The Madison Police Department's decision to deploy pepper spray to quell unruly crowds on State Street during the early morning hours of Oct. 31, 2004, has drawn pointed criticism from students.
UW-Madison senior Greg Knowles created a Web site-www.madisonriots.com-to facilitate community response to the events, and UW-Madison law student Scott Peitzer is currently researching a possible lawsuit against the police.
In response to these negative reactions, Associated Students of Madison, along with the police department, will hold a Saving Halloween Open Forum tonight at 7:30 p.m. in Memorial Union.
\We want to have good communication between students and the police department on exactly what happened, why it happened,"" said UW-Madison junior and ASM member Matt Rink. ""Because there is a lot of concern.""
Police Chief Noble Wray and Assistant Chief Luis Yudice plan to show those in attendance video footage of the Halloween revelers taken from stationary cameras as well as hand held cameras used by police. Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said police will go over ""minute by minute what went down,"" and what prompted them to decide to use pepper spray on the crowd.
Peitzer, who was sprayed with pepper spray more than 100 feet away from the main disturbances on State Street, said the video footage police show tonight will have to be ""pretty substantial"" to change his opinions of their actions on Halloween.
""It was sprayed indiscriminately into the air. And that, I believe, is excessive,"" he said. ""They were basically punishing hundreds, if not thousands, of people for the actions of a few without due process of law.""
He said he has already researched some of the case law for a potential lawsuit, and said he has a case. The main questions right now are whether to file the suit as an individual or class action, and whether he will have the time to pursue the suit while attending law school.
""I know people, that if I do pursue a lawsuit, have already said that they will join me,"" he said.
In addition to explaining their actions to those such as Peitzer, Rink added the police will also use the footage they show tonight to investigate those who might have been involved with the Halloween disturbances for evidence in further prosecutions.
