The initial group of children who were fighting left before deputies arrived, the release said.
In a statement, Dayton Public Schools Superintendent Dr. David Lawrence said that the fights began during the halftime of the boys’ game, when altercations broke out in the hallway between Dayton and local charter school students. After security resource officers responded, Lawrence said some of the individuals moved the altercations out to the parking lot, where several adults became involved.
The sheriff’s office said when they arrived a large number of people exited the school and were ordered to leave at the request of school staff, and several more fights broke out. They said that several people were detained for disorderly conduct.
A second large group then exited the school and were also ordered to leave.
The sheriff’s office said that crews from “numerous” area law enforcement agencies were called to the school as many individuals refused to leave and were arrested.
In particular, the sheriff’s office said that one boy hit an officer in the face and attempted to hit several other officers before being Tasered, followed by another trying to attack the arresting officers, leading to more officers taking the second into custody and Tasering him as well.
The sheriff’s office said that during the incident, one officer was pepper sprayed and another received minor injuries, though there were no other reported injuries. No officers or citizens were taken to the hospital from the scene, the release said.
In all, Lawrence said that four Dayton schools students, two charter school students and two adults were detained, adding that early findings appear to say that six to eight students in total were actively involved in the fights.
“This basketball season has been largely peaceful, with no prior incidents this year. For this particular event, additional Security Resource Officers were on site, along with all Athletic Directors and representatives from multiple high schools. In an effort to prevent future altercations at events, the District is exploring several options, such as limiting athletic event admission to DPS students only,” the superintendent said.
Another option is changing the time when the games happen, Lawrence said.
He added in his first two years back, the district had several problems with students fighting and put teams together to deescalate those situations and make basketball games safer.
“What’s disappointing is anytime you have to have this type of news coverage about your school district and about students and in the community,” Lawrence said. “We want to do things that are positive. We don’t want to spend a lot of time on things like this.”
Crews were on scene for over an hour as fights continued into the neighborhood from the crowds leaving the school, the sheriff’s office said.
In September 2023, Kettering City Schools put additional restrictions on where students could congregate and how people could get into the game after a student brought a pellet gun to a football game.
