University Of Md. Campus Police Accused Of Racism
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (WJZ) -- There are accusations of racism at one of Maryland's premiere public universities after campus police used pepper spray to break up a graduation party.
The University of Maryland's president is promising swift action for students who believe they were racially profiled.
Ava-joye Burnett has more on this rapidly evolving story.
It's the encounter with campus police at a graduation party that has everyone from the administration to students and even famous alumni demanding answers.
Cell phone video shows the chaos as University of Maryland police used pepper spray to break up a graduation party. Police say someone called and reported a fight at the off-campus complex but when they arrived, students denied that ever happened.
Most of the people at the party were black and, as the video made the rounds online, people started to question if race played a role.
"When we beat Duke a couple of years ago and we had, like, a bonfire on the mall, there was no pepper spray for that," said Avery Collins, a recent graduate.
"It's quite disappointing but I am not surprised," said Shervaughnnie Hutchinson.
Even former Ravens player and Maryland alum Torrey Smith chimed in on Twitter, asking how are campus police going to "use pepper spray at a Courtyard party with no fights going on" and added campus police "has to do better."
"It's not a black and white issue," said David B. Mitchell, the chief of police.
After Saturday's incident, the chief spoke out, saying the party was over capacity.
"I think there is a lot of jumping to conclusions and what I ask for is continued peace and that we are given some time to sort through the facts. If we find wrongdoing, believe me, we will deal with it," Mitchell said.
The university president promised a thorough investigation and part of that includes reviewing video from body cameras the officers were wearing.
In a statement, President Wallace Loh wrote in part, "This incident compels us to confront the reality that African-Americans and other persons of color experience bias and unequal treatment in every day life."
Loh also said an investigation could take weeks.
"One, you can't change what happened right now but you can change future events so it doesn't happen again," said alum Karl Bailey.
Once that investigation is complete, Loh promised to release the findings---including the video.
Two people were arrested at the party for disorderly conduct. They were released on their own recognizance.