USA: Police raid a supposedly “illegal” rave in Spanish Fork Canyon
By Michael N. Westley
The Salt Lake Tribune
http://sltrib.com/utah/ci_2961967
About 60 people were arrested Saturday night when police officers busted an illegal rave in Spanish Fork Canyon.
Those arrested were cited on a variety of charges including the possession of illegal narcotics, weapons violations, DUI, illegal consumption of alcohol by a minor, disorderly conduct, assaulting a police officer and drug distribution.
The youngest of those cited was 15 years old, said Utah County Sheriff’s Sgt. Dan Gilbert.
Police in Utah County have monitored several raves this summer and have grown increasingly concerned about their legality and safety, Gilbert said. When detectives got word that another party was planned for Saturday, they set to work to make sure they got their point across that such activity was not welcome in their area.
“The Sheriff’s Office will investigate and look into and find an illegal mass gathering going on, we will take the appropriate action to stop the party at that time,” Gilbert said.
Investigators learned that no permit had been requested for a mass gathering which requires a bond and Utah County Commission approval for groups larger than 250, said Gilbert. Police learned around noon Saturday that the rave would be held in the Diamond Fork area of Spanish Fork Canyon and assembled about 90 officers from several agencies to enforce crowd control.
Undercover officers filtered into the party when the doors opened about 9 p.m. By 11:30 p.m. police confirmed that more than 250 people were in attendance and stormed the party. During their two hours at the DJ-driven dance party, undercover officers had observed a multitude of illegal activities including the sale and consumption of drugs such as cocaine, ecstacy, alcohol, methamphetamine and marijuana.
“The sale of drugs at these parties is so prevalent that at this particular rave party, drugs were offered to local off-duty emergency medical service personnel who were contracted to be there,” Gilbert said.
A 17-year-old West Jordan girl overdosed on ecstasy, police said. Most of the participants were between 15 and 30 years old and were from Spanish Fork, Springville, Provo, Payson, as well as Davis and Salt Lake counties, Gilbert said. Two security guards hired by the promotor were arrested for the possession of cocaine and ecstasy and Spanish Fork police made two DUI arrests as partyers drove out of the canyon, he said.
Most of the 400 or so ravers left peacefully.
But others were detained if they had been seen doing something illegal or showed visible signs of impairment, said Gilbert.
In a sweep of the area after the crowd had been controlled, which one raver said was executed with unnecessary force, police found a plethora of drugs and drug paraphernalia scattered on the ground, Gilbert said.
Brett George told Fox News 13 that officers stormed the party and treated attendees unfairly, including beating one man that was trying to film the bust with a video camera.
Police want parents of teenagers to know the dangers of illegal, clandestine rave parties. Gilbert said that in addition to heavy drug use, raves attract sexual assaults, violence, theft and promote unsafe driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
