DIY History | Transcribe | Campus Culture | Student protests, May-December 1971 | 1971-05-12 Iowa City Press-Citizen Article: ""Students, 125 Patrolmen Clash in UI Dorm Area"" Page 1

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Student protests, May-December 1971

1971-05-12 Iowa City Press-Citizen Article: ""Students, 125 Patrolmen Clash in UI Dorm Area"" Page 1

P-C 5/12/71

LEFT TURN ON GREEN ARROW ONLY

Signal Uprooted

A highway patrolman looks over the remains of a street light torn down by demonstrators last night and used in erecting a makeshift barricade at Riverside Drive and the Burlington Street bridge. The smashed lights were later replaced by a four-way stop marker, backing up traffic at the intersection today.
(AP Wirephoto)

Students, 125 Patrolmen Clash in UI Dorm Area

By THOMAS C. WALSH 
Of the Press-Citizen

About 125 of the 200 highway patrolmen send to Iowa City Tuesday by Gov. Robert D. Ray to contain further mob action met it Tuesday night and for three hours dodged a steady barrage of bottles, rocks, sticks, furniture, fire works and insults. 
In the end, eight persons had been arrested, three on felony charges of assault with intent to inflict great bodily harm and the others on charges ranging from reckless driving to disobeying aq police officer. 
Six highway patrolmen suffered injuries, mostly cuts, sprains and bruises serious enough to require medical attention. One patrolman suffered an eye injury. Ten others were said to have suffered less serious cuts, bruises and sprains. 
Highway Patrol Capt. Lyle Dickinson termed the outburst "ridiculous, sadistic, unwarranted."
"I've been with the university and their problems since 1967. I don't think you could in any way, shape or form compare last year with this year," Dickinson said. 
Dickinson a year ago commanded highway patrolmen brought here to quell disturbances that broke our on the university campus in the wake of the American invasion of Cambodia and the killing of four Kent State University students. 
Dickinson said he has been ordered to "keep the University of Iowa open and protect state property"
"I have all the powers of a peace officer," Dickinson said. "If that brings me into dorms, that's where I'll go. There are no sanctuaries as far as my authority is concerned."
Dickinson praised his men for their handling of the disturbance. 
"No one could have been any more proud that I was of the way they responded to extremely adverse conditions," said Dickinson.
Apparently angered by the use Monday night of tear gas near the men's dormitories, a band of about 20 masked men and women began tossing bottles and rocks at Riverside Drive traffic from a walkway east of the Hillcrest Dormitory. The hall of debris began about 10 p.m. and most of the objects were thrown at passing highway patrol vehicles.
When the appearances of marked patrol cars became less frequent, the band dispersed and disappeared into the dormitory. At 11:05 p.m., a telephone call warning that a bomb had been placed inside Hillcrest was received by University of Iowa campus security officials. The dormitory was evacuated and searched but officials said today no bomb was found. 
With the Hillcrest residents out of the building, a group of about 100 demonstrators swarmed onto Riverside Drive at Grand Avenue, halting traffic and uprooting traffic signals and street signs. " Come join us," they yelled to the hundreds of dormitory residents who lined the walkway above the highway and watched the activity. Few did. 
The mob stopped traffic, threw rocks at cameramen, chanted anti-war slogans and began erecting makeshift barricades across Riverside Drive with nearby signs, downed stop lights, pieces of snow fence and large rocks. 
A two-tone blue and white car speed through the crowd and it was pelted with rocks and sticks. A large semi trailer truck later drove through the crowd and met with the same reception. 
Meanwhile, highway patrolmen were massing in the parking lot west of the Main Library. When they began to form ranks on the east side of the Burlington Street bridge, the roadblock of debris was moved to block the west side of the bridge. 
A light - colored car refused to turn back, and, when it was learned the driver has a shotgun, a highway patrolman led him away. He was later identified as UI head wrestling coach David McCuskey of 318 Willis Drive and was charged with intoxication. 
"Get in those dorms quick," Capt. Lyle Dickinson of the Highway Patrol bullhorned to the crowd. "You clear that intersection and street immediately or all available manpower and resources will be used. You are going to get what you are asking for. Move out. Move out and move out quick."
The demonstrators didn't budge until the two-tone blue and white car returned and made another pass through the crowd. One woman was injured when she fell trying to avoid the car, but she refused treatment after a Johnson County ambulance arrived.
Ten minutes later, the speeding car made another pass, this time across the bridge through the ranks of highway patrol

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P-C 5/12/71 LEFT TURN ON GREEN ARROW ONLY Signal Uprooted A highway patrolman looks over the remains of a street light torn down by demonstrators last night and used in erecting a makeshift barricade at Riverside Drive and the Burlington Street bridge. The smashed lights were later replaced by a four-way stop marker, backing up traffic at the intersection today. (AP Wirephoto) Students, 125 Patrolmen Clash in UI Dorm Area By THOMAS C. WALSH Of the Press-Citizen About 125 of the 200 highway patrolmen send to Iowa City Tuesday by Gov. Robert D. Ray to contain further mob action met it Tuesday night and for three hours dodged a steady barrage of bottles, rocks, sticks, furniture, fire works and insults. In the end, eight persons had been arrested, three on felony charges of assault with intent to inflict great bodily harm and the others on charges ranging from reckless driving to disobeying aq police officer. Six highway patrolmen suffered injuries, mostly cuts, sprains and bruises serious enough to require medical attention. One patrolman suffered an eye injury. Ten others were said to have suffered less serious cuts, bruises and sprains. Highway Patrol Capt. Lyle Dickinson termed the outburst "ridiculous, sadistic, unwarranted." "I've been with the university and their problems since 1967. I don't think you could in any way, shape or form compare last year with this year," Dickinson said. Dickinson a year ago commanded highway patrolmen brought here to quell disturbances that broke our on the university campus in the wake of the American invasion of Cambodia and the killing of four Kent State University students. Dickinson said he has been ordered to "keep the University of Iowa open and protect state property" "I have all the powers of a peace officer," Dickinson said. "If that brings me into dorms, that's where I'll go. There are no sanctuaries as far as my authority is concerned." Dickinson praised his men for their handling of the disturbance. "No one could have been any more proud that I was of the way they responded to extremely adverse conditions," said Dickinson. Apparently angered by the use Monday night of tear gas near the men's dormitories, a band of about 20 masked men and women began tossing bottles and rocks at Riverside Drive traffic from a walkway east of the Hillcrest Dormitory. The hall of debris began about 10 p.m. and most of the objects were thrown at passing highway patrol vehicles. When the appearances of marked patrol cars became less frequent, the band dispersed and disappeared into the dormitory. At 11:05 p.m., a telephone call warning that a bomb had been placed inside Hillcrest was received by University of Iowa campus security officials. The dormitory was evacuated and searched but officials said today no bomb was found. With the Hillcrest residents out of the building, a group of about 100 demonstrators swarmed onto Riverside Drive at Grand Avenue, halting traffic and uprooting traffic signals and street signs. " Come join us," they yelled to the hundreds of dormitory residents who lined the walkway above the highway and watched the activity. Few did. The mob stopped traffic, threw rocks at cameramen, chanted anti-war slogans and began erecting makeshift barricades across Riverside Drive with nearby signs, downed stop lights, pieces of snow fence and large rocks. A two-tone blue and white car speed through the crowd and it was pelted with rocks and sticks. A large semi trailer truck later drove through the crowd and met with the same reception. Meanwhile, highway patrolmen were massing in the parking lot west of the Main Library. When they began to form ranks on the east side of the Burlington Street bridge, the roadblock of debris was moved to block the west side of the bridge. A light - colored car refused to turn back, and, when it was learned the driver has a shotgun, a highway patrolman led him away. He was later identified as UI head wrestling coach David McCuskey of 318 Willis Drive and was charged with intoxication. "Get in those dorms quick," Capt. Lyle Dickinson of the Highway Patrol bullhorned to the crowd. "You clear that intersection and street immediately or all available manpower and resources will be used. You are going to get what you are asking for. Move out. Move out and move out quick." The demonstrators didn't budge until the two-tone blue and white car returned and made another pass through the crowd. One woman was injured when she fell trying to avoid the car, but she refused treatment after a Johnson County ambulance arrived. Ten minutes later, the speeding car made another pass, this time across the bridge through the ranks of highway patrol DISORDER Turn to Page 2A