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A high school football game ended in chaos after police deployed pepper spray in an effort to defuse verbal and physical altercations.
The Cardinal Ritter College Prep High School football team from St. Louis traveled nearly 500 miles to Massillon, Ohio, and it turned into a nightmare of a trip.
Cardinal Ritter fell to Massillon High School 28-14 in what was said to be a chippy, physical game all night.
Tensions boiled over during the postgame handshake, where multiple players had to be separated, prompting the use of pepper spray.
Police said the officers involved “operated within our policies and procedures.”
“Our task was to ensure the safety and security of all those who enter the stadium which includes fans, students, and athletes alike. Unfortunately, the conclusion of the game brought with it multiple physical altercations on the field between both teams,” the police said in a release.
The release then explained why the pepper spray was used.
“Team staff members, coaches, and Massillon police officers were forced to intervene and separate players during the post-game ‘hand-shake.’ Officers gave lawful orders on multiple occasions for Cardinal Ritter players to leave the field and head toward their locker room,” the release continued.
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“The verbal commands were an attempt to de-escalate the pushing and shoving occurring. Those commands were ignored. At one point during the incident, a Massillon player’s facemask was grabbed; he was surrounded, and then chased by Cardinal Ritter players. Officers once again ordered the visiting team off the field. All of this was transpiring while the Massillon marching band and cheerleaders were now on the field for the ceremonial post-game playing of the school’s alma mater. This factor concerned officers as they continued to order Ritter players off the field.
“The Ritter players again charged at Massillon players who were now near the band. This was an unfortunate and difficult situation for officers who, during the entirety of the incident, attempted to restore order. Ultimately, two Massillon police officers deployed pepper spray, which was effective. We have thoroughly reviewed this incident and found they operated within our policies and procedures for the use-of-force action taken.”
Cardinal Ritter officials told Fox 8 in Cleveland that they have contacted the Ohio High School Athletic Association to see what action they could take.
“We are aware of the incident that occurred at the Massillon, OH, football game last week, and we were very troubled by a video of what happened,” Cardinal Ritter’s president Tamiko Armstead said in a statement.
Current Detroit Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams attended Cardinal Ritter. Paul Brown, the co-founder of the Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals, attended Massillon.
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