Officers criticize task force

Members of the University's chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police are currently reviewing the findings of the Task Force on Public Safety Practices, FOP Vice President Paul Misner said last night. And the FOP has asked the state organization to review the Task Force findings as well, a press release stated. Misner said last night that members of the FOP chapter, which represents University Police officers, is worried the Task Force's recommended changes in police procedures for handcuffing prisoners and using force may endanger officers and the University community. The Task Force was created by former Provost Michael Aiken and Executive Vice President Janet Hale to review police procedures in the wake of last April's Daily Pennsylvanian confiscation. In that incident, a University Police officer was accused of using unnecessary force after he struck a student in the leg with a mini-baton. Misner said the Task Force did not consult any written material on safe police procedures before making its recommendations. He added that none of the 18 members of the committee are recognized experts in the area of safe police procedures. The report's recommendation that officers stop routinely handcuffing prisoners arrested for summary offenses could endanger officers, according to Misner. Summary offenses are less severe than misdemeanors. He added that because disorderly conduct is the most common summary offense University Police officers have to deal with, they often encounter people who are violent and resistant to arrest. Task Force member and Senior Law School Fellow David Rudovsky, an author of the handcuffing recommendation, said the Task Force's suggestion allows police to use their own discretion when arresting suspects. "We thought that unless there were unusual circumstances, handcuffing for summary offenses was unnecessary," Rudovsky said. "But we have put into the rules that if someone appeared to a reasonable officer to be dangerous, then they could make the judgement to handcuff them." The FOP's other concern is with the Task Force recommendation that University Police use "the lamb method" when using batons, Misner said. He added that the once-popular "lamb method" -- which involves using a baton in such a way that often causes permanent injuries -- has been abandoned by departments across the nation. Misner said he believes the Task Force recommended "the lamb method" because it did not consult any recognized police experts. Useem referred all technical questions to Rudovsky and University Police Lieutenant George Clisby, who he described as the Task Force's "experts on procedure." Rudovsky said he could not comment on why the Task Force recommended using "the lamb method" without reviewing the recommendations, which he said he did not have with him. Clisby could not be reached for comment. Misner said he was meeting with University Police Commissioner John Kuprevich soon to discuss the FOP's concerns. But Kuprevich said last night he could not comment on the FOP review because he had not heard of the members' concerns previously. "Well, I'd like to comment, but I really can't," he said. "The fact that this is the first time I'm hearing about this is a sad commentary on the way the [FOP] organization is functioning." Useem said that now that the Task Force has released its report, implementation will be carried out by Hale and Interim Provost Marvin Lazerson. Hale could not be reached for comment last night.