Fan Watch: Broad and Walnut under control | Philadelphia Inquirer

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Thursday, October 30, 2008

Fan Watch: Broad and Walnut under control

At 1:20 a.m., police with batons and riot gear began lining the sidewalks and steadily moving the crowd off Broad Street. The resistance seems to have subsided, the fires are out. A couple of cars have been overturned, and Broad Street is littered with glass, newspaper boxes, planters and collapsed bus shelters. About 100 officers were visible on the streets, most in riot gear. The police beat a few people down with batons, but there were no mass arrests.

The police had arrived in a Philadelphia School District bus that the crowd tried to tip over, but the police were able to hold them off. The police were also guarding the Robinson Luggage outlet that had been lootyed earlier in the night.

The intersection with Chestnut Street was the last one cleared. The police were forcing their way through the intersection, where about 200 people remained. They began throwing bottles and cursing at the police.

From City Hall to South Street, there were still sbout 500 people on the streets. But that was a fraction of the thousands who had jammed the blocks south of City Hall after the Phillies first World Series win in 28 years.

Posted by Vernon Loeb @ 1:26 AM Permalink | 18 comments

Comments

Comment removed.

Posted 01:41 AM, 10/30/2008

EddieV

You're wrong hank. It was getting way out of hand down there. People just don't know how to enjoy themselves without destroying stuff.

Posted 01:50 AM, 10/30/2008

tfarnath

This is the way people are now, and that is angry. I'm sure when the 1980 Phils won it wasn't like this. It's the way people are today. For instance, watch an NBA game, after an amazing shot or slam to tie the game, watch how they act. They scowl and punch their chests. Watch the same shots 20 or 30 years ago, they smile and celebrate. Football, score the winning TD and don't actually be happy, push everyone away and do your rehearsed dance instead. Win a CHAMPIONSHIP and light things on fire and loot. You'd be living in the past to actually be happy. The people should be policing themselves. Don't just sit and watch.

Posted 01:54 AM, 10/30/2008

jasonite74

You're right, EddieV, and hanksperka is wrong - it's not poor journalism, it's poor behavior by these "revelers". Inexcusably embarrassing, in fact. By all means, party and celebrate in the street - but starting fires, overturning vehicles, throwing bottles, and setting off fireworks INTO CROWDS OF PEOPLE are completely uncalled for. Who raised these animals? This is a world-class city, but our image is constantly tarnished by these low-class hooligans. The world is watching, Philadelphia - how pathetic and barbaric do you want to look?

Posted 01:59 AM, 10/30/2008

yahmpy

I think the Phillies have found Pat Burrell's replacement in left field next year. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MufTb-D4AcE

Posted 03:55 AM, 10/30/2008

kimb

This report is wildly exaggerated. I was there, on Broad between Locust and Chestnut, from midnight to about 1:30am when the police pushed us down Broad and off to the side streets. The riot police got off their buses around 12:30am. Before that, the crowd was huge but well-behaved and joyful. Even the drunken louts were happy and well-behaved. An officer I spoke to at Spruce around midnight said that the crowd had been good all night. The mood change quickly when the riot police arrived - it was suddenly tense because of their presence, not before it. There was some damage - every one of the giant, round terracotta planters along Broad, from Spruce to City Hall, were turned upside down in the street with happy people standing on them for the view. A few kids had climbed on top of newpaper kiosks. Newspaper dispensers were overturned everywhere. I saw one bike that got trampled. Three or four small bonfires of newspapers were started here and there but sputtered out quickly. There were some lovely starburst fireworks, shot over the crowd (not into it!) at Broad and Chestnut. The one shocking incident was a small red sportscar flipped upside down on Walnut at Broad - that was the one serious act of hooliganism I saw. There was only one flipped car. Between 12:30am and 1:30am, lines of riot police charged back and forth through the crowds at Chestnut and Broad. Only once did I see anything thrown at them - about 4 small items were tossed after one charge, none of them bottles. One young man climbed a street light pole to lead the crowd in a Go Phillies chant, but the riot police rushed up and beat him down with their batons - a bit of unnecessary force, frankly. I live two blocks off Broad and am no hooligan: 48 yr old, female, college prof. If the scene was anything like the kind of mayhem (falsely) implied by the reporter's claims above, I wouldn't have been there. hanksperka is right, this report is ridiculously overstated.

Comment removed.

Posted 07:03 AM, 10/30/2008

ahab

Let's leave it to Bill Conlin, King of Conventional Wisdom, to judge for the world whether this was Philly overexuberance or hooliganism. There's no telling how it will go: Conlin's made a career of playing both sides of the question.

Posted 08:15 AM, 10/30/2008

wfs0868

Tfarnath...people were the same in 1980 as they are now. Does anyone else remember the mounted horses, police in riot gear and German Shepard dogs utilized in Veterans Stadium in the winning game of the 1980 World Series?

Posted 08:15 AM, 10/30/2008

Hatters88

Let's try to remember that there were thousands and thousands of people at different parts of the city. What one person may have experienced, may not have been experienced by others in a different area, even a block or two away. Just like celebraters, the same can be said for the police. One bad apple can spoil the bunch.

Posted 08:16 AM, 10/30/2008

lane103

Just so you know in 1980 there was property damaged, so this type of activity was not unexpected, hence the riot police. It is shame that they could not prevent looting of stores from happening.

Posted 08:53 AM, 10/30/2008

eharris

Absolutely overstated. I was out on Broad, near Walnut for hours. Yes, there were a lot of people. Yes, some people were doing things they wouldn't normally--climbing up street posts, taking down signs, and the like. Was it dangerous? No. Were people in general just happy and having a good time? Absolutely. I'd wager most Philadelphians were friendlier, sunnier, and happier in general than any other day of the year. The cops were generally just there to ensure crowd control (though one was taking people's alcohol) and I didn't see any violence or out of control behavior. A few bad apples may have been out there, but don't let their actions spoil others' (who weren't out there) opinions on the fans.

Posted 09:11 AM, 10/30/2008

LivinLovinLife

I agree Kim I was out at Broad and Tasker for a good while and live only a block from there. It was rowdy but nowhere near as out of control as the story makes it seem. I also only live a block from Broad St and I can say the neighborhood was fine, no damage that I could see.

Posted 09:21 AM, 10/30/2008

centercity25

While deviant behavior is accepted as a form of celebration in times such as last evening, it should not be dismissed so easily. If people can break the laws and carry on the way they did in the streets last night with a total lack of police presence, how long is it before the “innocent” behavior (flipping cars, burning trash, throwing bricks through store windows, hanging onto/out of/on top of moving vehicles (including very small children that should be in CAR SEATS)) turns violent….. As a resident of Philadelphia who just so happens to live along one of the “celebration” streets of last night, I am concerned about the lack of police presence. We live in a city that has one of the highest murder rates and one that has a very serious gun control problem. Yes, it is true, most of the interaction between people last night was civil and friendly; however, I did observe many not only illegal, but gravely dangerous “celebrations” in and around the streets involving motor vehicles and pedestrians that just so happened to be spilling out of the bars. I noticed one, I repeat one, single police officer (at a major intersection, nonetheless) who stood on the corner for all of 15 minutes before leaving. That is not acceptable. While the violence and damage was not as bad as it could have been, for all of the taxes that we pay to run this lovely city, WHERE were the police?