Armed SWAT team attack rave with dogs and gas — video

An allegedly legal rave in Utah last Saturday was broken up by a heavily armed SWAT team who reportedly teargassed hundreds of peaceful dancers and then set attack dogs on them. Some of the attendees had video cameras with them, and the footage that has begun to appear on the Internet is very disturbing, showing brutal assaults by the officers.

The Wikinews roundup is probably the best coverage on the net:

The promoter says the party took place on private property, named Child's Ranch, with express permission from the owner. The property owner has apparently had at least one previous run-in with police over a similar event. Utah County requires a permit, bond and county commission approval for all gatherings with more than 250 people present. According to a DJ at the event, "they presold 700 tickets and they expected up to 3,000 people total". He added that by the time police arrived "the crowd was about 1500 people thick".

The police have publicly stated that these permits were not obtained, but the promoters claim otherwise. Officials also claim that the party had spilled over onto public land. Police reported in local press that more than 60 arrests were made for weapons offenses, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, underage drinking, drug possession and distribution, resisting arrest, assault on a police officer and disorderly conduct. Officers claim to have found cocaine, ecstasy, marijuana, mushrooms, alcohol and large amounts of drug paraphernalia. Some of the drugs may include those confiscated from partiers by security guards.

Link

(Thanks, it290 and many others!)