University officials, students question IUPD tactics

Questions still surround an early Sunday morning detainment of IU students for suspicion of weapons following a dance at the Indiana Memorial Union.\nThe IU Police Department opened an investigation yesterday into the response of IUPD officers to the incident at the IMU after two female witnesses filed complaints, said IUPD Lt. Jerry Minger.\nThe witnesses attended a dance sponsored by the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, at which incidents occurred that preceded the shootings at 14th Street and Indiana Avenue. IUPD is still currently investigating the incident, which they believe happened at a party following the dance, Minger said.\nThere have also been complaints that police actions might have been excessive or racially motivated.\nA National Pan-Hellenic Council meeting Monday evening involved a discussion of these incidents with Dean of Students Richard McKaig, Vice President for Diversity and Retention issues Charlie Nelms, the Director of Neal-Marshall Black Cultural Center Oyibo Afoaku, IUPD Capt. Keith Cash and Interim Vice Chancellor for Academic Support and Diversity Edwardo Rhodes.\nThere, facts of the incidents were compiled but all agreed further investigation is necessary.\n"First of all, we need to know what happened," Nelms said. "Second of all, we need to know why they reacted the way they did. We need to be able to give our students the assurance that they will be respected."\nMcKaig, too, said more facts were needed before any statements regarding IUPD's response could be made.\n"At this point we don't have absolute certainty about exactly what happened," he said.\nNational Pan-Hellenic Council President and Alpha Phi Alpha member senior Cameron Beatty said in a statement he was "very disturbed by the unfortunate events that occurred this weekend."\nNelms questioned whether the same reaction would have happened if a white fraternity were involved and said he was alarmed to see police officers with weapons drawn in a photo in the Indiana Daily Student.\n"The response seemed excessive," Nelms said. "Of course, I'm going on the photo I saw in the paper and from what I've heard, but I want to know why it was excessive.\n"I want to make dog-gone sure that African-American students are not being responded to in a different way."\nBeatty expressed aversion to Monday's article in the IDS titled, "Police search for shooting suspects," which he said too closely tied the Alpha Phi Alpha altercation with the shootings.\nHe said Alpha Phi Alpha "had no affiliation to the party at 14th and Indiana and we were not aware of this mentioned 'afterset' or party."\nNelms, too, expressed concerns regarding the IDS coverage of the incident, suggesting more positive stories regarding IU's black community could have been on the front page.\nTurmoil concerning the investigations might stem primarily from the handcuffing and detainment of senior Kenneth Williams, a member of Iota Phi Theta, and other attendees of Alpha Phi Alpha's dance. \nWilliams was handcuffed in the School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation parking lot. Police said it was believed he and others might have had weapons. Williams and all others handcuffed were released after police searches found no weapons. No arrests were made in the incident.\nWilliams said he had walked out to his vehicle in the HPER parking lot after a fight caused the dance to end early. He said he was inside his friend's car when he heard shots.\n"I wasn't looking behind me, I'm not sure what was going on," he said. \nWilliams said he and his friend assumed there was someone with a weapon behind their car, since officers were surrounding it at gunpoint.\nWilliams said he verbally protested when officers asked him to exit the car and put his hands up.\n"I wasn't actually frightened. I was just angry," he said.\nWhile he was later released without being charged, he said the fact that IUPD officers "put innocent people through all that trouble and they still didn't find who they were looking for" is unsettling.\nWilliams plans to file a formal complaint with IUPD soon.\nMinger said he welcomes and encourages formal complaints and "looks forward to clearing the air and anything that's happened."\n"Our administrative staff will use all resources we have to the fullest extent to investigate allegations made," he said.\nBut, Sunday, Minger defended the actions of the IUPD.\n"The officers followed strict policy to make sure they stayed within operating procedures," he said.\nMcKaig said another meeting involving the NPHC and IU officials would be held after further facts are unveiled.\nBoth McKaig and Minger urged students with any additional information of Sunday morning's shootings to contact IUPD at 855-4111.\n-- Editor in Chief Adam Aasen contributed to this report.