GRADUATION: Decision due out in officer probe

A decision is expected this week on whether disciplinary actions should be taken against a University Police officer who allegedly struck a student twice with a baton, a University official said earlier this month. Executive Vice President Janet Hale said a decision is expected on May 17 or 18 regarding the officer's conduct and others' behavior following the theft of nearly 14,000 copies of The Daily Pennsylvanian by a group of black students. Two University Police officers are currently suspended from patrol operations pending the outcome of the investigation. University Police Commissioner John Kuprevich said the inquiry board was commissioned and charged with their responsibilities on May 3, and he said he will hand down a decision "as soon as it is humanly reasonable after the findings of the panel [are released]." The five-member inquiry board consists of four members from the University community and one outside police expert. Serving on the committee will be University Police Leiutenant George Clisby, Human Resources Director of Compensation Bradley Williams, Director of Career Planning and Placement Patricia Rose, Associate Professor of Legal Studies Kenneth Shropshire and Eugene Dooley, chief of police at Rutgers University in Camden, N.J. "We are going to do our normal investigative process but we wanted to open up that process to mutual review with community members," Kuprevich said. The committee will review all of the statements and facts gathered surrounding the altercations between campus police, security personnel and students in order to determine the appropriateness of behaviors in each encounter. "They have the right to have anyone else come before them to answer questions to give them some insight that they feel they need," Kuprevich said earlier this month. After the inquiry board makes its recommendations, Kuprevich will have the final say on whether disciplinary actions should be taken and if any other changes are to be made based on his review of the facts. The officer involved in the altercation said that he thinks he acted correctly under the circumstances. "I still believe that my actions were justifiable," he said. "They were within the guidelines of not only our department policy and procedures manual but also the Pennsylvania Criminal Statutes." Members of the Fraternal Order of Police, the union which represents University Police officers, said they thought the inquiry board and the Blue Ribbon Commission -- set up to examine the larger issue of police policy and procedure -- might be in violation of their contract with the University. "We have a contract that has disciplinary procedures in it," FOP president Bill Kane said last month "I'm not sure if we'll even abide by [the decision of the inquiry board]." Kuprevich said he does not think the investigation violates the terms of the contract. "This is our normal investigative process," he said. "Our position is that there certainly is no violation of contract." The officer involved in the incident between police said he is still waiting to hear what the responsibilities of the panel will be. "We've been waiting to hear the announcement of the naming of the panel and what their specific duties will be," the officer said earlier this month. "We have been informed by the commissioner that the recommendations of the panel are to be announced by May 7. That is the time frame he has given us." The University's contract with the Fraternal Order of Police expires in August and neither Kuprevich nor the officer involved in the altercation would comment on how this issue would affect negotiations.