A review by University of Maryland police determined that an officer who used pepper spray on a student at an off-campus party in May didn't follow the department's guidelines. The officer has been disciplined as a result, officials said Thursday.
A second use of pepper spray on the same date was found to have been justified.
The campus police spent seven weeks reviewing the incident in which students, most of them black, who attended a graduation celebration near the College Park campus May 21 were pepper-sprayed by police. Videos from the scene were shared widely on social media, and some students accused campus police of racial bias.
The review found that the first time police deployed pepper spray — on students in an apartment breezeway while officers were breaking up the party — was justified. But officials concluded that when an officer used pepper spray near where emergency medical technicians were helping the students who had just been sprayed, he didn't follow guidelines because he sprayed the wrong person.
"We don't get it wrong too often, but we got it wrong here," UM police chief David Mitchell said. "We have conducted a thorough investigation. I'm holding the officer involved in this accountable and he's been severely disciplined."
The officer was not identified. Mitchell said he was suspended for 80 hours without pay.
Police went to the off-campus housing complex known as Courtyards about 1:45 a.m. after getting a call about a loud party with a potential fight and a weapon. But the review concluded that the 911 call was falsely made by students who had been denied entry to the party, and police are pursuing charges against those who made the call.
Once police got to the party, officers decided to shut it down because it had grown too large for the apartment where it was taking place, according to the review. Many students left voluntarily, but some did not, and officers used pepper spray because they felt an officer was in danger. The review found that use was justified.
Later, an officer used pepper spray as another officer struggled with a student. But the officer used pepper spray on the wrong person, the review found. The department found that given the situation, the use of pepper spray was appropriate, but not on the wrong person.
"This is a charged time in our nation," UM President Wallace D. Loh wrote in a message to the campus Thursday. "As a society, we must find a path forward to come together. I deeply regret the incident at The Courtyards, but I believe that the actions by Chief Mitchell and UMPD are important steps on our campus to bridge chasms, salve anguish and anger, and promote justice."
The student body president, Katherine Swanson, said students were still processing the report. She said they want to see better relations with police.
"To me it's just important that no students ever feel that they have to live in fear of someone who's supposed to protect them," she said. "For me, it's more about how we can move forward from it."
Charges against two students who were arrested were later dropped, campus police said.