Columbus police will review their recruit-training procedures after a tumultuous morning in which three cruisers were wrecked in a chain-reaction crash, and tear gas carried by wind to an elementary school irritated the throats and eyes of several children and a pregnant, asthmatic teacher.

Columbus police will review their recruit-training procedures after a tumultuous morning in which three cruisers were wrecked in a chain-reaction crash, and tear gas carried by wind to an elementary school irritated the throats and eyes of several children and a pregnant, asthmatic teacher.



No serious injuries were reported in either the crash on N. Hague Avenue or the later incident at Sullivant Elementary School in Franklinton.



The Police Division promised a full accounting of both incidents, which did not appear to be the fault of any of the 35 recruits who are set to graduate next month.



Police said the cruisers involved in the 7:15 a.m. crash had been driving south on Hague near the Chief James G. Jackson Police Academy in a rolling convoy, which was part of their riot training.



The convoy was headed to the parking lot of the old Cooper Stadium, where academy cadets have been trained in riot control for several years.



�Sometimes in a convoy, there�s like an accordion effect,� Deputy Chief Tim Becker said.



The crash occurred when a sergeant � not a recruit � tried to close a gap between his cruiser and the cruiser he was following. The convoy abruptly stopped because of traffic, and the sergeant�s cruiser struck the rear of one cruiser, which in turn rammed the cruiser in front of it.



One recruit who complained of back pain was taken to an area hospital but was later released, police said.



The name of the sergeant was not released yesterday. An investigation will determine who was at fault and whether departmental discipline or traffic citations are warranted, said Sgt. Rich Weiner, a division spokesman.



Because of the crash, the training at the stadium started late, Becker said. Trainers checked wind direction with smoke grenades and moved the training to the far west side of the stadium lot to compensate for the wind. About 15 tear-gas canisters were deployed.



The police learned of the effects of the tear gas at the school, at 791 Griggs Ave., from the Fire Division, which had been called there about 8:30 a.m. The teacher and about six children reported eye and throat irritation while they were outside.



The affected children were checked by the school nurse. None went to the hospital, police said, but ultimately 14 students were taken home for the day by concerned parents. Only the teacher was taken to a hospital � Mount Carmel West � as a precaution, because of her asthma and pregnancy, Becker said. School then went on as scheduled.



The tear-gas manufacturer said the effective range of the gas is supposed to be about 40 feet.



�The school is about 3,000 feet from where it was deployed,� Becker said.



There are several businesses, apartment buildings and homes between the school and the stadium, but police did not receive any other complaints about the gas. Training has occurred at the stadium twice a year for about the past five years without complaint, but the site�s suitability will be part of the pending review, he said.



�This is unacceptable, and it should not have happened,� he said.





tdecker@dispatch.com

@Theodore_Decker