5 police officers hurt in Ohio street disturbance

April 5, 1998
Web posted at: 4:46 p.m. EDT (2046 GMT)

ATHENS, Ohio (CNN) -- Twenty-seven downtown revelers were posting $250 bail Sunday, mostly on disorderly conduct charges, after being arrested overnight in a disturbance that injured at least five police officers.

A surging crowd blocked traffic in the streets as people flowed from bars that closed one hour early because of the change to daylight savings time.

It is the second year in which police have had trouble controlling the crowds, many of them students at Ohio University, which is in Athens.

Police estimates of the crowd varied from 750 to 3,000, but arrests were down from last year's 47.

Police Chief Rick Mayer said among the injured officers were two struck with debris thrown by the crowd. At least one horse from the mounted police force was injured.

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