Serving the UMN community since 1900

The Minnesota Daily

Serving the UMN community since 1900

The Minnesota Daily

Serving the UMN community since 1900

The Minnesota Daily

Daily Email Edition

Get MN Daily NEWS delivered to your inbox Monday through Friday!

SUBSCRIBE NOW

Dinkytown fight leads to citations

Police used pepper spray and aggression to break up a student fight outside of the Dinkytown McDonaldâÄôs on Friday. Four friends were walking home from a night at the Dinkytown bar scene when a spontaneous fight broke out. Outside of McDonaldâÄôs, students Daniel deJong and Stephen Thomas fought as ThomasâÄô brother Mike Thomas and friend Pierce Merriam watched, Stephen Thomas , a psychology sophomore, said. When things got more heated, Merriam, a business junior, said he tried to come between his fighting friends. At this point, University police officer Geoffrey Maciejewski , who had been sitting in his squad car watching for jaywalkers, noticed the brawl and started to break up the fight as well, according to the police report. Stephen Thomas said the officer kicked both himself and Merriam to the ground and pushed deJongâÄôs face into the pavement, giving him bruises and scrapes. DeJong said that he now has a gash in his knee, scrapes on his face and other injuries from the push, but the report contends that deJong had those injuries before Maciejewski pushed him. According to MaciejewskiâÄôs account in the police report, the three individuals he pushed and kicked all ignored his commands. Maciejewski wrote that Merriam ignored the officerâÄôs commands to get on his stomach, so the officer sprayed him with pepper spray in the face. Merriam, who said he wasnâÄôt part of the fight, was charged with obstruction of justice because the officer was âÄúfearful that Merriam would stand up and physically confrontâÄù him, according to the report. Both Stephen Thomas and deJong were charged with disorderly conduct and Stephen Thomas was also charged with consumption of alcohol by a minor. While you were sleeping A napping student received a rude awakening Friday when she woke to find her money cards were stolen out of her purse. Chang Hon woke from her half-hour nap in Hanson Hall and realized a thief had nabbed two debit cards and a credit card from her purse while she was sleeping. Sleeping, University police Deputy Chief Chuck Miner said, is a perfectly legal way for students to pass their time in University-owned buildings. âÄúIf you can legitimately be there awake then you can legitimately be there sleeping,âÄù he said. Miner added that most âÄúopportunity theftâÄù occurs in the residence halls, and rarely does anyone have their belongings taken while they are sleeping.

Leave a Comment

Accessibility Toolbar

Comments (0)

All The Minnesota Daily Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *