Relationship Between UTPD and Students Gets Examined

Published in The Independent Collegian on February 13, 2006.
By: Alia Orra

Authority and youth will probably never be bedfellows.

It's illustrated in the relationship between students and the police in the reports typed each week by the UTPD as documentation of their interactions.

Between the mostly mundane accounts of contact dealing with stolen laptops or wallets, in the routine arena of campus police, there are always a few that stand out.

There was a September 2005 report of a drunken student shouting profanities at a police officer after a fight was broken up.

A report tells of an officer breaking up another September 2005 fight with a "belligerent" student replying to an officer's commands to stop with expletives and resistance to arrest.

Facebook.com, an online network for college students, has a 135-member group called "F*ck the police!"

It was the announcement at last Tuesday's Student Senate meeting by UT Chief of Police John Dauer of an officer under possible investigation that once again shone a light on student and police relations.

No formal complaint was ever filed, and Dauer said interviews found the officer acted appropriately.

"I think sometimes they feel, you know, that '[police are] trying to keep us from having a good time,'" Dauer said in an interview. "And I'm sure there's resentment in that, but again they have to take their responsibility."

Many of those who've had their campus revelry interrupted by police for being too loud or for underage drinking say they resent law enforcement.

"I don't like police at all," said Stephen May, a UT student on hiatus who will be returning this fall to study middle childhood education. "I think they abuse their power, and I think they're holding us down so we can't really do things."

But Dauer said most people don't ever come into contact with the police, and when they do, it's mostly for minor incidences like speeding tickets or reported theft.

Those that are part of a negative interaction are a "small percentage," Dauer said.

"Basically, we try to have a positive relationship with the students," he said. "I do believe we have a positive relationship with the students; I think a majority feel we are here to protect them.

"And I'm sure there is a small percentage out there that feel the police are out to get them, or we don't like them for some reason, and you know that's not the case. And we get into campus law enforcement because we want to see the students succeed."

The idea of a rowdy campus life that many students try to fulfill during their four years at UT is often where hostility begins.

Many think loud parties should warrant police warnings, not ID checks and Breathalyzer tests.

"They could have a relationship with the students because they're pretty much watching our backs, but if they were more lenient … we're college students, we're trying to have some fun, they can let things go, they can let things fly," May said.

If students have any gripes, said Tressa Baskin, community affairs officer for UTPD. said, they don't come from memories of past negative coverage but from personal attitudes.

"I don't think they misunderstand our work and our role … I think if there is any indifference, it's gonna be a matter of not being able to relate to an authority figure," she said.

Often, one incident can tarnish everyone in law enforcement, Baskin said.

But with the population changing every four years, image becomes less of a problem.

Baskin became a police officer after working as an operator for 911 and said that during her seven years as a law enforcement officer, she's had many conversations with people who want to know "why did this happen to me?"

"[People] wanna compare all officers to one incident," Baskin said. "It's not the norm at all; there are tons more good stories than bad stories. [Good], that's not what makes the news."

Return to University of Toledo police corruption.