UW parties turn volatile; 60-75 police are called in

A night of student parties near the University of Washington turned volatile early yesterday when hundreds of people gathered in an intersection and some started bonfires, flipped a car and tore out street signs.

Police, university officials and a representative from the Mayor's Office plan to meet today to discuss the incident, which was centered near 47th street, where many fraternities, sororities and other student houses are located.

University spokesman Bob Roseth said it was the largest incident of student unruliness he had heard of during his 25 years at the university.

It took all of the city's available police officers and assistance from the University of Washington police, the State Patrol and the King County sheriff's helicopter — 60 to 75 officers — to quell the crowd. The people were mostly dispersed by 3 a.m., said Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske, who responded after he received a 2 a.m. call at home.

Between about 1 and 2 a.m., a Volvo was flipped upside down, a mattress was lit on fire in the street and passing vehicles were pelted with beer bottles and other objects. Three police cars had dented hoods or smashed windows, Kerlikowske said.

One person was arrested for damaging a police car. Kerlikowske said the department will review videotapes made by residents and patrol-car cameras to identify who was involved in the damage.

"I know the vast majority of students are not like this; this incident represents a small number who were involved," Kerlikowske said.

He said he believes alcohol, unseasonably warm weather and a convergence of new and returning students celebrating the last weekend before school were factors in the episode.

Students who were there say the problem started late Saturday night when police began breaking up a number of parties in the area. Instead of dispersing, the crowd converged in the streets.

"I felt like I was watching reality TV, like it was something you know you're not supposed to watch," said Matt Toothman, 23. "It was a lot of people watching a few people doing bad things. They started burning boxes, and then it just all accelerated from there."

"The university wants to be a responsible neighbor," said Roseth, the UW spokesman, "and we want to do what we can to make sure these kinds of incidents don't recur."

The university already asks that fraternities and sororities set standards for their parties, such as checking identification and limiting them to manageable sizes. However, students said many of the partygoers came from gatherings not associated with fraternities or sororities.

By yesterday afternoon, only a few beer cans and bottles scattered on front lawns remained of the mess from the night before.

"It was the biggest party I've ever seen," said Paul Winters, 20. "No one was intent on being violent. The cops came in and started breaking parties up, and no one likes to have their merriment destroyed."

Rachel Tuinstra: 206-464-2580 or rtuinstra@seattletimes.com

Information in this article, originally published September 29, has been corrected. A previous version of this story contained an error. The street near the University of Washington where parties turned volatile is Northeast 47th Street. A previous article gave the location incorrectly as 47th Avenue Northeast.