Officers in uniform may stick out among the crowd of drunken college students and alumni during tailgating, but the University Police Department may not be who violators have to worry about.
UPD's priority during tailgating is safety, not citations.
"[Indiana State] Excise Police get the majority of [alcohol violators] for us," UPD Cpl. Matt Gaither said. "If we see somebody who distinctly catches our eye that is underage and is drinking, we deal with it."
Even when people are intoxicated underage, UPD typically won't arrest them unless they cause some sort of trouble, Gaither said. A man was found urinating next to his truck before the Homecoming game. Once Gaither checked his identification and saw he was of age, no action was taken.
Students and alumni alike seem to recognize that UPD officers understand tailgaters are there to have fun. Many people offer food to the officers as they walk by. A lot of people give cops high fives as they walk through the rows of cars and barbecues.
"I love cops, dude," one student said after Gaither asked his friends to stop standing on top of his truck. "Ever since I turned 21, I love cops."
UPD Chief Gene Burton said officers depend on their own discretion while patrolling the tailgating area.
"While enforcement is a part of what we do in tailgating area, it is not the most important task we have," he said. "The most important task is to provide safety and security of the patrons in the tailgating area."
Burton said officers focus on whether or not there is some sort of public danger, the number of people involved and whether the violation is severe enough to warrant officers to leave the area in the event of an arrest.
UPD sends between 12 and 15 officers to patrol the tailgating area each game. Officers from excise police and the Delaware County Sheriff's Department also help keep the peace at the grounds.
UPD Patrolman David Barnes said, realistically, they will always be outnumbered compared to the number of tailgaters.
"Because of the mass number of people out here, you can't cover such a big area with few officers," he said. "We could actually use more than we have."
The officers split up and focus on enforcing rules, such as no glass bottles and no hard liquor. They also prohibit people from standing in the beds of trucks and check on people lying down in cars who may have had too much to drink.
Gaither said all of the precautions are about safety.
"We've had a lot of people out here that we've found just way overly intoxicated," he said. "Their friends leave them [and they] don't have any idea where they are. That's why we try to keep people off vehicles. We've seen people fall off of vehicles [and] off the tops of buses before."
Vehicle damage is also a concern during tailgating.
"[During tailgating at the homecoming game,] we had a guy that was throwing a football back and forth with his buddy, wasn't paying attention and ran into the side of a vehicle and damaged it," he said.
Sophomore business administration major Kasey Riha said the university needs UPD to patrol the tailgating area.
"When people get really drunk, there's a lot of fights that break out," she said. "It is really important to keep everyone safe and you know if some people are drinking too much, they may get alcohol poisoning, so it is really important that they are here, and we all really appreciate it."
Excise Cpl. Travis Thickstun said 20 people were cited by excise officers at the Oct. 8 homecoming game. Seventeen citations were given for minor possession of alcohol, possession of false identification and false informing. Three people of age were cited for furnishing alcohol to a minor.
Gaither said even though UPD might let some alcohol violations slide, the department enforces drug laws.
"We've had some problems with [marijuana]," he said. "We've also had some problems with once everybody goes into the game, we've had people out here trying car door handles, breaking into people's cars once they are in the game."
UPD officers arrive when tailgating begins, but they don't end their shift at the start of kick off.
"On average, about half of us stay out here," Gaither said. "The other half go into the game. If we've got a lot of problems out here for the game, they are going to go into the game."
Gaither said while his job is all about keeping people safe, he enjoys seeing tailgating regulars.
"You'll see certain people about every game," he said. "Then if you're out here a while and as the years and the seasons and everything pass, you'll see people that you don't [regularly] see anymore [come] for homecoming and you'll get to see them again. It is a great way to develop a rapport with people."
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