Public Safety handcuffs freshman at tailgate

“[Department of Public Safety (DPS)] officers who were assigned to the tailgate lot heard the crowd roaring for two student age males wrestling on the edge of the retention basin just east of the tailgate lot,” Davall said. “We do not know whether this was a fraternity pledge task.”

The two students ended up in the basin, which was full of water, and continued to wrestle over a football, he added.

“The skirmish escalated, and the officers saw that one of the males had the other one in a chokehold,” Davall explained. “Believing that the male in the chokehold was in danger, the DPS officers shouted to the two [to] stop. They complied and got out of the water. DPS officers restrained both and walked the two to Fitzrandolph Road to question them.”

The student who put the other in a chokehold was placed in handcuffs, though he was not being arrested, Davall explained.

“Typically our officers do not handcuff persons unless they are under arrest,” he explained. “In this case, the officers felt they needed to control him by putting handcuffs on him because of how he was acting. As soon as he calmed down, the handcuffs were removed.”

The skirmish came after rules for tailgating changed this fall in response to “problems in recent years” that included damage to the grounds, fights, excessive drinking, underage drinking and open fires, Davall said.

Kegs are now forbidden on the tailgating grounds, and tailgating may occur only during the three hours before the start of a football game and one hour after the game ends, according to the new rules, Davall explained, adding that no tailgating is permitted during the game.