Police complete investigation into campus fight 

Moscow Police Chief Anthony Dahlinger told The Argonaut Wednesday that the police have finished their investigation into the Sept. 24 fight on the University of Idaho campus. The case has now been passed along to the Latah County Prosecutor’s Office for review. 

Adam Dawson, Austen Dawson’s father, said he is continuing to recover, but the injuries were severe.  

“They drilled a hole in his head to monitor [his] brain swelling. He died in the ambulance and they brought him back. The police said that a sorority girl with medical training is who saved him…We are very thankful for her, whoever she is!”  

According to Adam Dawson, Austen Dawson’s injuries include head trauma, black eyes, a broken nose, bleeding and a brain clot.  

Austen Dawson is going through rehabilitation, according to Adam Dawson. “He’s doing better than expected, for sure,” he said. “We’re working on all his mental skills and all that fun stuff.”  

Austen Dawson, 26, was Life-Flighted to a hospital in Lewiston and put into a medically induced coma late Sept. 24 following a fight on UI’s Greek Row. According to the Moscow Police Department press log, he experienced a seizure as a result of battery.  

“We have wrapped up our investigation to this point,” Dahlinger said. “We’ve got that information up to the prosecutor’s office for their review. There’s always a chance when we do that, they come back to us and ask for someone to follow up or something. But for the most part, our investigation’s done, and now it’s off to the prosecutor for their review.” 

Dahlinger told Dailyfly News that investigators identified everyone involved in the fight and interviewed about a dozen people over the course of the investigation.  

Adam Dawson said that Austen Dawson is now aware of what happened. The family had been trying to avoid the topic to prevent any extra stress while he was still healing. 

“He’s pretty broken up about it, honestly,” he said. “He just can’t believe that someone would continue to punch him while he was, you know, already had a brain bleed at that point, right? He’s literally bleeding out onto the concrete.” 

“Austen would never do that to anybody. If Austen had accidentally hit someone’s head on the curb, he would have stopped and helped them and called the police himself. He wouldn’t have walked off from the situation and left it. He would have definitely helped that kid. It’s sad…It just shows that kid’s character.” 

Adam Dawson said he most recently spoke to an MPD officer last week before he returned to Boise. “He’s like, I’m finishing it up, it obviously takes time and then we’ve got to submit it to the prosecutor. So that might make a little time as well,” he said. 

Adam Dawson said he had also shared a recording of a Discord call between Austen Dawson and his friends with the police. “They were just kind of hanging out while they were gaming and everything. And his friends just happened to record right then when they were gaming and have, catch the entire thing,” he said. 

“The MPD has this entire conversation between the Phi Delta Theta kid and Austen , all the way to where other fraternity people and sorority people are like, he’s bleeding out of his head and the kid is still hitting him.” 

Dawson said that he has heard nothing from UI. 

According to Dawson, the police do not have much footage from security cameras in Greek Row. None of the cameras in place actually face into Greek Row. 

“Of any place on that campus, Greek Row should be number one [to have cameras]…It’s like a legal gang.” 

“He’s like, well, we have testimony from some fraternity people and sorority people. And I’m like, yeah, that’s neat and all…but you literally have the video and the audio, so I don’t know what good any of their testimony would even do.” 

Adam Dawson reiterated his disappointment in the lack of communication from MPD and UI. 

“Something needs to happen. I mean, all we can do is continue to keep loud, right?” he said. “Hold the MPD accountable and that kid accountable, obviously. They need to do their job, and the kid deserves to be charged with aggravated battery at minimum.” 

“We have no other intention than to press charges. The police should have already done it. The prosecutor should do it. That absolutely should have already happened.” 

Norma Simmons, Austen Dawson’s maternal grandmother, commented on a previous Argonaut article, “I, along with my entire family, are waiting for a response to this horrible act of violence and the long-term damages caused by it.” 

The Argonaut reached out to Jodi Walker, UI’s Executive Director of Communications, for any updates on the situation. 

“Our thoughts are with the delivery driver who was injured Sept. 24 and we are happy to hear he is doing better. We do not condone violence nor behaviors that put others at risk. Moscow Police Department is investigating the incident. University of Idaho has a student code of conduct that all students are expected to follow. Any violations of this code are reviewed and appropriate actions taken within the scope of the university’s capacity,” Walker wrote. 

Walker declined to answer any other questions about the incident. 

Dakota Steffen can be reached at [email protected].