Six firearms were recovered and 37 people were arrested at Madison’s 57th annual Mifflin Street Block Party where thousands of locals and visitors gathered in celebration Saturday.
“This is the largest crowd we’ve seen in the last several years,” John Patterson, chief of Madison Police Department (MPD) Chief, said in an Instagram post on [day].
Officials originally expected 10,000 at the block party, but the city estimated the crowd to be between 15,000 and 20,000 people. About 200 MPD officers spent the day monitoring the crowd on foot, by bike and even on horseback. Four firearms were seized during the block party and two were recovered during fights on State Street later Saturday night.
"This is concerning. Firearms don't belong at Mifflin," Patterson said in a statement.
MPD Central District Captain Kipp Hartman told The Daily Cardinal officers have seen an increase in firearms among youths in the downtown area. He said the trend raises concerns, citing recent shootings at the University of Iowa and the University of Indiana.
“It is a grave concern that we could see something like that happen here,” Hartman said.
Mifflin hasn’t historically seen a heavy firearm. The most recent instance was in 2023 where a stolen handgun was recovered during an arrest.
As of 7 p.m. Saturday, MPD arrested 37 people, mostly for alcohol related offenses or fighting. Of those arrested, 29 were cited and released while the other eight were taken to Dane County Jail.
Harman said the block party went as expected, though officers were not expecting the large groups moving to State Street, where fights prompted several businesses to shut down.
According to Hartman, Taco Bell, Raising Cane’s and Cheba Hut Toasted Subs had to temporarily shut down, while Stop & Shop shut down intermittently.
The block party falls on the last Saturday of April every year, originally organized as an anti-war “street dance,” contextualized by the Vietnam War in the late 1960s.
Former Madison Police Department Central District Captain Michael Hanson called for an end to the Mifflin block party in 2023 due to prevalent underage drinking and dangerous behavior such as damage to cars and balconies.
Hartman said they will make several changes to prepare for next year’s block party, including upstaffing during bar times and looking at unsanctioned and unpermitted events outside of the Mifflin Street area. He said they will also prioritize policing the State Street area nearby businesses.
