Pepper Spray Used To Break Up Rowdy Revelers On The Strip: TPD

Tuscaloosa AL

12 January, 2021

1:20 PM

Description

TUSCALOOSA, AL — Scenes showing thousands of people celebrating on The Strip last night have gone viral and been seen by millions, resulting in the city of Tuscaloosa being placed on the receiving end of criticism for not enforcing more strict public health mandates as the coronavirus pandemic rages on locally. Click here to subscribe to our daily email newsletters and breaking news alerts delivered to your inbox and mobile devices for free. You can also support local journalism by donating as little as $5 a month to become a supporting member or by downloading our free Patch mobile app. Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox addressed the images, calling them "disappointing," while expressing pride in the response of the Tuscaloosa Police Department. Following Alabama's 52-24 win over Ohio State in the College Football Playoff Championship game Monday night, University Boulevard was briefly taken over by thousands of revelers, eventually escalating to see numerous fight break out, two injuries from people hit by beer bottles or cans and minor property damage before police eventually dispersed the mob. "We do not have an exact estimate, but we do believe it's larger than any celebration we have seen in recent memory," Maddox said, lamenting the crowd size in a media availability via Zoom Tuesday morning. The crowd, which police say came mostly from the apartments surrounding The Strip, would ultimately become unruly, with some swinging from trees and light poles and others causing damage, including the awning of the Quick Grill being destroyed in the celebratory chaos. A fight also occurred inside of Rounders and the mood of the crowd took a turn for the worst, resulting in beer bottles being thrown at Tuscaloosa Police officers and patrol vehicles. This escalation prompted swift, but reasonable action to control the situation, according to the department. Tuscaloosa Police Chief Brent Blankley was also on the call and addressed rumors of tear gas being used. He pointed out that pepper spray was implemented to ultimately disperse the rowdy crowd, but not in an amount that would have caused adverse reactions. This was after exhausting other options, he said, including backing off to let the crowd celebrate and then eventually driving several police cars down University Boulevard to split the crowd up — both of which proved to do little in controlling the growing number of those celebrating. "It was sprayed directly onto the ground in little spurts," he said. "We didn't even use the whole can. It was just enough where people could smell it." Blankley was out in person on The Strip early in the afternoon hours Monday, helping to coordinate the response while handing out masks. He then stayed out until the street-sweepers were cleaning up University Boulevard at 2 a.m. He said instead of issuing mask citations, the masks were provided to those without one. In total, 14 people were arrested on 18 charges, ranging from possession of drug paraphernalia to disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and DUI. The police chief pointed out that the department had roughly 30 officers in the area to monitor both The Strip and downtown Tuscaloosa, before Maddox explained it would have taken upwards of 500 officers in tactical gear to have controlled the crowd to the point that a massive gathering would be stopped before it could start. With 289 total personal and only 67% staff availability due to the coronavirus, the mayor said this would not have been possible even under the best of circumstances. He also addressed questions about why the city did not restrict alcohol sales by age or in general in the area, along with why The Strip wasn't closed down in the first place. His answer was the same for each question, saying the city simply did not have the authority to do so. Easily the biggest longterm concern apart from the bad publicity for Tuscaloosa and the state of Alabama rests on the likelihood of increased community spreading of the coronavirus. This is at a time when hospitalizations are at an all-time high both locally and around the state as the pandemic shows no signs of slowing. Couple that with the return of students to in-person instruction at UA on Wednesday, Maddox said, and the outcome becomes that much more uncertain. "I think the bigger concern is how much of this could possibly relate to community spread," he said. Follow Patch here for updates or on Facebook and Twitter.