Two separate investigations by Ohio agencies concluded that police were justified in their deployment of pepper spray and other actions made to de-escalate the on-field postgame brawl between Ohio State and Michigan at Ohio Stadium on Nov. 30 that resulted in one officer being hospitalized and one fan being placed in handcuffs.
The reviews, which were obtained by The Athletic via a public records request, revealed further details regarding the brawl, including a deputy striking a player and an officer threatening the use of a taser on another player. The identities of those players were not revealed.
The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office determined that it was unclear which agency first deployed the pepper spray. One version of events said it was an officer from the University of Michigan Police Department based on “imminent/immediate officer safety” concerns, while another said a Franklin County deputy used it almost simultaneously.
Douglas Cunningham, a detective for The Ohio State University Police Division, said initial attempts to “suppress the aggressive, combative and growing crowd and to regain order” were unsuccessful, and that he used a short burst of pepper spray because he thought it would “assist in gaining compliance from the aggression/resistance of the surging crowd.”
Three department officials, including the school’s chief of police, agreed that those actions were reasonable.
“Several people were on the ground, police officers were being pushed and shoved by large, highly trained and skilled division one football athletes in full football game attire,” Cunningham wrote in his department’s report. “The players had the advantage in both size, strength, conditioning, protective gear and they outnumbered the police presence trying to suppress the growing threat.”
Additional reports from the Franklin County Internal Affairs Bureau found that both lieutenant Shawn Pak and Franklin County deputy Thomas Bellemy were justified in their actions during the melee, which included Pak threatening to tase a player and Bellemy striking a Michigan player who was standing over an Ohio State police officer and using pepper spray.
“Due to the officer’s back and weapon being exposed and uncertain of the player’s intentions amidst the chaos. …I used a single handstrike with a closed fist to the neck area in an effort to force him off the pile,” Bellamy wrote.
The review also revealed that just one person was arrested during the brawl, that being Abraham Clark, a 45-year old Florida resident who told police he ran on the field “to prevent Michigan from planting their flag.” Clark was charged with criminal trespassing and is set for trail on March 11.
No Ohio State or Michigan player was individually charged or disciplined, although the Big Ten fined both schools $100,000 for their roles in the incident.
