University of Dayton students, police clash Saturday latest in string of March incidents
At least one person was reportedly injured by a thrown bottle, UD said.
In 2018, police forced back a crowd celebrating St. Patrick’s Day. In that incident, the crowd threw objects including bottles at police. At the time, the university said the crowd ignored orders from university police to disperse, and several more police agencies were called in to disperse the crowd. No arrests were made in the 2018 incident.
In 2015, six people were arrested for rioting, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. One Dayton officer was hurt after he was struck in the head with a full beer can.
That was a less chaotic revelry than what happened in 2014, when police marched down Kiefaber in riot gear as a crowd celebrated a Dayton Flyers victory in the NCAA tournament. In that instance, when 32 people were arrested and eight officers were injured.
In 2013, St. Patrick’s Day celebrations turned violent, leading to 24 non-UD students facing criminal charges and another 45 facing university discipline. Seven of the 24 non-University students were physically arrested with the remainder charged through the courts, mostly for underage drinking, public intoxication and disorderly conduct.
Eleven cars were damaged, and broken glass littered the area after the crowd threw several glass bottles.
That incident also drew response from several police agencies, and prompted a university review of when to schedule Spring Break and whether to allow large gatherings near student housing.
Previous decades also saw similar disturbances, not all of them in March.
In 1995, a Halloween party involving hundreds of University of Dayton students got out of control early Wednesday, resulting in two arrests and 18 citations by campus police for charges ranging from failure to disperse to failure to comply. The party started around midnight in the 300 block of Keifaber Street. It moved to several different locations, as campus authorities moved in to break up crowds and put out fires set in the streets and in trash bins.
In 1993, Dayton police arrested six students after about 1,000 of them gathered at Alberta and Kiefaber streets to celebrate Halloween. The students burned furniture, failed to disperse after Dayton police and firefighters arrived, then threw bottles, stones and other objects.
Initial charges against the arrested students ranged from inciting a riot to resisting arrest.
In March 1992, a crowd of 700 to 900 people gathered Lowes Street, some of them setting fire to trash dumpsters and pieces of furniture dragged out of homes. At least three students were injured, none seriously, in the incidents. Two members of UD’s public safety force were injured: one who was struck in the left elbow by a full can of beer, and one struck in the head by a thrown object.
UD police said seven UD students were charged with starting fires, and 12 students were cited for drinking-related violations such as underage drinking and distribution of alcohol to minors. Dayton police told UD officials they arrested four people in connection with the disturbance, three of whom were not UD students, a university spokeswoman said.
In each of the aforementioned instances, students faced suspension or dismissal, based on the seriousness of the offense and the record of the student.