Police actions result in few formal complaints

Despite numerous accusations of excessive police force at a sorority event over a week ago, few students have filed formal complaints.

As of yesterday, Penn Police had received two official complaints in regards to a small riot that broke out at Alpha Chi Omega's Big Man on Campus event, Vice President for Public Safety Maureen Rush said. Police referred a third person to the Philadelphia Police because the complaint did not involve Penn officers.

Officers were called to disperse a crowd of 400 to 600 students that had gathered outside World Cafe Live for the sorority's philanthropy event on Nov. 3.

Several witnesses allege that Penn and Philadelphia police were pushing and beating students with nightsticks in a field outside the venue, located at 3025 Walnut St. Two students were arrested, but criminal charges were later dropped. One student was charged with disorderly conduct.

Philadelphia Police have not received any complaints and have no reason to believe their officers acted inappropriately, Capt. Ben Naish said.

Penn's Division of Public Safety set up a hotline following the incident to respond to questions and concerns. One parent called to ask questions, and a student called to report what he saw that evening.

"The investigation is still ongoing, so it would be premature to come to any conclusions at this point," Rush said. She would not speculate on the reason for the low number of complaints.

At the preliminary hearing for the two arrested students last Wednesday, Jeffrey Sigman -- a lawyer for College senior Zach Kerner, who was charged with disorderly conduct -- said that he had spoken to 10 to 15 students who claimed to have witnessed or experienced excessive police force. At the time, he advised them not to file complaints so as to not interfere with his client's hearing.

Sigman said that following the hearing complaints would likely increase.

At the time, only one complaint had been filed.

College senior Jeff Musaffi -- who said a police officer had kicked him and pressed his head to the ground with his foot -- has waited to file a complaint because he witnessed Kerner's arrest and was thus tied to the case.

Musaffi said he plans to file a complaint this week but has not done so yet because of difficulty with the procedure.

"It's so ambiguous how to file one and filing one that they're actually going to read," Musaffi said.

Complaint forms for Penn Police are available online or at the Penn Police Department. Forms for the Philadelphia Police are available at any district headquarters. The 18th District headquarters is located at 55th and Pine Street.

Some students who believe the situation was not handled appropriately said they do not feel it would be worthwhile to file a complaint.

"I'm basically over the situation," said College sophomore Eyob Yohannes, who claims a Philadelphia Police officer beat him without provocation. "I'm just going to let it be because it's not worth it to me."

Yohannes was handcuffed and brought to the 18th District headquarters, where he was released without charges after explaining his situation to the officer, he said.

Yohannes added that his busy schedule and the feeling that a complaint would have no effect deterred him from filing a report.

"One complaint is not going to do anything, especially coming from a college student," Yohannes said. "I don't think the Police Department will change their behavior in any way from these one to 50 complaints that might be filed."

Wharton junior Gunnar Jacobs -- who said police slammed his face against the hood of a police car and hit the back of his neck with a nightstick -- has not yet filed a formal complaint. However, he said he and several witnesses have arranged to meet with a Philadelphia Police supervisor today to discuss the incident.

Jacobs called the public safety hotline a week ago to inquire about how to approach the situation.

He said he is not surprised by the overall lack of formal complaints.

"People get lazy and don't care," Jacobs said. "It's a lot of trouble to go through after the fact. ... What happened was just absurd, but not enough people had something drastic happen to them."

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