Bruhs in Brawl with Tennessee Players

[PerroLoco]

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Police are investigating allegations a Tennessee reserve linebacker punched another student at a weekend party where several fights broke out between fraternity members and football players.

No charges have been filed but junior Daniel Brooks of Jackson was named a suspect in an assault case investigated by the University of Tennessee Police Department.

In December, Brooks was identified as punching someone in the face at an off-campus party that turned into a brawl, and a complaint was filed with police. But the case was closed after the victim said he didn't want to prosecute, authorities have said.

Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer and his staff were out of town at a retreat and trying to gather information about the incident, team officials said Tuesday. They had no immediate comment.

According to a police report released Tuesday, a UT student attending an Omega Psi Phi fraternity party at the University Center on campus told police he saw one of his fraternity brothers talking to Brooks and then Brooks punching the man. More people started fighting afterward, the student, Shadiyah Cecil Murphy of Johnson City, told police.

Murphy said he went outside and was surrounded by three unidentified male individuals and hit several times until he blacked out, according to the report. He said his left jaw was broken.

Police were called to the University Center at 1:30 a.m. Saturday and found a large group of people outside yelling and "becoming irate with one another," according to the investigator's report.

Officers said they saw at least four separate fights in front of the building.

"Information from (the crowd) indicated that the fights were between the football team and the Omega Psi Phi fraternity, but no one could name any individuals involved," according to the report.

The fight started in the ballroom at the party, and Knox County Sheriff's Department officers tried to stop it with chemical spray.

The building manager told police two holes were punched in a wall partition and the glass on a framed painting was smashed and the canvas torn. The disc jockey at the party said his equipment was damaged, according to the report.