SLC police use Taser, break up crowded party at bakery
This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2009, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Salt Lake City police shocked one man with a Taser while breaking up a party in the basement of a downtown bakery early Sunday morning.

Officers responded to calls about a loud party near 150 East and 900 South at 12:32 a.m. Sunday. They found more than 110 people in the basement of a bakery, which had been used in the past as an unlicensed dance hall for rave parties, said Salt Lake City Detective Dennis McGowan.

Some of the people at the Sunday morning party were minors either drinking or serving alcohol, police said.

The two officers who initially responded called for backup and eventually were joined by more than 10 officers. An 18-year-old man confronted police and tried to incite fellow partygoers to fight officers, McGowan said.

"He appeared to be a dangerous, violent person," McGowan said, adding that the man was drunk and struggling with an officer. "At one point he had the officer by the uniform. They both went to the ground, and after continued attempts to get him to stop fighting and comply, he was ultimately Tased."

Medical teams checked the man and he was booked into jail later Sunday morning, around 9:30 a.m.

Medical officials also evaluated a 17-year-old who was vomiting from excessive drinking. Police said six adults were booked into the Salt Lake County jail on suspicion of various charges, including supplying alcohol to minors and assault on a police officer.

Three others were cited and released, police said.

Police also called the fire marshal because there was only one entrance and exit to the basement.

"If there was a fire with only one entry and that many people, it obviously could have been an issue," McGowan said.

Crime » Some partygoers were minors either drinking or serving alcohol.
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