COLUMBUS, Ohio – A police academy was the setting for a funny movie and some less-humorous sequels. Columbus police officials probably hope there will be no sequels to Friday’s mishaps surrounding a training exercise.
A day that started with a chain-reaction accident almost at the front door of the division’s training academy got worse when tear gas fired during a training session drifted to a nearby school, sending a teacher to a hospital and 14 students home.
The two incidents were related, according to information posted on the division’s Facebook page.
Three cruisers on their way to riot training at the old Cooper Stadium parking lot were traveling in convoy, a standard riot procedure, when the lead vehicle stopped suddenly on N. Hague Avenue, near the police training academy, causing the chain-reaction crash at approximately 7:15 a.m., police said. One officer was treated for back pain.
The accident caused some cadets to arrive late for the state-mandated training, though the tear gas was set off on schedule, police said.
Police say the 35 cadets were learning how to handle riots and were being sprayed with tear gas. The wind sent it 3,000 feet from the area to Sullivant Elementary School just as students were arriving.
Parents were called to get the 14 children who reported irritation. The pregnant teacher was hospitalized as a precaution. The remaining 290 students were kept indoors for the rest of the school day.
Police say they are conducting a full review.