Crowd destroys deputy's cruiser

A hip-hop concert at The Evergreen State College ended in a riot early Friday in which a Thurston County sheriff’s patrol car was overturned and looted.

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A campus police officer was dispatched around 1:30 a.m. following a report of a fight inside the College Recreation Center where the group Dead Prez was performing.

The female officer arrested a man and placed him in the back of the patrol car. Some of the concertgoers were taunting and questioning the actions of the officer, said Trooper Brandy Kessler of the Washington State Patrol.

“They didn’t feel the arrest that was being made was fair,” she said.

Campus police Sgt. Darwin Eddy refused to release the man's name Friday afternoon saying, "I don't have the authority to release that and I've got to call a concerned parent."

He did say the case would be forwarded to prosecutors for review.

The crowd continued to grow and became more aggressive.

“Some people blocked the police car that was trying to take the student away,” said Dan Hilden, a 20-year-old Evergreen student who attended the concert.

Concerned for her safety, the officer called for backup and the man in the police car was eventually released. The officer took down his name and address.

Thurston County Chief Criminal Deputy James Chamberlain said authorities made the right call in releasing the male because of the escalating unruly behavior of the crowd.

"It was a very volatile situation at one point, and I'm proud of the officers in how they responded," Chamberlain said. "They backed out of there to try and de-escalate the situation instead of making more arrests and possibly making it worse."

Six sheriff's deputies who arrived to assist the campus officer reported that several people in the crowd were throwing rocks, bottles and even a garbage can at the them, and others were grabbing at the deputies' guns.

They were, however, able to clear a path so the campus police officer could leave the scene in her car, Kessler said.

But deputies were unable to start their own car at the scene. Chamberlain said the car likely had mechanical problems. The deputy driving the car was able to shut off the electronic equipment in the car and take what items she could before leaving it, he said.

“That’s when the problems started,” Kessler said. “The car was attacked.”

Some in the swelling crowd kicked the patrol car, broke its window, wrote graffiti on it with black marker and rolled the vehicle onto its roof, Kessler said. Two hundred people were at the scene at one point, she said.

Chamberlain said that three other sheriff's patrol cars and a campus police car were damaged in addition to the one that didn't start.

Damages to the wrecked patrol car is estimated at about $25,000, he said. Cumulative damage to all of the cars will likely be more that $30,000.

In addition, a laptop computer and radar gun were taken from the wrecked car, Kessler said. They have not been recovered, she said. No weapons were taken.

Riot police from the State Patrol and sheriff’s office arrived at the scene and the crowd quickly dispersed. Hilden said authorities used pepper spray to disperse the crowd. No other arrests were made.

Blood was found on the patrol car from people who apparently cut themselves on broken glass, Kessler said. It will be tested in an attempt to identify suspects, she said.

Deputies suffered minor injuries that didn’t required hospitalization or major treatment, Chamberlain said.

After the arrest, Kessler said, a member of the hip-hop group reportedly told the crowd, “They’re taking one of our people. Go take care of it.”

“It sounds like the band may have been encouraging them a little,” she said.

But some of the people at the concert said the band member only told the crowd to get the officer’s badge number and look after the man.

A student activities group on campus sponsored the concert, said Jason Wettstein, a college spokesman. Art Costantino, vice of student affairs, said the man who was arrested was not an Evergreen student.

Check back at TheOlympian.com for further details.

Online reporter April Chan and reporter Venice Buhain contributed to this story.