Don’t let riotous behavior snowball: Police and WVU should respond accordingly to criminal acts during snow day block party

Why not let it snow arrests, expulsions and discipline?
To simply chalk up Friday’s snow day block party gone criminal to some kids misbehaving is a mistake.
Setting a fire in the street, pelting police and municipal workers with bottles and rocks, refusing police orders to disperse and other blatant offenses go beyond acting up.
Though most of this crowd may have not committed any crime, they were certainly not innocent, either. Unless you consider taunting and antagonizing the police as innocent, who acted with the utmost restraint.
Law enforcement and others have correctly defined this incident as a riot. As Morgantown’s police chief explained, the difference between a block party and a riot is criminal activity.
We realize that clearing the sidewalks of snow and plowing upper Spruce Street on Friday effectively put a damper on the fun.
But liability issues effectively prevent allowing for not removing snow and ice to accommodate someone’s fun.
However, the university might want to look at opening certain areas it owns and could supervise for activities during future snow days.
But we digress. The students who took part in this riot do not represent Mountaineer values or even common-sense values. They were not behaving responsibly. They were not being accountable to anyone.
And they certainly were not complying with police orders, whose priority is to keep everyone safe in the best and worst weather.
We urge university officials and the city police to review videos, photos and witness accounts and act accordingly to this kind of mayhem.
Morgantown is a progressive city that is proud of its professional police department, that takes community policing seriously.
As a rule, this police department embodies the idea of restraint and treating everyone with the respect they deserve — young and old. So when hundreds of WVU students and others treat them otherwise, that upsets many of all stripes across this community.
Furthermore, to do nothing not only will perpetuate and embolden this behavior, but send the wrong message to law enforcement and other first responders.
Yes, when members of law enforcement act outside the law they should face consequences, too.
But when they react to a riot situation the way they are expected to we should have their front and back.
And the best way to do that is punish the perpetrators and participants in Friday’s riot situation.
Ultimately, every citizen in this community is also on the hook for the itemized bill stemming from this riot.
But more importantly, we’re also obligated to ensure there are consequences for those who caused this party to snowball into a riot.