News
A Questionable Procedure
One Eugene resident alleges that the Department of Public Safety stopped him and a friend on campus, detained them against their will - and one identified himself as a Eugene police officer.
For some students, recent changes at the UO's Department of Public Safety - and allegedly, the behavior of some of its employees - are blurring the line between officers at DPS and those at the Eugene Police Department.
However, because the outward physical appearance of DPS has become markedly more police-like, the possibility of confusing DPS with the EPD is greater than before. This ambiguity has already resulted in one incident involving a group of students who claim that not only was a DPS officer's identity unclear, but that one officer took advantage of this uncertainty.
Shortly after 1:30 in the morning on Thanksgiving night, November 24, Lane Community College sophomore Dan Smith was on the UO campus with five of his friends. Somewhat intoxicated, members of his group had been knocking over ashtrays and causing mischief. Near Fenton Hall on 13th, a UO student and friend of Smith's (who asked not to be identified) knocked over a trash can and rolled it down the short flight of stairs nearby.
To their surprise, two DPS officers emerged from behind the bushes next to the west side of the building. According to Smith, they yelled: "Freeze! Get on the fucking ground!" Four of them fled, escaping further confrontation. One of the officers, later identified as Royce Myers, tackled Smith's friend on the stairs, taking him down to the ground. Thinking that he was being ignored, Smith began walking west toward Kincaid. "They didn't seem to be paying attention to me," he said. Although he wanted to assist his friend, "there was nothing I could do, personally."
Smith had walked about thirty-five feet up 13th when he heard the officers take note of him. The second officer, later identified as Frank Lewis, caught up with Smith moments later, asking, "Can you step over here, sir?" Smith complied, and Lewis requested that he present some identification. The officers themselves had yet to identify themselves or the source of their authority, and Smith was cautious.
"I asked him, 'are you a police officer, sir?' And he said yes." The officer did not present further identification, so Smith asked, "Can I have your badge number, and your name, sir?" The officer identified himself as "Officer Lewis" and gave his badge number. "At the time I was thinking it was his cop numberÉ when I asked him if he was campus security, he said no." In the dim light of the street lamps, Smith did not get a good look at the patch on the officer's arm. "It looked like he was a member of the police squadÉ but I figured out later that [the officers' arm patches] said UO Public Safety on them."
Smith and Lewis returned to the sidewalk in front of Fenton, where Myers still had the UO student in an arm lock. "Are you going to struggle with me?" Myers asked the student, threatening to hit him over the head with his flashlight, Smith claimed. "'I'll pepper spray you!'" Smith recalled Myers threatening. His friend complied, and was allowed to sit on the bench nearby.
The officers informed the two students that they had to remain in their custody. Speaking with Myers while Lewis was a short distance away, Myers confirmed that the two were indeed UO public safety officers, not police officers. "He was a lot nicer than Lewis was," Smith said. "He told me the truth."
EPD Officer Baird arrived soon after. Smith had not knocked down any garbage cans or ashtrays, but is 20 years old, was cited for Minor in Possession by Consumption; his friend received the same citation, plus one for Criminal Mischief II, as well as two for violating the UO Student Conduct Code.
As of November 29, DPS Associate Director Tom Hicks had only a limited knowledge of the incident, and could not comment on the specifics of Smith's allegations, but advised that he file a complaint with DPS. "We receive complaints throughout the year and we investigate them in an informal or formal manner depending on the person handling that." Hicks denied any knowledge of DPS employees identifying themselves as police officers at any time during his tenure, contending that he had "never experienced or heard about [an officer misrepresenting his or her authority.]"
In a prior interview, former DPS officer Kim Maynard told a different story. "I've heard several [DPS officers] say that we're police. Maynard told the Commentator that there have been instances he witnessed where students have asked if officers were security guards, and officers have responded, "No, we're police."
ORS 162.365 specificies: "A person commits the crime of criminal impersonation if with intent to obtain a benefit or to injure or defraud another the person falsely impersonates a public servant and does an act in such assumed character." This raises an important issue: by telling the students that they were officers of the law, their rights were violated.
Because the incident is still under investigation with the City of Eugene, Hicks was unable to release the DPS report or comment further on the case, though he did add: "They're more than welcome to talk to me. I'll be glad to take a report on it and investigate the matter."
By the time this issue went to press, Smith and his friend were strongly considering the possibility of filing a complaint against the officers through the Department of Public Safety.
While the use of force is a situational judgement call, the false declaration of oneself as a public servant is a more obvious problem. For many students, the varying degrees of authority bestowed upon DPS and EPD officers are steeped in ambiguity. The reasons for this confusion, however, are somewhat more apparent; the two positions may have many differences, but the acknowledged relationship between them is longstanding.
For one, many officers who work for the city police have been security officers at one place or another; the vice versa is true. Director Tom Fitzpatrick himself worked for municipal as well as university police departments at different points during his career, and many other current and former DPS officers have made the transition from one level to the other as well.
Secondly, the common stereotype at the University and in the surrounding neighborhood is that officers at the Department of Public Safety are "wannabe cops" overstepping their authority, overestimating their power, on an ego trip and compensating for the fact that they are not full-fledged police officers. This perception, whether fair or not, applies to virtually any position in which a security officer wears a badge and uniform, but does not possess arrest authority.
In many cases, the intimidation felt by students when they encounter police officers originates not only from the legitimate power the authorities wield, but also from the officer's superior knowledge of the law. To mitigate the disparity, the ACLU Foundation of Oregon publishes "Your Rights," a wallet-sized card that details what you should do if approached by the police, and what you do not have to.
Critics of the EPD can be found throughout the city, from anarchists to lawyers to homeowners with bad experiences to share. The External Review Advisory Committee, a joint project of the City Manager's Office and the Human Rights Commission, was formed in 1997 to ensure that complaints against the EPD were handled fairly and investigated thoroughly.
DPS on the other hand is much less scrutinized, increasing the likelihood for abuse to occur. Currently, there is no external, standing body whose purpose it is to monitor the conduct of DPS officers. Each year, the UO Office of Student Advocacy records numerous complaints against DPS for violations against individual rights, though their resources are divided among other responsibilities.
In an earlier interview with the Commentator, Fitzpatrick said that one of his plans is to form student advisory panel through the ASUO, not unlike that of the Associated Students Presidential Advisory Council (ASPAC) or Student Recreation and Fitness Advisory Board. For example, ASPAC comprises a group of students representing different interests at the UO who meet with University President Dave Frohnmayer twice per term to discuss issues pertinent to the student body. Fitzpatrick imagines a board of "nine to eleven" students representing the "interests on campus."
Fitzpatrick's primary difficulty organizing the committee, he says, is simply finding the time to do it. "It's just having the time to sit down and get together with the administrators on campus, and others, and getting their input." Fitzpatrick intends to meet with representatives of the ASUO, including President Jay Breslow, to discuss the model for such a panel.
For Smith, this type of bureaucratic committee work is little consolation. DPS regularly deals with non-UO students, though the committee is likely to be composed of representatives solely from University of Oregon.
William Beutler, a senior majoring in English and Journalism, is Editor-in-Chief for the Oregon Commentator