Police officers who released pepper spray into a crowd of players and fans following Michigan’s 13-10 upset over Ohio State in November have been cleared of wrongdoing following a review of the incident, according to a report from Matt Baker of The Athletic.
Two Ohio agencies conducted a thorough review of the crowd containment measure and concluded that the actions of officers from the University of Michigan Police Department, The Ohio State University Police Department and the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office were justified.
The on-field skirmish between Ohio State and Michigan players came after the Wolverines attempted to plant a flag at midfield of Ohio Stadium following the upset victory. Ohio State’s players reacted to the taunt, and players began fighting before police got in the middle of the altercation. Eventually, the officers had difficulty containing the players, as well as fans who were on the field in the middle of the scrum, and pepper spray was used to disperse the crowd.
“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,” The Ohio State University detective Douglas Cunningham said in a statement. “The players had the advantage in both size, strength, conditioning, protective gear and they outnumbered the police presence trying to suppress the growing threat.”
Cunningham was one of the police officers who discharged the pepper spray. He said he used the short burst because he thought “it would assist in gaining compliance from the aggression [and] resistance of the surging crowd.”
Both schools were fined $100,000 for violating the conference’s sportsmanship policy.
