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Rusty Dornin: Crowd, police clash at Olympics

CNN's Rusty Dornin

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (CNN) -- At least 30 people were arrested early Sunday in Salt Lake City after a crowd tried to force its way into a beer tent before closing time, prompting police in riot gear to deploy what they called "nonlethal crowd dispersal devices."

CNN Correspondent Rusty Dornin spoke to CNN's Miles O'Brien about how the disturbance got started and how police reacted.

CNN: I guess, Rusty, you could call this a Bud fight.

DORNIN: That's right, Miles. It was the last night really for people to party in downtown Salt Lake. And every single night of the Olympics the crowds have been going to these venues where there have been bands. And Bud World is one of the most popular pavilions.

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Well apparently, it was about quarter to 12, which is when they were going to cut off the beer. And the crowds were trying to get through the security areas and the magnetometers, and they just weren't going fast enough. The crowd was afraid they weren't going to get in apparently. They were spilling out onto the streets. Some of them were climbing the fences, and that's when police moved in and things began to get ugly.

Well, apparently they were throwing bottles and that sort of thing also at the officers. There were about 75 police who were clad in full riot gear, and they were firing -- apparently it was nonlethal bullets into the crowd. There was some property damage. About 30 people were arrested, but apparently no one was injured.

Now, of course, Miles, these Games have been marred by protests and scandals, but this is really the first time there's been any violence in any of these party situations. There haven't been any security problems, so it's really the only thing that's casting kind of a pall over the end of this Olympics.

Now the lasting legacy of this may be just for the folks here in Salt Lake City because there's been a lot of controversy about alcohol being served anywhere in the city. The alcohol laws here in Utah are very conservative. So there may be some debate over whether they can have these kinds of things in the future and serve beer.

[Sunday] is the last day of the Olympics. We're looking forward to, of course, the U.S.-Canada hockey game. For the United States, 1980 was the last time there was a gold medal. And for Canada it was 1952. And, of course, [Sunday night], it's Closing Ceremonies. Vice President Dick Cheney is expected to be on hand for that. So final day here, Miles.

CNN: Well, Rusty, you know, putting this all in perspective, I guess everybody can breathe a sigh of relief that this is all we're talking about, given all of the concerns about security here. Of course, there's still a few hours left. I'm sure people are still holding their breath.

Let me just ask you one question though. Was there a sense that the security forces, the police, you know, loaded for bear, if you will, maybe might have overreacted here?

DORNIN: Well it's funny, because talking to folks in the crowd, there was really a mixed reaction. Some people really, you know, were crying, "Police brutality. They just moved in on us. There was no reason." And there were some other folks who said, "Hey, there were people in the crowd that were throwing bottles at the police and that sort of thing. They had every right to move in the way they did and take care of it quickly."

Now the police are not calling it a riot. They've stepped back from that -- they're just calling it a disturbance. But we're getting, you know, mixed reactions on whether, when they moved in or not, whether it was for a good reason.