From Madison PD:
Incident Type
Disturbance
Incident Date
03/11/2019 - 4:58 PM
Address
2845 North Sherman Ave. (Madison Public Library Lakeview Branch)
Details
The MPD was called to the Madison Public Library's Lakeview Branch, 28455 North Sherman Ave., after a group of loud juveniles refused a librarian's request to leave the building. The librarian later told police some in the group have caused issues several times, over the past week, inside the normally quiet branch. When officers arrived the juveniles, who numbered between 15 and 20, announced they did not have to leave, that they did not have to listen to police, and that police could not touch them. Despite protestations, officers spent 10 minutes trying to dialogue with the young people, until trying to escort some out. During the process, one girl kicked over a trash can sending refuse materials across the library floor. She then kicked a male officer in the groin who had grabbed her arm. Another juvenile kicked a chair which hit and toppled a bookshelf. Throughout the disturbance, young people were yelling and swearing at the officers while several recorded everything on their cell phones. One young person displayed gang signs. Another took off his jacket and postured as if he wanted to fight one of the officers. This child also knocked over a trash can, kicked over a chair, and rifled a half-filled bottle of juice across the library. "The crowed outnumbered the police. They were loud and frenzied," wrote a detective in his report. An officer wrote, in another report, that they were met "with angry belligerence and outright refusal to comply with a lawful command." The North District Community Police Team was brought in to back up the original four officers who had been dispatched. In the end, five juveniles were given municipal citations for infractions like disorderly conduct, trespass after notification, and resisting. Officers explained what took place to the children's parents as those cited were released to adults.