It is an inherently juvenile instinct to hate The Man. It is hardwired in our brains to lash out at those who tell us “no.” The Man sometimes takes the form of our parents or teachers, the president or bureaucrats. But often The Man is wearing a badge.
Generally, this is a bad instinct. Police have a responsibility to enforce the law, even if it means busting up that awesome party you were having at the satellite house or arresting you for only having, “like, a ounce of weed, man.” In College Park, where crime — despite declining for several years — remains too high for the taste of residents, students and administrators, students and police need to work together. And despite grumbling about the opposing sides’ behavior, both groups have generally gotten along in recent years.
But in the aftermath of the March 4 riots, this happy equilibrium has been disrupted. Prince George’s County Police officers have already been caught lying in a police report that claimed student John McKenna had provoked officers assaulted their horses before he was arrested. In reality, McKenna had skipped toward two mounted Maryland-National Capital Park Police officers before baton-wielding county police rushed over and beat him violently for about a half-minute.
And now University Police — who weren’t at the scene of the riot and thus far have escaped blame for the night’s events — have a black eye as well. McKenna’s attorney had requested 60 hours of university surveillance footage shortly after the riot. All but 90 minutes from a camera with a clear view of where McKenna had been beaten were turned over, and police suspected those 90 minutes were lost forever after the original footage was recorded over. Although a copy of the footage was finally found and turned over to McKenna’s attorney earlier this week, three minutes are missing due to a “technician’s error.”
To make matters worse, the University Police lieutenant in charge of copying the footage is married to one of the mounted officers on duty that night and named in the charging documents against McKenna.
Police would have you believe it’s a remarkable series of coincidences, not a conspiracy. But students have a right to be suspicious. Of the hours of footage University Police cameras recorded that night, the relevant 90 minutes disappeared. And when it was found, three minutes from it vanished. It strains the imagination.
Regardless, this situation just adds fuel to the fire. Although county police have long held a reputation as being abrasive and quick to use excessive force, University Police have held a much higher reputation in the eyes of students. But after last month’s events and the revelations that have followed, University Police should be wary that their reputation is quickly blending with that of their county counterparts.
So far, University Police have done well in executing damage control on the situation. Instead of conducting an internal investigation, they have invited the Maryland State Police to handle the investigation of the mishandling of the footage, a step that shows a degree of transparency.
Final judgment should be reserved until the truth is fully discovered. But these coincidences, whether they be happenstance or not, have left the university community disturbed. The riot that rocked Route 1 more than a month ago is a story that continues to unfurl, but the picture that is forming is one that paints students as more innocent by the day. It’s not fair to judge police collectively, but students will undoubtedly be tempted.
Making matters worse is an absence of leadership. The position of University Police chief is unfilled, and District 1 Commander Maj. Daniel Dusseau retired last week shortly after the video of McKenna’s beating turned up on national news networks. There’s no person who can calm students and assure them their concerns are being taken seriously. When either position is filled, the new official’s first stop should be some type of open forum with students to begin repairing the relationship.
We hope the investigation finds it was a technician’s error. We want to have faith in the people charged with protecting us. But a stigma will linger. Not until the last student of the freshman class walks across the graduation stage in 2013 will trust in University Police be fully renewed, and that is something no amount of damage control can fix.
