News

JMM investigation continues

Madison police are continuing investigations into a party on East Gorham Street attended by 60 to 70 James Madison Memorial High School students.

According to a release, 21-year-old Madison resident Cindy Fraser hosted the party, which spun out of control when police responded to calls of a naked woman running in the street and a 16-year-old passed out in a nearby area March 3.

"We were able to identify 60-70 Memorial High School students," Madison Police Public Information Officer Tony Fiore said. "There was a naked woman running in the street, a 16-year-old intoxicated near the neighbor's house and some of the people were playing in the street."

The 16-year-old was taken to the University of Wisconsin Hospital emergency room because of the amount of alcohol in his system.

When police tried to contact the resident of the house, located on the 800 block of East Gorham Street, Fiore said the residents had locked the door.

According to the release, police officers then waited outside the residence for about three hours before another house resident returned home and allowed the police to enter.

"A number of officers identified approximately 70 students from James Madison Memorial High School, all of [whom] had been drinking in the party, with the exception of only nine," the release states.

Fiore said five to seven officers stayed on the location for the entire time, which limited the amount of resources for the rest of the city that night.

"We try to deal with those situations as much as we can," he added. "It depends on the number of resources we have. … We just want to make sure we can disperse everyone as safely as possible."

While the students' names were released to James Madison Memorial High School, Memorial High School officials did not return calls as of press time.

According to Fiore, arrests were not made at the party, and he said citations would be the most likely course of action Madison police will take.

Fiore added the best thing to do when dealing with the police in those situations is to cooperate.

"Locking the door and hoping we will go away will not happen," he said. "People need to realize that a party, whether it's high school versus college, will be dealt [with] in the same manner."