UTC" and "Let Us In!" and never tried to physically get into the building or anything. NEVER once did the police ever make an attempt to ask us to leave.. they just stood and watched us until they stormed out of the library and started spraying everybody with mace. If the news channel would taek the time to watch the videos and do their research maybe you would have gotten that right or is it just that you are trying to turn everyone against the students when you already known what actually happened. If the news channel would also post a video of the aftermath you would have seen innocent students get beaten by cops and many other illegal things. Many students plan to sue the police or the school. The school has made up complete lies about what happened and i was thoroughly astonished whan i saw what they tried to claim we did in a utc email later on that night. This is one of the most distorted claims of last nights happenings that i have seen yet. Aren't you supposed to be informing the people not lying to them? I would seriously consider trying to tell a bit of the truth or you will have quite a few visits from some very angry students as well as their parents who are livid about the way the police treated the students as well as the lies being spread about the incident. I was personally interviewed by channel 12 and you all should know that the things you are saying are anything but true. 1500 students against the word of the utc administration should be good enough to let you know what really happened so stop lying and release a real story.

Based solely on the video above:

Looks like this could have been handled with one loudspeaker on a slowly moving patrol car. These people should have been given some type of warning to disperse before they were sprayed en masse.

The escalation of force to pepper spray, on a large crowd like this, without some kind of warning, preparation for risk control for the fleeing crowd, and the overall defensive operational position of the police barricaded in the library are all areas where police need to improve their basic crowd control techniques.

I am a graduate of the university, and have been on both sides of such activities. Clearly, law enforcement was defensive and reactive; fundamentally, by taking a reactive position, they grant tactical control of the situation to the large crowd.

I recommend some basic retraining in standard practices for crowd control and escalation of force, based solely on the images shown in this video. This is not how you handle an organized disturbance.

By simply walking out of the back door of the building, and moving as a group with vehicles to herd the crowd in a safe direction to promote a dispersal; using vehicle loudspeakers; police could have used available materials and basic techniques to adopt a tactically and operationally superior position to maintain positive control; and also, increase the likelihood that the situation could be resolved without or with minimized nonlethal use of force.

Randomly spraying a line of people with pepper spray, without clear and repeated warnings, should not be condoned as a standard disturbance control practice.

in answer to your defenses/stupidity did everyone really think they were going to party in the library get real a party at the entrance to the library how were real students expected to try to study you needed stress relief from exams ha ha wait til you have to find a job you know the real thing that you go to school to get accomplished or have to find a way to pay for all your needs thats stress what yall all gonna do have a rave at a grocery store ha ha what immature children fine examples of what we have to look for in the future all of you should be expelled and sent packing for kindergarten 201 at some other party school. you want to blame the police they wouldnt have been there if you hadnt decided to be there causing a disturbance unlike most of your childish ideals you will find that life is not just one big party and those that dont realize it become lifes big deadbeats and losers. oh yeah i dont wear depends either so go find one and stick it in your mouth

I like how the media is trying to spin the story against the students. I was there and everything was fine, the cops inside the library had not been outside the doors and "warned" us to leave at all. When it went bad was when they all of a sudden stepped outside and without a word started macing. No one had endangered them or threatened anyone's safety in any manner. The crowd was somewhat dispersing before this all went down. To the person towards the bottom. Whether this was "childish" and if it makes you "ashamed" you should ask yourself how you feel about a police state where rights are violated and unecessary force is used. Was standing around chanting things in a parking lot call for college students to be beat, maced, and tazed...NO!!! That's why we need groups like the ACLU to protect the people from people who are supposed to be serving and protecting

To the person above me,
Look, you cannot tell me that you didn't participate in any events as a college student that you would consider childish now. The fact you criticize college students for blowing off a little steam during finals demonstrates that you don't remember what it is like to be one. Now, with that said, I do agree that the jumping off of the building and harassing of the police officers was very immature and excessive. Otherwise, your point is moot. Yes, we are the "future leaders" of America, and we do need to mature before we graduate but give us a break. It was harmless fun save for a couple of people who were excessive, but this happens at any event that a lot of people attend, not just college raves.

we as students were just trying to have some fun and let off some stress the chattanooga nazis aka police cause the issue when they used excessive force

Why does the media spin stories like this as a riot. The only violence towards students came from Chattanooga Police. There is video of a student falling over a curb and being handcuffed, verbally abused and then detained. Lets talk about how the CPD became colligate bullies last night. Thats the real news.

yes this is my alma matter and im ashamed of their behavior is childish great testament of the "future leaders" of our country more like the scum deadbeats of the world why are you even trying to get a degree if you want to act like this--- grow up children none of you there can call your self an adult