BOSTON (AP) — A University of Massachusetts student filed a civil rights lawsuit Wednesday against Amherst police alleging he was wrongly arrested last year during rowdy, pre-St. Patrick’s Day parties known as the “Blarney Blowout.”
Thomas Donovan says he was assaulted on March 8 after using his smartphone to videotape police officers appearing to use excessive force while making an arrest. He says he was pepper sprayed and tackled to the ground when he refused to stop recording the incident. Donovan’s video also shows an officer appearing to stomp repeatedly on the phone in an attempt to break it.
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More than 7,000 people registered as guests in UMass dorms during last year’s Blowout weekend, which is a series of parties on and off campus. Less than half were UMass students.
