The mother of a Cardinal Ritter College Prep football player in St. Louis, Missouri, is speaking out after her son was among those pepper sprayed by the Massillon Police Department in a postgame incident Oct. 3 at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.
Ashley Ashburn, the mother of Cardinal Ritter sophomore defensive back DJ Ashburn, released a statement on Facebook on Oct. 8, expressing her belief police displayed an “excessive, unnecessary use of force” against her son and others.
Her 16-year-old son was among the Lions players affected when the Massillon Police Department deployed pepper spray after some shoving and taunting occurred in the postgame handshake line following Massillon’s 28-14 win.
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The Massillon Police Department said in an Oct. 7 statement that its officers “operated within our policies and procedures for the use-of-force action taken.”
Ashburn, however, disagrees.
“I’ve read the statement released by the Massillon Police Department regarding the incident after the Cardinal Ritter vs. Massillon football game,” Ashburn wrote in her Facebook post. “While I appreciate them finally addressing it, the version they shared does not reflect what actually happened on the field.
“There was no violent attack or out-of-control mob of Cardinal Ritter players as implied. There was an exchange of words and a few pushes, which coaches and staff had already started to break up. At no point did this situation justify pepper spray being used on teenagers, many of whom were already walking away or trying to calm things down.”
Ashburn criticized the “careless” use of pepper spray against the boys, some of whom have health conditions.
“What the police failed to mention is that officers sprayed the mace into the air in an uncontrolled way, filling the area and affecting everyone nearby — players, parents, band members and students,” she said. “Some of these boys have health conditions — including my son DJ, who has asthma — and the careless use of of mace could have caused a serious medical emergency. It was also very clear that the spray was directed only toward Cardinal Ritter’s side, further showing the unnecessary use of force and possible favoritism toward the home team.”
Ashburn also questioned whether the display of force was warranted considering the circumstances.
“Our boys were unarmed, surrounded and complying, yet treated as if they were a threat. Players and parents alike were traumatized — not because of a fight that never happened, no punches thrown, but because of an excessive, unnecessary use of force.
“We are not here to argue — we are here for accountability and the truth to be acknowledged. No parent should ever have to watch their child be treated this way!”
Ashburn declined further comment when reached by the Repository on Oct. 8 pending consultation from an attorney for the players.
Reach Cliff at cliff.hickman@cantonrep.com
On X: @chickmanREP
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Cardinal Ritter football parent disputes Massillon police decision to use pepper spray
Reporting by Cliff Hickman, Canton Repository / The Repository
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