New Haven police chief defends raid at nightclub during Yale event

OFF THE WIRE
By William Kaempffer
Register Staff
wkaempffer@newhavenregister.com

NEW HAVEN — Yale University students caught in a raid Saturday of a private dance party at a nightclub on Crown Street are upset over the way they were treated by police.

But Police Chief Frank Limon defended the raid, saying the club was over capacity, creating a dangerous situation. Limon said that according to the fire marshal, the capacity is 150 people and the compliance check revealed 256 people in the club.

Police said putting aside other violations found early Saturday like underage drinking, having an establishment 58 percent over legal occupancy is an "egregious" violation.

The raid was part of the second weekend of "Operation Nightlife," a police crackdown on downtown nightclubs started in the wake of a downtown shootout Sept. 19. The operation quadruples the police presence downtown on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, with a focus on public drinking, loitering and traffic enforcement.

The Yale Daily News reported Saturday that students said police wearing what appeared to be SWAT gear and armed with assault rifles stormed into the club Elevate, 215 Crown St., at 12:50 a.m., yelling at students to "hit the ground, shut up and get out their IDs." The Daily News reported that five Yale students were arrested, and that one student was shocked by a Taser, jumped on and beaten by at least four New Haven police officers.

Police said while they were checking the ages of the clubs occupants at Elevate, two customers, later identified as Zachary Fuhrer and Jordan Jefferson refused to comply with officers verbal commands and were arrested for interfering with police. As officers were attempting to place Jefferson in custody, he struck an officer and had to be tased to be brought under control, police said.

They could not be positively identified as Yale students because the party was for guests of students as well. The Yale Daily News said five students were arrested and a student was shocked with a Taser.

Yale University spokesman Tom Conroy said Saturday the students have "serious concern about the behavior," of the city officers who accompanied state liquor officials in the raid.

In response to clubgoers who believed police were too forceful, Limon said, "The city of New Haven and the NHPD does not tolerate unprofessional or improper behavior by any officer, and will investigate fully any complaint or reasonable suspicion of that kind of behavior."

Limon connected on a personal level to the issue of over-capacity, according to a city press release, because in 2003 while in Chicago he was the commanding officer at the scene of an overcrowded club situation that turned fatal. That club was larger than Elevate, but the setup was similar, including a difficult egress. In that case, 21 people died and hundreds were injured when a panic set off a stampede.

"Elevate presented such a risk that it was necessary to respond with a strong police presence that involved members of the SWAT team as support to the limited bar detail that was already in place. Police are almost always outnumbered," the police department’s statement reads.

Almost immediately after starting the inspection of Elevate and finding the crowd situation, police were made aware of several large fights taking place outside, police officials said. Police could not "disengage from the inspection, but needed to be mindful of the larger situation downtown, and aid fellow officers as quickly as possible," police said.

Yale spokesman Tom Conroy said Yale University officials believe the best response to the incident is "for all involved and concerned to remain patient as the relevant facts and accounts of the night are gathered and examined by the appropriate city officials. Yale is making students aware of the avenues they may pursue to have any complaints or questions heard."

Conroy went on to say, "Yale has been assured that the New Haven administration shares its concern about the students¹ reaction," and will investigate any complaints.

Conroy added that Yale University appreciates the efforts of New Haven police in recent weeks to ensure the safety of the district.