Some far-lefties and libertarian types are hysterical over a police crackdown against organizers and attendees of a rave party outside Provo, Utah.

Longtime readers know I am no fan of drug war zealotry, but the ranting about what happened in Utah seems over the top.

“Iraq in Utah?” Give me a break.

From both media and blog reports, it seems there’s plenty of blame to go around on both sides.

This witness–sympathetic to the ravers–dismisses reports that cops fired tear gas at the crowd and notes that attendees probably got confused with fog machines.

The Provo Daily Herald has a reasoned and balanced take on the incident, questioning both attendees and law enforcement:

Some attendees have complained of excessive force by law enforcement. They say cops and “soldiers” pointed guns at them, punched girls in the face and unleashed an arsenal of everything from attack dogs to tear gas. “They proceeded to attack random people and push their might around on people who had done nothing,” according to one e-mail. Said Josh Witbeck, a nightclub bar bouncer hired for security: “I’m not going to place all the blame on the police, but they treated every person here like a criminal.”

Ravers are currently circulating video footage on the Internet to back up claims of police misconduct. We viewed the video and found no indication that the police acted improperly — no tear gas, no shots fired, no dogs chewing on kids. But one blurry video is not conclusive.

Was this raid a bit heavy-handed? Should the entire weight of police weaponry (including military-style guns capable of full-automatic fire), special tactics, dogs and helicopters be used to break up a music concert with a few hundred kids, some of whom are drunk or high? There are only a couple of ways out of the Childs property, and a crowd is easily contained. Is this truly a situation that requires full riot gear, including black face coverings that lend a Ninja-like quality to the operation?

Such questions can be answered another time, as they deal with how the law is enforced, not whether it should be. Clearly, some enforcement was needed in Diamond Fork on Saturday night.

Let’s state some basic facts, just for the record. Officers of the law carry guns. It is part of what they do. They often carry nonlethal weapons, too, such as bean-bag launchers or tear gas. They make plans for dealing with potentially difficult situations. Why? Because it’s their job to enforce the laws that have been duly enacted by elected authorities.

It’s called enforcement for a reason. Police don’t need to ask politely.

The best way to stay out of range of the police is to obey the law. It’s a lesson too many people have not learned.

Having said that, however, we are concerned about the process that led to this raid, starting with Utah County permits. Commissioner Steve White was strangely evasive on this question. When asked point-blank whether a mass-gathering permit had been issued, he said he would not answer. He referred the Herald to law enforcement sources and the county attorney’s office.

Childs, the property owner, said all the permits were in order and that officers seized them at the gate. It was a legal gathering, she said.

To be sure, there were a number of drug- and alcohol-related arrests and citations arising from the rave. These are fair game by any measure. Once a crime is committed, a permit may be considered null and void. But of the 43 citations reported by the Utah County Sheriff’s Office, about half appear directly related to the raid itself — disorderly conduct, failure to disperse and related acts. Most of the others could have been dealt with on a case-by-case basis, without shutting down a concert at which the majority were not breaking the law.

A massive police assault on virtually any public gathering (a BYU football game, for example) would uncover similar illegalities, from drugs to weapons to expired driver’s licenses. But if a crime is committed during a BYU football game, the game is not stopped. Offenders are trundled off individually. A general suspicion that something illegal might happen at a public gathering, even a rave, may not be the best basis from which to launch a major law enforcement action.

Childs said she has retained an attorney to pursue the matter. It’s a sticky wicket that illustrates some of the ambiguities inherent in a free society and the balance between freedom and responsibility.

Stay tuned for developments.

Looks like many in the blogosphere will be doing just that. (”Utah rave” is currently the 6th most searched phrase on Technorati.)

Update: The Sheriff dept’s take can be found here.

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