A lone man confronts a line of Tucson Police as #ArizonaWildcats fans get out of hand. http://t.co/34p26udRVj pic.twitter.com/ZS1ArgDSVh
— Kelly Presnell (@KellyPresnell) March 30, 2014
Arizona's dramatic 64-63 overtime loss to Wisconsin in Saturday night's Elite Eight spurred many Wildcats fans to riot and confront law enforcement in the streets on/around the University of Arizona's campus.
The most stirring image is the one you see above, courtesy of the Arizona Daily Star's Kelly Presnell.
The university's student newspaper, The Daily Wildcat, was reporting from the scene as the crowds began to lose control and eventually turned on riot police. The wild scene apparently didn't last for too long, but it was briefly chaotic and volatile before police could clear the streets of any more potential anarchy.
Police were prepared in riot gear, then forced to use pepper grenades after certain sections of the aggravated horde began to verbally oppose the presence of law enforcement. It got physical, too.
Here's another powerful, surreal image, via Presnell's camera.
One man confronts the line of advancing #Tucson Police as they tried to disperse the crowd. Photo by @KellyPresnell pic.twitter.com/YQDRl61HEY
— Arizona Daily Star (@StarNet) March 30, 2014
Many news outlets were on the scene, and it was ugly and scary for a little less than an hour. It could've been worse, but it was all pretty bad.
Front of bens. Everyone literally circled around cops. pic.twitter.com/knDyC9SQn8
— Zack Rosenblatt (@ZackBlatt) March 30, 2014
Early Sunday morning, Tucson Police released a statement on the matter. In total, 15 arrests were made. No officers were reported to be injured in the event.
Here's a slew of tweets from the student newspaper.
Students protesting against TPD presence
— Daily Wildcat (@dailywildcat) March 30, 2014
Police fire tear gas at crowds
— Daily Wildcat (@dailywildcat) March 30, 2014
Officers beating a crowd member
— Daily Wildcat (@dailywildcat) March 30, 2014
Fans throw beer at riot police
— Daily Wildcat (@dailywildcat) March 30, 2014
Students have been shot with bean bag rounds
— Daily Wildcat (@dailywildcat) March 30, 2014
Students shout "Don't fall back!" as police approah
— Daily Wildcat (@dailywildcat) March 30, 2014
More ridiculous? Get a load of this photo. Are you kidding me.
A hat-tip on that genre-altering "riot selfie" capture to Deadspin.
Below, video of an arrest being made in the street.
Prior to the ending of the game, and as of the time of this post, this was the most recent tweet from the Tucson Police's official feed.
Lots of excitement for this game. Remember though: Safe, Responsible Celebrations & #BearDown with Pride Tucson!
— Tucson Police Dept (@Tucson_Police) March 30, 2014