Tennessee freshman Rogers arrested after bar brawl; police say other Vols may be involved

Tennessee freshman Rogers arrested after bar brawl

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — University of Tennessee incoming freshman receiver Da’Rick Rogers was charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest and six other people were being questioned by police after a brawl at a bar near the Knoxville campus early Friday.

Police spokesman Darrell DeBusk told The Associated Press that Robert Capouellez, an off-duty Knoxville officer who tried to break up the fight at Bar Knoxville, was being treated for a head injury after being knocked unconscious.

DeBusk said the officer was hit in the head, knocked to the ground and then kicked several times. It was not clear who hit the officer.

Another bar patron also was taken to a hospital, though the extent of that person’s injuries were not clear.

DeBusk said police would not release the names of the others detained until they were charged, but said some of them may also be associated with the Vols football program.

The 18-year-old Rogers, a 6-foot-3, 205-pound native of Calhoun, Ga., was among Volunteers coach Derek Dooley’s first signing class. An officer at the Knox County Detention Center said Rogers was at the center but had not been booked as of Friday morning. It was not clear if he had an attorney.

A message for Tennessee athletic officials was not immediately returned Friday morning, and the bar was not open for business. DeBusk said police notified Dooley, who was out of town at the time.

Several witnesses told police two patrons got into a fight inside Bar Knoxville and several others jumped into the fight. Employees pushed the brawl out onto the street.

Capouellez was at the bar as a patron and was not in uniform.

Sandy Morton, who owns Bar Knoxville with her husband, told the Chattanooga Times Free Press they’ve never had any problems from Vols players. She said many of the players, who are treated as VIPs and don’t have to pay a cover charge, are on a first-name basis with her husband.

“I don’t know what happened, but several of the guys started beating up the other customer,” she told the newspaper. “I want to guess there was seven to 10 guys beating up this one gentleman.”

Knoxville police turned over one of the six people detained to the University of Tennessee Police Department after a campus police officer was assaulted trying to take him into custody.