Law prof speaks on police abuse

More than 30 students, faculty and city residents searched for solutions to the problem of police abuse in Philadelphia Monday night. David Rudovsky, professor of criminal law and procedure at the Law School, spoke to the group in Meyerson Hall, suggesting ways to address the problem. After the lecture, questions and opinions were voiced by concerned community members. Rudovsky stressed that the occasional "bad cop" is not the main cause of police abuse. The problem, he explained, lies deeper, specifically in the many policies implemented by the Police Department, the District Attorney's Office and the court system as a whole. According to Rudovsky, many police are told by these legal forces, "Do what you want to do and we'll back you up." He placed much of the burden to remedy the situation on Philadelphia residents. "There is outright lawlessness right at the top of the department," he said. "But if enough people protest, I think we'll see some changes." Rudovsky emphasized that members of the University community should also lend a hand in fighting the problem of police abuse. "When issues of abuse come up on the Penn campus -- and they have --students should especially get involved with those and really take an interest in the issue," he said. "One of the real problems here is that many people think it's always going to happen to the other guy. But the problem is deep enough so that everyone should be involved." Unfortunately, Rudovsky's message of student involvement did not reach many University students. Though the lecture was located on campus, students from other colleges greatly outnumbered the University undergraduates present. A Swarthmore College student expressed her disappointment at the amount of Penn students in attendance. "The issue of police abuse pertains to everyone," she said. "It's a shame that they don't realize that." The lecture was sponsored by Refuse and Resist, a group new to the University. Earlier this year they held a teach-in, which dealt primarily with the issue of affirmative action. The group hopes to hold more conferences as the year progresses.