Richmond Obama throng praised by police

Richmond police had nothing but kind words this morning for the several thousand people who staged an impromptu street party late last night to celebrate Barack Obama's presidential election victory.

"No problems at all," Capt. David Martin said.

No arrests were made and no force was required to control a crowd that police estimated at more than 2,000 people who gathered on the Virginia Commonwealth University main academic campus to party in the streets and march downtown.

"We called out some additional personnel just to make sure," Martin said, "but everything stayed peaceful."

At one point, the block of West Broad Street in front of VCU's Siegel Center was filled wall to wall with happy people. Then the throng moved east down Broad, chanting, "No more Bush" and "Yes we can."

Police shut down Broad from Belvidere to Lombardy streets while the crowd cheered and waved flags and Obama signs.

Students and young people streamed over both sides of Broad, stopping cars in the process. In front of an Obama office on Broad, people hugged a few campaign volunteers who were in the doorway and asked for extra Obama signs.

"It's just so great and there's finally going to be some change," said Madeline Dell-Aria, 18, a VCU student. "We all just started parading, impromptu parading."

Police said the group shrank to about 400, who marched to the south side of Old City Hall and, facing the State Capitol, sang the Star-Spangled Banner.