Ohio police used pepper spray on high school football players after a post-game brawl broke out during the traditional handshake. The clash followed Washington High School’s 28–14 victory over visiting Cardinal Ritter College Prep from St. Louis, Missouri, on Friday night.A shocking video from Ohio surfaced on the social media showing police using pepper spray, seemingly targeting only the visiting team, after coaches and staff failed to separate the players. The Massillon Police Department stated that its officers acted in accordance with protocol. However, parents expressed outrage over the use of mace on their children, New York Post reported. Ashley Ashburn, mother of 16-year-old Cardinal Ritter defensive back Dayon “DJ” Ross, said, “I’ve never seen anything like that.” She added, “Even if it was a fight, you don’t mace children.” Ashburn further suggested, “Tell the kids to move. [Yell] ‘Get off the field. It’s time to get off the field,’ But not to pull out mace and mace them. No. Absolutely not.” Several players and staff from the Cardinal Ritter College Prep team, which traveled over 500 miles for the game, were sprayed with the chemical irritant. Sports Illustrated reported that no members of the Washington High School team were targeted. Another parent, Carolyn Thomas, posted on Facebook, “There was no fighting warranting such a response from law enforcement. Maybe a shove from the other team, but just out of nowhere, the Ohio police decided to mace the team. I can’t believe our young men had to go through that.” Additional Cardinal Ritter players who were not directly sprayed reported difficulty breathing after being exposed to the chemical in the air. The team left the field in tears following their loss. The Massillon Police Department explained on Wednesday that officers attempted to help coaches and school staff separate the players after pushing and shoving began. Concerned that the brawl was approaching the Massillon marching band and cheerleaders, officers “gave lawful orders on multiple occasions for Cardinal Ritter players to leave and head toward their locker room” but were ignored. “Ultimately, two Massillon police officers deployed pepper spray, which was effective,” the department said. After reviewing the incident, the department concluded that the officers “operated within our policies and procedures for the use-of-force action.” Cardinal Ritter College Prep has stated that they are seeking a resolution for the “absolutely unacceptable incident” and claim that Washington High School is not cooperating with an official investigation. “Neither the school where the game took place nor the school district have shown any interest in supporting an official investigation into why this happened,” Cardinal Ritter College Prep President Tamiko Armestead said in a statement, adding that complaints have been filed with the local police department.
