Five hours of anarchy in Pullman

Editor's note: This story was originally published May 4, 1998.

Whitman County Sheriff Steve Tomson said there's no way to sugarcoat the extent of a weekend riot in Pullman which sent 23 law officers to the hospital.

In a statement released today, Tomson said he "finds attempts on the part of certain university and city officials to downplay the nature of this incident offensive to the officers who professionally and courageously did their duty and not in the best interest of community safety."

Anarchy reigned and fires blazed for more than five hours early Sunday as police from across the Palouse battled an enraged crowd - primarily of Washington State University students - on Pullman's College Hill.

The community is now left to pick up the pieces after a crowd ranging in size from 200 to 2,000 attacked police with rocks and bottles in what Tomson has called "the most serious incident of public disorder in the history of Whitman County."

The incident began at approximately 12:30 a.m., when Pullman officers were called out to a report of a car-pedestrian accident on Colorado Street - adjacent to a large party house on the corner. When they arrived, the crowd at the party began throwing rocks and bottles at the officers, forcing them to retreat.

Additional officers from Whitman County, Washington State Patrol, Colfax, Moscow and Latah County were called in as fires were set in the street and the crowd became more unruly.

Pullman Police Chief Ted Weatherly said officers waited an hour in hopes the crowd would dissolve.

When it did not, the gathering was declared an unlawful assembly and the crowd was ordered to disperse.

Police - equipped with riot gear and gas masks - approached the crowd from two directions and released smoke and tear gas into the crowd. Rather than dispersing, the riot intensified, with parts of the crowd tearing down part of a construction fence and using it as a shield to approach the police.

Weatherly said significant resistance was offered by a crowd of about 200 people, but others estimate the crowd size as significantly larger.

Tomson said as the county element moved up Colorado and A streets, the crowd was between 1,000 and 2,000 strong and attacked the officers "with levels of violence similar to Belfast and Lebanon."

Three individuals have been arrested on charges connected with Sunday's riot and Weatherly said more are expected.

As the investigation continues, Tomson said there will be an attempt to see if any of the fraternities or sororities had direct involvement and/or support in the riot.

"Civil remedies will be brought against any group shown to be involved in this riot where sufficient evidence exists," Tomson said.

Law enforcement officials downplayed the assertion by some students that Sunday's riot was a protest against university alcohol policies and the city's efforts to crack down on noise.

"This was not a theme riot," said Pullman Sgt. Chris Tennant.

A small part of the crowd was making comments about the ban on alcohol in fraternities, but the majority were people who got caught up in the crowd mentality, he said.

"It was a bunch of drunk kids who got way out of hand," Tennant said.

Tomson also questioned the truth behind that reasoning.

"There was no indication that there was any type of activism involved with this," he said.

In the aftermath of the riot, police and government officials are still sorting out the extent of damage.

At least six law officers suffered serious injuries, and officials at Pullman Memorial Hospital reported today that 18 "non-law enforcement" individuals had been treated and released for minor injuries sustained during Sunday's chaos.

At a news conference Sunday, WSU President Sam Smith said he was dismayed at the actions of a relatively small number of students.

He said it was fortunate no one was badly hurt or even killed during the riot, and he applauded the police for the restraint shown.

For Councilwoman Alison McLeod, Sunday's mayhem was devastating.

McLeod, a graduate student at WSU, has spent the last year fighting for recognition that the problems of student parties on College Hill was limited to a small number of students.

She was on College Hill as the riot began and spent most of the night with city and university officials as they grappled for control of the situation.

"I was outside, and I just couldn't believe what I was seeing," she said. "I walked up closer, and I just started crying."