Police Learn Their Fate After Pepper Spraying Ohio State, Michigan Players

Police were 100% justified in their actions to stop the Ohio State/Michigan football brawl, according to new documents.

Members of the Wolverines and Buckeyes got into a massive brawl during the November rivalry game after Michigan pulled off a shocking upset.

It all started with a flag-planting attempt, and it was off to the races from there. Police on the ground resorted to using pepper spray in order to break up the chaos unfolding on the field.

Police were justified during Ohio State/Michigan brawl.

Documents obtained by The Athletic show reviews by the Franklin County Sheriff's Office and The Ohio State University Police Division deemed police actions were justified.

It's not 100% sure which officers used pepper spray first, but the Franklin County Sheriff's Office determined the use of pepper spray was based on "imminent/immediate officer safety" concerns.

Douglas Cunningham, an Ohio State detective, said the initial attempts to "suppress the aggressive, combative and growing crowd and to regain order" failed.

That was obvious to anyone with eyes watching.

"Several people were on the ground, police officers were being pushed and shoved by large, highly trained and skilled division one football athletes in full football game attire. The players had the advantage in both size, strength, conditioning, protective gear and they outnumbered the police presence trying to suppress the growing threat," Cunningham wrote in his report.

He used pepper spray in order to "assist in gaining compliance from the aggression/resistance of the surging crowd," according to the documents obtained by The Athletic.

Police actions were justified to stop the Ohio State/Michigan brawl back in November. (Photo by Ben Jackson/Getty Images)

The Sheriff's office deemed the actions justified after an internal review. That included the potential use of a taser.

One officer even says he was charged by a player during the brawl, and that led to him always deploying a taser.

"Due to his size and protective gear, I placed my taser into the unpadded section of his back, pushed him away from the crowd, and warned him I would use my taser," Lt. Shawn Pak wrote in his report of the incident, according to the same report.

Both teams were fined $100,000 for the brawl, but no players were suspended. Ohio State went on to win the national title.

Michigan and Ohio State got in a big brawl following the Wolverines pulling off an upset win. (Photo by Ian Johnson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

The reality of the situation is shockingly simple. Starting a brawl is going to lead to a police response, and if there isn't compliance, there's going to be further actions taken to restore order.

Safety is the most important thing, and the situation was out of control. Of course, the police are going to act accordingly.

What do you think of the police's actions? Let me know at David.Hookstead@outkick.com.