Some university students injured by police at Saturday night’s post-game celebration on Route 1 have contacted lawyers and are considering lawsuits, but they aren’t the only ones who want answers about what happened. A University Police official said she was seeking answers as well. But as of yesterday evening, they weren’t getting any. Not only are officials from Prince George’s County Police not answering reporters’ questions, but a University Police spokeswoman said her department has been stonewalled by county police as well.
Although not surprising (Diamondback reporters routinely have difficulty getting information from county police officials), it’s disturbing that a department already mired in controversy continues to refuse to appropriately address questionable incidents. We don’t even know if the county police have a documentable policy on pepper gun use.
Three departments — county police, University Police and National Park police — combined to create the police force that was quite literally out in full force after the Duke win. Only county police officers were armed with pepper pellet guns. It was those pepper pellets that sent several students to area hospitals and left one with a face covered in blood and punctured by plastic. County police need to voluntarily communicate information about their actions to University Police and to the public. They also need to immediately launch a comprehensive investigation into the response Saturday night and take action if they discover officers handled the celebration too aggressively.
County police don’t have the cleanest history when it comes to excessive force, and the Department of Justice recently concluded a two-year investigation into its deadly brutality. The Washington Times reported in October that as of Sept. 10 the department was still noncompliant with many of the investigation’s recommendations. In these situations, county police should adopt a policy of full disclosure when any of their actions are questioned. Judging by the number of students who were shot with pepper pellets Saturday night after committing a misdemeanor at most, county police still prefer to use a heavy hand.
A University Police spokeswoman said she contacted county police to speak with them about the post-game celebrations and received the silent treatment. The departments worked together Saturday night, and they need to work together now to find out what went wrong. It is frightening that county police can’t even be honest with their fellow officers. University Police have the most experience with working students, and the celebrations Saturday were in their jurisdiction. University Police deserve answers from county police. The students who were injured deserve answers as well.
