(Josh Shettler/CU Independent illustration)
In violation of social distancing mandates and in direct opposition to public health guidelines, on March 6, hundreds of University of Colorado students gathered on University Hill to party.
On social media, many university students posted photos and videos of themselves amidst huge crowds of closely packed people.
The group, many of whom did not wear masks or attempt to socially distance, partied for up to four hours before the Boulder Police Department made public that they were aware of the situation.
“Our response to a gathering of hundreds of people must take several aspects into consideration for everyone’s safety and that’s what we have and will continue to do in responding,” said the Boulder Police Department in a tweet.
A video of the gathering shows large amounts of people rushing police vehicles in apparent defiance of instructions to leave the area and attendees flipped at least one car.
At 8 p.m. Saturday, Boulder police issued a statement to the University of Colorado community that read, “Boulder Police is responding to a large party in the area of 10th & Pennsylvania. People in the area could be subject to arrest and CU sanctions.”
At the scene, some police officers reported that “large objects” had been thrown at them, and were attempting to regroup farther away from the scene.
Boulder County and Longmont Police have been asked to try and contain the people at the scene.
A little past 8:45 pm, one officer reported that although he had difficulty seeing the scene, it looked as though the crowd was “significantly breaking up.” Just 15 minutes later, a photo from Daily Camera reporter Mitchell Byars showed that most people had left the scene. However, they left piles of litter in their wake.
‘The university has also asked all people to stay away from the Hill area “until further notice,” in another message sent to community members.
The CUI has independently confirmed that police officers launched tear gas to disperse the crowd that gathered.
A little before 10:30 the same evening, the University of Colorado said “We condemn the conduct on University Hill on Saturday. Any student found responsible for acts of violence toward law enforcement or first responders will be removed from CU Boulder and not readmitted,” in a tweet.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
Contact CU Independent Breaking News Editor Henry Larson at Henry.Larson@colorado.edu.
