News

Noyz N the Hood

The Eugene Police Department has had it up to here with parties in the university neighborhood, and now they've got a brand new ordinance on their side.

By Molly Pumper

What is it exactly about the Eugene Police Department (EPD) that always seems to conjure up negative connotations in the minds of students?

Perhaps it's the confident stride they all seem to have perfected or the way they wear their staunch blue suits starched with pretension. Or maybe it's the fact that they deliver Minor In Possession citations like Girl Scout Cookies and have a particular fondness for rubber bullets. Who knows, really? It could be a number of things.

One thing's for certain though - students aren't particularly fond of sharing their limited incomes with the City of Eugene's EPD-issued citations. "I think that in a lot of ways the Eugene Police Department looks at the [University of Oregon] student body as a bottomless pit of resources," said UO senior Mike Barnhill. Others are apt to agree with this statement, especially taking into consideration the recent implementation of the Special Response Fee Ordinance.

The basis of this fee, which was passed unanimously by Eugene City Councilors on Monday, November 13, is to "recover costs incurred by the City of Eugene from significant and frequent gatherings that require police attention." However, this substantial loss has yet to be specifically determined by either the City of Eugene or the EPD, but it is reported to include the hourly wages of police officers, equipment used and administrative overhead.

This is how the fee works: First of all, there must be at least two occasions where the police feel it necessary to break up a gathering hosted at the same location. In other words, there must be a first and a second response.

In the likelihood of a first response, 25 or more people must be present, two or more citations must be given out and the police must issue a warning, which those responsible for the party will have 15 days to appeal.

In the instance of a first response, the Special Response Fee is not applicable to those responsible, although they would still be liable for any other citations received. As for the second response, police must arrive to break up a gathering at the same property, with the same people responsible a second time within 90 days.

Again, 25 or more people must be present and two or more citations must be handed out. However, in the case of a second response, those responsible for the gathering will be charged $1,500 for the Special Response Fee as well as any other citations they personally receive.

In the possibility of a third or fourth response, those responsible will be charged the total cost that the city might have incurred because of their disruption.

Lieutenant Carolyn McDermed of the EPD is responsible for the drafting of this ordinance. And, although she contends that only a small number of people are responsible for "causing the problem," such a fee is a necessity at this point in time. McDermed, unlike most of the student body, is optimistic about the implementation of the Special Response Fee and believes that very few people will encounter a second response… that is, if they behave accordingly.

But what about police officers, are they behaving accordingly? Many students would argue that they are not. In fact, at the City Council Meeting that voted in favor of this ordinance, several students and a few citizens alike voiced their opinions regarding the mistreatment that they have either witnessed or endured from the EPD.

One anonymous student reported being cited for a MIP at a recent Halloween party. In lieu of the ensuing events, she was told by police officials to go home. However, she was not allowed to wait for her friends or roommates, and at 2:30 in the morning was forced to walk several blocks home alone in a considerably risky Halloween get-up. She feels that because of such police enforcement, her safety had been jeopardized.

A scenario such as this definitely leaves one in query of whether or not the police department's primary responsibility is really "to protect the people."

What does this mean for the Eugene party circuit? Despite the city's commitment to cracking down on university neighborhood parties, the early-January decision to disband the EPD's so-called "party patrol" leaves the consequences of the Incident Response Fee unclear. The article beginning on the next page addresses the evolving situation in greater detail.

Molly Pumper, a junior majoring in Journalism, is a staff writer for the Oregon Commentator