Colo. Security Chief Shoved in Vomit-Filled Pool at Party

FORT COLLINS, Colo. --

As an infamous "mega-party" at a Fort Collins apartment complex spiraled out of control, the owner of a security firm overseeing the bash got in a fight when someone shoved him into a vomit-filled pool.

Alan Burke, owner of Big Al's Security, was later cited by police for assault and giving a false report about his role in the fight, according to newly released police reports obtained by 7NEWS.

The Aug. 27 party, which has made international headlines, mushroomed from an expected 500 people to between 2,000 and 4,000 college-aged revelers as word spread on Facebook.

There were fights, young people passed out on the ground and partiers puking in the pool.

Police said ambulance crews called them after they were inundated with calls about people getting sick or passing out from drinking too much alcohol.

Officers arriving at the Campus Crossings at Ram's Pointe complex found a riotous bacchanal with young men trying to carry off unconscious women until police stopped them, according to the police reports.

"When I got in there it was total chaos," a Colorado State University sophomore told 7NEWS. "One woman was hit in the face with a bottle and she was gushing blood."

Another woman told police she'd been hit in the head with a can of Red Bull. Several revelers had cut feet from walking barefoot through broken glass around the pool.

One young woman was described by a security guard as so drunk he thought she was "freaking dead," a police report said.

Police said the pool area was so packed with people they couldn't see the water. One officer wrote that the music was so loud that she couldn't radio other officers.

"I felt that it would be unsafe to enter the crowd by myself," Officer Andrea Stout wrote in her report. Instead, she walked around to the entrance of the apartment complex clubhouse and found employees had locked themselves inside.

The party near the CSU campus ended with 10 people taken to the hospital with injuries and severe alcohol intoxication. Four people were arrested, including two CSU football players, police said.

Police say linebacker James Skelton pushed Burke -- the security firm owner -- into the pool, according to police reports.

Burke told police that he rushed out of the pool to restrain Skelton and the football player punched him repeatedly, according to a police report.

But police said a surveillance video instead showed showed Burke get out of the pool and run up behind Skelton and punch the football player in the head, the report said. The video showed Skelton fall down and Burke repeatedly hit the player while he was on the ground.

Skelton was originally cited for assault, but the charge was later reduced to harassment. Police noted in their reports that Skelton was respectful and cooperative.

According to police reports, Zach Tiegden, a defensive tackle, rushed to Skelton's defense after Burke attacked him. Like many young people, Tiegden was told to leave the apartment complex, but he sneaked back to the pool.

As police led the handcuffed football players away from the pool, a crowd of about 400 people chanted, "(Expletive) the police!" the report said. Officers said they had to order the crowd, which surged toward the police and their prisoners, to back off.

For their role in the melee, Skelton and Tiegden were suspended for one game.

Burke, whose firm provides security at Fort Collins bars, told police he knew who Tiegen was because he "had previously caused problems with his staff in Old Town," according to police reports.

Burke told an officer that he was concerned that his security team's clashes with partygoers could tarnish his image and his firm's, according to a police report said. He said it was the first time he and his security guards had to hit people during a confrontation.

"Burke told me he would like to keep this incident under the radar as much as possible," Stout wrote in her report. Burke added that "although he does not want to ruin the football players careers, he believes there should be repercussions."

The annual back-to-school party was organized by the apartment complex owners, who were cited for a nuisance gathering. The citation carries a potential maximum fine of $1,000 and makes the complex liable for costs incurred by the city in dealing with the monster party.