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PrintCOLUMBIA — As thousands of Missouri fans, spurred by a victory over the Oklahoma Sooners, rushed the field Saturday night, law enforcement wasn't taken by surprise.
"Plans were in place," MU Police Department Capt. Brian Weimer said. "It's not like it happened for the first time. We've seen it before."
Weimer said fans were cautioned against rushing the field after the game and that 30 people were arrested on suspicion of trespassing.
Fans took no time in dismantling the two goal posts, which were quickly lowered onto the field, and carried them on their shoulders to the intersection of Tenth and Cherry streets downtown. Weimer said one person was injured in the celebratory chaos.
"At least one individual broke their leg," Weimer said.
Weimer said police try to keep fans off the field for their own safety and not because, as rumor has it, they are worried about the cost of the goal posts.
Weimer said there were some other game-related arrests Saturday night, but details wouldn't be available until Monday afternoon.
He said the police presence at the Homecoming game was "typical for a football game of this size."
"There were around 100 officers inside and outside the stadium," he said, which included MU police, Columbia police, Boone County Sheriff's deputies and Missouri State Highway Patrol officers.
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What were the students who were arrested doing that caused their arrest? Or did the police arbitrarily decided on people to arrest? If the latter is true, that would seem quite unfair.
How much did it cost to clean up the litter and debris left by the tailgaters?
You would think that they'd have enough pride in our town to leave it cleaner than when they first took on their partying.
So much for drunken slobs.
The NCAA will levy a fine against MU for allowing fans on the "playing surface". And it might be larger than the usual fine because the fans rushed the field before the game was over. One official even threw a flag before he was engulfed by celebrating fans. Now if anybody picked up that flag it would have been a great trophy item in a downtown watering hole.
They just got the ones in arms reach. After all the articals we have read lately reading, "suspect got away on foot" I would like to know if they brought the dogs out to get those thirty? That will make for a heck of a story when those kids are sixty.
I think it is terribly ridiculous for any fan to be cuffed and escorted off the field... Especially after such a HUGE game... The NCAA needs to rethink its policy.. To be fined for the fans and the flag being thrown is one thing, Columbia Police should be after criminals on the streets and not at our HOMECOMING DEFEAT OF OKLAHOMA.... Shame on you, Columbia and MU officers.....