IUPD to look into response at HPER

The IU Police Department is conducting dual investigations concerning events of Sunday morning, which involved a fraternity dance at the Indiana Memorial Union, fights outside the School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation and firearm use on 14th Street and Indiana Avenue, IUPD Lt. Jerry Minger said. \nIn one investigation, police are trying to determine how these three episodes might be connected. Meanwhile, IUPD Capt. Keith Cash is conducting an internal investigation to determine if officers acted appropriately when they pulled their guns on a gathering of black students outside the HPER parking lot.\nThe investigation comes after questions about whether IUPD officers acted appropriately in the situation. Vice President of Institutional Advancement and Academic Affairs Charlie Nelms told the Indiana Daily Student that he thought the IUPD actions seemed "excessive."\nMinger said officers are only supposed to draw their weapons if they have "reasonable cause" to do so. After a police officer has entered and assessed a situation where force is perceived to be necessary, Minger said, he or she has the right to draw a weapon. In order to establish whether or not officers acted rightly when drawing their weapon, they will be asked to depict the situation from their perspective, including what he saw, what he was thinking and what threats he witnessed during his assessment of a scene. Force is deemed necessary when there is an immediate threat to the safety of an officer, or others in the area, or when a person who has just committed a serious crime is trying to escape, Minger said. \n"A lot of people right now are basing their sentiments and comments on what they've seen on the front page of the paper, or what they've heard from other people," Minger said.\nHe said an officer entering a potentially dangerous situation does not have the luxury of hindsight. The issue under scrutiny is whether or not the officers acted appropriately based on their impressions at the time, Minger said. \nCash is currently interviewing officers who were on the scene, while many in the department are working to interview eyewitnesses.