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CNN Sunday Morning

Disturbance Mars Final Day of Olympics

Aired February 24, 2002 - 09:11   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Let's get some details on the street disturbances that briefly rocked downtown Salt Lake City, Utah earlier today.

CNN's Rusty Dornin has the latest on these arrests and the damages and how it all started, as these games draw to an end.

Hi, Rusty.

RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, you know things have gone very smoothly throughout these Olympics as far as the after games partying that's been going on in downtown Salt Lake. There have been huge crowds every night, but it was the last night of the party that got ugly.

Apparently, there were about 2,500 people in the street, and many of them were trying to get into Bud World. It was about 15 minutes before that venue closed, and they were angry because they couldn't get into the tent before closing. Some folks tried to climb fences. Police got upset because people were spilling out into the streets, and about 75 riot-clad police moved in.

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DETECTIVE DWAYNE BAIRD, SALT LAKE CITY POLICE: There were lots of people that were trying to get into that area, but they were not able to get through the magnetometers and the bag checks fast enough for them, apparently, and they started to become unruly.

So when they called for our officers, our officers responded and found that that was, in fact, the case and they needed to be moved along.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DORNIN: Apparently some of the party-goers began throwing bottles at the officers. About 30 people were arrested. There was some property damage. Police fired a few non-lethal bullets into the crowd. Apparently no one was injured, but there was a mixed reaction on the police reaction to the crowd.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) brutality to happen in Salt Lake City tonight. We were hanging out on the street and all of a sudden we're getting shot at with rubber bullets, and pushing us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're getting chilled out all on the streets and had an excellent time, and they ruined it by throwing it at the riot guys. I mean we could have had a good time. The riot guys did what they had to do. They were getting brutally assaulted. I don't blame them from shooting them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DORNIN: Now, of course, this games has been marred by some scandals and protests and threats by some international teams to pull out of the games altogether, but this is really the first time there's been any kind of violent confrontation on the street, and that's after all these security concerns that were going on throughout the games and most of that was unfounded.

So it was really unfortunate that this ended up happening on the very last night of the games. Of course, today folks are looking forward to the U.S.-Canada face-off. The last time Canada was looking at gold, or did win the gold was 50 years ago, and for the U.S., of course, it was the Miracle on Ice in 1980. Closing ceremonies tonight, attended by Vice President Cheney. Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Rusty. What's the story with this French Judge Marie-Reine LaGougne.

DORNIN: LaGougne.

PHILLIPS: Yes, who was caught up in this judging scandal. Is she recanting her story?

DORNIN: It's a he said-she said and has been all week long, ever since this thing happened. Now eyewitnesses claim that this French judge, Marie LaGougne had broke down in tears and was very upset and initially said right after the event that she had been pressured by the French Federation and her president to vote for the Russians.

Right after that, apparently, she told a French publication last week that no, it was the Canadian's that had been pressuring her all along, and that's also what apparently she did tell the New York Times in an interview. She was in a lawyer's office in Salt Lake City this week. So it's very difficult to tell what happened, and until they really do an investigation to see what really is the truth in this case.

PHILLIPS: All right. Our Rusty Dornin.

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