“Police gave verbal orders to disperse, which were ignored,” the UD statement says. “Police initially launched Pepper Balls, which contain powder with an irritant that disperses quickly, that were unsuccessful in reducing the crowd size.”
A video posted on social media shows police firing the pepper balls into the ground. Students at the scene complained that they felt officers were firing tear gas at them, according to videos at the scene.
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However, Pepper Balls are different. The company that makes Pepper Balls says on their website that they are safe and have not caused any deaths or serious injuries in over 20 years of use.
UD said campus police and Dayton police again gave orders for the students to clear the street at around 2:15 a.m. The students complied at that time, the university says.
>>WATCH: Police body camera footage shows chaos at UD on St. Patrick’s Day
This isn’t the first time UD police had things thrown at them during a UD party. In 2018 UD student partiers had a run-in with campus police while celebrating St. Patrick’s Day. During that incident, UD officers encountered an “extremely” dangerous situation where rocks, bottles, fireworks and other projectiles were thrown at and struck officers, the university said at the time.
In 2013, a disturbance broke out on St. Patrick’s Day evening, when more than 1,000 people gathered on Keifaber Street and students were jumping on cars, throwing glass beer bottles and yelling at police officers. Police from 10 jurisdictions responded to the incident, which was the first major St. Patrick’s Day problem since the 1990s.
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