When Zach Roop was in Bloomington on Saturday at Ball State University's football game at Indiana University, he noticed a mass of binge-drinking, anxious football fans turning tailgating into a turf war.
The senior sports administration major said when he saw things getting out of hand, he tried to stay away for fear of being pulled in.
"I saw cops going over there and people leaving bloodied," he said. "... I figured cops would start pepper spraying everybody."
Lt. Kenneth Murphy of Indiana State Excise Police's 4th District said the excise police's first priority is to keep something like that from happening. Officers looked for people who were belligerent and who were drinking and appeared to be under the legal age, he said.
Instead they found a tumultuous situation that snowballed.
Murphy said the "four- or five-thousand" person melee began as a scuffle and ended with two mobs-¡ - one representing each school - throwing anything they could at the other side.
The two sides exchanged derogatory chants and the commotion acted as a magnet, attracting more inebriated students eager to spout obscenities and throw the various staples of tailgating.
Murphy said the students were lucky that rocks were not readily available. Even with no rocks homing in on unsuspecting foreheads, Murphy saw about six people come out of the riot-like hoopla with minor cuts and bruises from bottles and cans, he said.
"We get a lot of flack for being the party poopers," he said. "People say 'Why don't you pick on kids that are causing trouble?' This is one of those times."
He said 18 officers from three districts were on duty. Excise has about 85 people in the state, he said, and districts collaborate for gatherings of this magnitude. Ball State is in the 2nd District. He said no District 2 officers were present.
Officers issued citations to 81 people, about 90 percent of whom were students from IU and Ball State, on 97 charges ranging from minor consumption and possession to intimidation as a Class D felony.
Murphy said most of the students were well-behaved and the incident stemmed from students drinking heavily for several hours and being excited about a rivalry game.
On top of punishment from the state, Ball State students who receive citations for alcohol violations will be subject to reprimand from the university.
David Fried, director of student rights and community standards, said for first offenses, students usually receive two months of disciplinary probation, are referred to a university alcohol education course and are required to work at Late Nite. Repeat offenders are subject to suspension or expulsion from the University Review Board, he said.
The Office of Student Rights and Community Standards receives notification from Ball State and Muncie city law enforcement when students are arrested or cited, Fried said. Since the students were ticketed at another university and in another excise police district, he said he doubted they would be reported to Ball State.
Murphy said he was waiting for the university to ask for the list of its students who were arrested. It will be prepared by the end of the week, he said.
Karl Beeler, dean of students at Ball State, said the university would look into the situation. He said the Office of Student Rights and Community Standards would be "taking care" of students involved in the tickets issued at Saturday's game.
"The punishment for underage consumption varies depending on the circumstance of the situation," Beeler said.
Staff Reporter April Abernathy contributed to this report.
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
