What I've heard is: dozens of witnesses support most of the story as told by the player--and not the police, including witnesses who didn't know the players. The first policeman hit a button on his chest to signal a cop in distress. He did this prior to the tasering. About a half dozen squad cars were eventually on the scene. One or more white players were more mouthy than the two who were tased. The police/city have not seen or heard all of the video/audio. The tapes don't support this use of force. Some of the police tapes sound like the police were trying to get their stories straight during the incident. Right before the next game, Pres. Engstrom and Jim O'Day were asked to address the team before they came back out of the tunnel after warm ups. They, including Engstrom, assured the team that they supported the players and team's version of what occurred. If the witnesses step up to affirm what they apparently told people and UM right after the incident, the city is likely to be in trouble over this. Besides a lawsuit, I wonder if an organization like the NCAAP would get involved.
I certainly agree with Jim O'Day that the university, including Pres Engstrom and the compliance officer, didn't properly dispute and fight the NCAA. They appear to have thrown coach Pflugrad, Jim O'Day to some extent, and the team under the bus. The compliance officer had a complete conflict of interest of handling the NCAA investigation on behalf of the university. The compliance officer is the person who should have looked into the bail and legal representation matters--not the head football coach. As others have said, the bail and legal representation could have should have been defended harder and better, and the university should not have offered up the penalties it did.
