ST. LOUIS – An emotional high school football game in Massillon, Ohio, on Friday night ended with police macing Cardinal Ritter College Prep players.
Footage captured by Dylan Kelley, CEO of DPK.Captures, depicts what seems to be uniformed officers spraying the players from Cardinal Ritter High School. The spraying persisted even as the players appeared to retreat from the field. According to Kelley, the incident was sparked by altercations during the postgame handshake, and coaches were in the process of separating the players when police intervened.
“It escalated very quickly and the cops pulled out their pepper spray a little after the fact of when they were separated,” Kelley said.
Parents say several Cardinal Ritter players were affected, including Ashley Ashburn’s 16-year-old son, D.J.
“He got maced pretty bad in his eyes and it made him immediately drop to his knees,” she said.
Kelley, who recorded the video, said players on the two teams had been fighting the whole game, but he was stunned by what he saw.
“Witnessing that unfold right before my eyes was truly shocking,” Kelley expressed. “It was quite eye-opening. Why would something like this occur? What justifies pepper-spraying a group of high school students?”
Tamiko Armstead, president of Cardinal Ritter, issued a statement acknowledging, “We are cognizant of the incident at the football game in Massillon, OH last week, and we are deeply concerned by the video footage of the event.”
Armstead further stated that Cardinal Ritter is assisting families and witnesses in lodging formal grievances with the Ohio police department. She mentioned that the school has also communicated with the Ohio State Athletics Association regarding any potential measures they might employ.
FOX 2 contacted Massillon City Schools on Monday afternoon, but hadn’t received a response at the time this report was published. Cantonrep.com inquired about the incident during a postgame interview with the coach.
“I have no idea. Next question,” the coach said on Friday night.
Ashburn said she still has not received a clear explanation for what happened.
The Massillon Police Department stated it had no comments at present. When FOX 2 requested it, an incident report was not available for release. Ashburn is seeking additional answers.
“It was very disheartening when I saw the video,” she said. “It was alarming. I’m steady asking questions, like what happened? Was it a fight? Did the police give some kind of warning?”
She says she has also contacted the Ohio Civil Rights Commission regarding the incident.
