QB arrested, suspended indefinitely

An ISU freshman open preference major and one of the ISU football team's quarterbacks was arrested and tased Saturday night for minor consumption and resisting arrest.

Calvin Schmidtke, 19, of Tacoma, Wash., was at a party at 812 N. Eighth St. Saturday night when officers from the ISU Police Department and the Terre Haute Police Department broke up the party.

Officers noticed that Schmidtke had a "very strong odor of an alcoholic beverage on his breath," according to the Terre Haute Police Department's incident report.

Schmidtke then began to run from police who chased him. He continued to flee despite repeated orders to stop or he would be tased. The ISUPD incident report stated that he was apprehended in front of the Sigma Kappa sorority house at the intersection of Seventh and Elm streets.

Officer Josh O'Brien of the ISUPD said Schmidtke continued to resist arrest as he tried to handcuff him so the THPD officer "issued a shock to Schmidtke with his taser."

The report also stated that Schmidtke "was not hit by any of the probes but did make contact with the Taser electro pulse." He sustained no injuries and denied medical attention.

Mark Eldred, THPD's chief of operations, said Schmidtke was taken to jail where he received a ticket for minor consumption and was released.

Schmidtke came to ISU in August after committing to Washington State University earlier in 2008; his scholarship to WSU was revoked after Schmidtke received a number of traffic citations and a D.U.I. last year.

ISU head football coach Trent Miles said Schmidtke has been suspended indefinitely and has not picked a new starting quarterback for Saturday's game.

"It's something we'll handle through the judicial system and through the team," he said.

Freshman quarterback Matt Seliger started the last two games before being pulled after the first series. Schmidtke came in the game last week and threw his first touchdown pass of the season - a 48-yard pass to senior wide receiver Ryan Patrick.

Schmidtke was not available for comment as of press time.

( Ben Corn is a senior journalism major. Michelle Pattison is a senior English teaching major. They can be reached at saseditr@isugw.indstate.edu.)