This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated.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 say all they wanted to do was clear downtown sidewalks outside a homeless shelter so they could be cleaned.
What they got was a near riot that ended in a flood of officers rushing to the area of the Road Home shelter at 210 S. Rio Grande to defuse an angry crowd of transients about 8:30 a.m. Tuesday.
Salt Lake City police Detective Cody Lougy said multiple fights broke out, but no serious injuries to transients or police were reported, as officers tried to move a crowd to make room for the cleaning work.
One 26-year-old man was arrested and booked into Salt Lake County Jail on suspicion of failing to disperse at the order of a police officer and inciting a riot. A 24-year-old man was booked for assault.
"Multiple officers responded to quell the unruly crowd and restore order," Lougy said.
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