COLUMN: One eye witness who speaks out

Adam Nichols, Guest Columnist Adam Nichols, Guest ColumnistFor the first time in my life, I picked up a newspaper and knew the words I was reading were wrong. The article ("Student cited after police shut down party," DP, 9/9/97) described the break-up of a party by University Police in which a student was cited for disorderly conduct. The incident occurred when police arrived, in the early morning hours of September 5, to shut down a party on Beige Block. The police claimed that a "slippery bottle fell and broke" as a police sergeant was pouring the contents of the a bottle to the side of the porch. Anyone aware of the laws of physics knows the shattering pattern of a glass bottle that is dropped from a given distance of only a few feet is much different than that of one thrown down with force. If this "slippery bottle" did "fall and break" then why didn't the sergeant apologize and volunteer to clean it up? Numerous students watched as this sergeant deliberately threw this bottle down onto the pile of rocks. He then proceeded to pick up another bottle when a concerned student informed him that someone could be hurt by the flying shards of glass. A multitude of broken glass still lies on the rocks to the side of the porch. Following this incident the police arrested a student for disorderly conduct. The detective commander used the expression "extremely resistant" in the DP article to describe the student's actions. Again, this description is simply not true. The student's actions were in no way characteristic of someone who was resisting arrest. The officers who pulled out their nightsticks and forcefully pushed the student onto one of the porch benches while attempting to handcuff him were the only ones acting in an "extreme" manner. While they were attempting to cuff him, the only things I heard coming from his mouth were, "Relax," and "Chill out." The force they used to cuff him was the most blatant abuse of power that I have ever witnessed. If their only goal was to take the student into custody, there was no reason to use their nightsticks, push him across the porch, and force him up against the bench. I do not argue that the student cited used vulgar language towards a police officer, as was noted in the DP article. However, I strongly disagree with the police's aggressive response. One thought that has remained in the forefront of my mind is the recent publicity of police brutality within the New York Police Department. The incident on Beige Block sheds light on how police can get away with excessive force by telling a different story to the media. My own feeling of helplessness still remains in regards to any real change in the police's mindset, but I do not feel that speaking out is pointless. As students, we have avenues and resources for incidents like this to be dealt with in a professional manner. This column will reach a wider audience than the people on the scene that morning and hopefully encourage other students to speak out. I also want to explain the steps I took so they will feel more confident in knowing what to do when they witness similar incidents. First, I talked to someone in the Office of the Vice Provost for University Life. They act as liaisons between the student body and various University divisions -- in this case, University Police. They advised me to file a formal complaint with the police and use the DP to respond to the article. In my conversations with police officers about the incidents, one stands out in particular. A female lieutenant, who was the commanding officer on the scene that morning, still sticks to the story that she saw the bottle slip out of the sergeant's hand. She claims to have seen this with her own eyes in plain view. This is the same incident where I saw this sergeant deliberately throw the bottle to the ground (Yes, I too saw this action with a clear point of view.) At the end of our conversation, she said she hoped I would not think twice about calling the police for help in the future. I have a lot to say on that issue but I'll limit it to just a few thoughts. No, I would not hesitate to call University Police because they are the only resource I have in this area of Philadelphia. However, I would like her to know I would not trust her to walk my grandmother across the street because I do not trust that she would be able to see oncoming traffic. I would also hope that none of the officers was on duty breaking up this party responded to my call because it is obvious my perception of their actions is not in line with their own views of proper procedure. I want to make sure their actions don't go unnoticed. I encourage anyone, even for a minor incident like this one, to report it to the University and file a complaint with the police so this morning's events do not begin to create a pattern of behavior that could have much larger ramifications. Please do not feel that speaking out is pointless. It is not. However, after my conversations with various officers, I feel extremely helpless as to justice being served and the police altering their behavior in the future.

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