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UPDATED: May 7, 2021 at 4:00 p.m.

Syracuse attack Chase Scanlan was arrested Friday and charged with criminal mischief, according to a Syracuse Police Department spokesperson. The redshirt sophomore was involved in what the Department of Public Safety classified as a domestic incident on April 18.

SU Athletics said in a statement that Scanlan has been suspended from all athletic participation following his arrest. Scanlan was arrested on the charge of criminal mischief in the fourth degree. He is currently listed in the county’s inmate database. The crime, a misdemeanor, can include intentionally damaging another person’s property.

Syracuse.com reported that Scanlan will be “automatically released under state law because misdemeanor criminal mischief is not a charge for which any bail can be set.” US Lacrosse Magazine reported that Scanlan was accused of breaking a woman’s phone, as well as a “physical altercation” with her, according to the Onondaga County District Attorney’s office.

The misdemeanor charge relates to the broken phone, but Scanlan has reportedly been separately charged with harassment that relates to the physical altercation.

“Hopefully, today’s arrest will put to rest the rumors that have been running rampant about this incident for the last couple of weeks and send a message that we take all incidents of domestic violence seriously, no matter where they are committed or by whom they are committed,” the DA said later in a news release. “The investigation is ongoing.”

Syracuse.com obtained a photo on April 29 of a damaged wall in a South Campus apartment being used as part of the investigation into the domestic incident.

At the time, the DPS turned the case over to the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities and SU’s Title IX office. SPD and the district attorney’s office were both involved in the investigation. 

Scanlan was suspended from the team the following day, and head coach John Desko reinstated him to the team on April 26. The attack did not practice with the team that week, nor did he travel to Notre Dame for the Orange’s matchup with the Fighting Irish. After SU’s captains reportedly threatened to walk out of practice if he showed up, he practiced individually with a member of the coaching staff.

At a press conference earlier this week, Desko declined to comment on whether Scanlan had practiced individually or with the team, and whether he would be available against Robert Morris. An SU spokesperson said Desko and the athletic department couldn’t comment due to federal privacy laws.

Multiple players on the team, including all five captains, posted a message on Instagram Tuesday for One Love week, honoring the memory of Yeardley Love. Love was a women’s lacrosse player at Virginia who was murdered by her boyfriend 11 years ago this week. The One Love Foundation was founded shortly after her death, honoring her life by trying to prevent domestic violence around the country.

The county district attorney’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Scanlan’s arrest. 

— Sports editor Roshan Fernandez and Asst. Sports Editor Skyler Rivera contributed reporting to this article.

This article will be updated with additional reporting.

Published on May 7, 2021 at 12:31 pm

aekaylor@syr.edu | @cincinnallie