Police pepper sprayed and tear gassed Ohio State students celebrating their team's victory in the college football national championship on Monday in an apparent attempt to get celebrants off the roads and on sidewalks.
The Columbus Dispatch reported that most people on campus appeared to be celebrating without causing major problems. As of 1:30 am, one person had been reportedly transported to the hospital.
"There wasn't anybody doing anything wrong. There was no violence," Grove City resident Jeremy Sigler told the Dispatch. "It was just a bunch of people hanging out and being really loud and being excited from the game."
But police scanners were filled with reports of fires in the campus area, according to the Dispatch. More than 40 fires were reported after Ohio State's victory, mostly concentrated in dumpsters in a few streets. There were also several reports of couch and trash fires. None were serious, the Dispatch reported.
A few gunshots were reported in the campus area, but no gunshot injuries were linked to postgame celebrations.
This isn't the first time we've seen tear gas used on citizens during what appears to be a peaceful situation. The quick deployment of tear gas and other nonlethal weapons drew a lot of criticism in Ferguson, Missouri, during the protests over the August 9 police shooting of Michael Brown. Experts argued that the use of any force against a largely peaceful crowd only caused the situation to unnecessarily escalate.
Further reading: Why America's police forces look like invading armies
