Cops, suspect sent to HUP in bizarre assault

and Maureen Tkacik Several University Police officers were injured late last night in a string of assaults between the Phi Gamma Delta house and 36th and Walnut streets. Police took a College freshman and two other men into custody. At least three officers and one of the men were sent to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania for examination. At 3:30 this morning, investigators were still unsure what exactly had happened, but none of the people involved is believed to be associated with FIJI, police said. One of the officers suffered "major facial injuries," most likely including a broken nose and "major, major possible fractures," and two other Penn police officers may require further treatment at HUP, Director of Police Operations Maureen Rush said. The incident began in front of the FIJI house at 3619 Locust Walk when the officers confronted two young men for some sort of disturbance, police said. A third person then got involved, and one of the men went through the FIJI house and out the back door, which opens into an alley, according to investigators from the city's Southwest Detectives Bureau. Two officers were assaulted in that alley, one of whom "looked like he was in pretty bad shape" and was later hooked up to an oxygen mask, according to an eyewitness standing on Walnut Street who saw an ambulance take the officers to HUP. One of the alleged assailants then attempted to flee towards Walnut. Six or seven police officers followed him to the corner of 36th and Walnut, yelling, "Get to the ground," said another witness. The suspect -- a tall, white man who was "quite well-built" and wore a baseball cap -- refused to stop and shouted, "What are you gonna do, shoot me?" according to the eyewitness, who was later taken to Southwest Detectives for questioning. The man then turned around and hit one or two officers, causing the most serious injuries of the night. As the man moved forward, the remaining officers tackled him and subdued him using their batons, leaving a large pool of blood and the man's baseball cap in the middle of Walnut Street, the witness said. The suspects had not yet been released by 3:30 a.m., and were not available for comment. At least 10 police cars responded to the incident, and witnesses estimated that nearly 60 officers were there. This incident marks the second assault this year during which a police officer was injured. The first occurred on the 3900 block of Spruce Street on September 28, when University Police officers were trying to break up a bloody alcohol-related fight that landed one student in the hospital with a concussion.