U., Phila. police examine assault

The two departments are investigating charges of police brutality. and Maureen Tkacik The University and Philadelphia police departments are jointly investigating charges that officers needlessly beat College freshman Bill Sofield unconscious before arresting him in the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity house Thursday night, during a string of bloody assaults that also injured four police officers and another man. "We consider the matter very, very serious, and we intend to determine the facts as quickly as possible," University spokesperson Ken Wildes said in a written release. The investigation is "well underway" and will move "very, very quickly," he added. The investigation is partially in response to a letter FIJI President John Ward sent University President Judith Rodin Monday, claiming that Sofield was "beaten badly enough to become bruised, scarred, and lose consciousness" by "blatantly unprofessional police officers." And although the Sofield family stressed that their first priority is to deal with the criminal charges against Bill -- who is charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest -- Ward said eyewitnesses in the FIJI house would testify on Bill's behalf if the Sofields decide to file a civil suit against Penn police. "Both myself and the other witnesses are here to do anything and everything that [the Sofields] want us to do," Ward said. Sources close to the family, however, said the Sofields had not yet decided whether to file such a suit. The incidents began Thursday night when University Police officers saw the Bill Sofield, his older brother Richard and close friend Warnell "Yode" Owens arguing drunkenly in front of the FIJI house, according to police. Police arrested Richard Sofield after the incident escalated into a shouting match, but Bill Sofield and Owens managed to flee into the house, police said. Owens later escaped through the house's back door while Bill Sofield remained in the building. A few minutes later, Owens allegedly assaulted four police officers near 36th and Walnut streets. At about the same time, officers raided the FIJI house searching for Bill, although the exact sequence of events remains unclear. Approximately 60 officers from five separate police agencies responded after University Police sent out a "third assist" alerting all police in the area that officers had been assaulted in the line of duty. Details of Thursday's string of assaults remain unclear, but recent accounts by FIJI brothers conflict sharply with initial police reports. Nine FIJI brothers who said they witnessed the event claim that Bill Sofield was then brutalized by several officers -- at least one of whom was identified as a University Police officer --Ewho had forced their way into the residence. "It seems like [police] took out their frustration [on the house]," said a source close to the situation. The FIJI eyewitnesses added that Sofield did not physically resist the attack. "Though taunted and urged to resort to violence, [Sofield] was unrelenting," Ward said. Two FIJI brothers added that they would not necessarily back Owens, who faces the most severe charges of the three, because "no one really knows what happened out back," according to Ward. Owens' lawyer, Paul Messing, refused to comment.