PORTLAND (AP) – Three Falmouth High School students have been suspended from school and are facing criminal charges in connection with a fight at Freeport High School that stemmed from an argument at basketball game.
Patrick Davis, 18, was charged with misdemeanor assault, disorderly conduct and criminal trespassing for allegedly punching a Freeport student, said Freeport police Sgt. Nate Goodman. Two other students, who are juveniles, were charged with criminal trespassing and ordered to stay away from Freeport High School for two years.
The charges followed a series of events that began Tuesday night during Falmouth’s 20-point home basketball win over Freeport.
During the game, some Falmouth students began “some inappropriate jeering” aimed at the Freeport team, whose fans responded with inappropriate comments of their own, said George Entwistle, superintendent of Falmouth schools.
After the game there was an argument between groups of students from both schools, he said.
Davis and the other two students sneaked into Freeport High School on Thursday, where Davis allegedly assaulted a Freeport student, police said.
Administrators are investigating how the Falmouth students entered the school unnoticed. Police said the students were identified using footage from a security camera.
“I see it as a student safety issue, and we take it very seriously,” said Elaine Tomaszewski, Freeport’s superintendent.
Entwistle and Tomaszewski said the incident was the latest in a long-running rivalry between the two schools.
Entwistle said he hopes the suspensions will put a stop to inappropriate chanting at sports events, which he said is usually started by a small group of students.
Richard Durost, executive director of the Maine Principals’ Association, said he has noticed an increase in vile taunts and inappropriate jeers in recent years.
The association, which sponsors the state’s high school sports tournaments, now targets fans who begin R-rated chants at tournament games, he said.
“We have removed individuals and groups of people we view as being leaders of those chants (from tournament venues) before, and we will do so again,” Durost said.
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