In many ways, it all comes down to tonight.
With last year’s post-Duke game riot still branded into the consciousness of students, police, administrators and city officials, everyone knows they have a lot to prove. And after months of planning and preparation, tonight will tell whether the university community has successfully overcome the events of March 4.
On that night, after the Terrapin men’s basketball team’s most anticipated home game of the season, students flooded Route 1 in jubilance, only to be confronted soon after by dozens of Prince George’s County Police officers in riot gear and on horseback. As 28 students were arrested and others were doused with pepper spray or beaten with batons, the already contentious relationship between students and police took a turn from bad to worse.
“That image [from last March] is burnished into the memory banks of many people, alumni as well as our current student body and the community,” University Police Chief David Mitchell said. “So we have a lot to overcome. … Prince George’s County Police does specifically; they are well aware of that.”
Although the aftermath of tonight’s game remains uncertain, police and students have said the clouds that have long enshrouded their interactions are beginning to part. Efforts by police, the university and the city, including an open bonfire following the basketball showdown, are aimed at keeping students in line while also allowing them to celebrate or lament.
Police also pointed to safety initiatives that were kicked off last semester, such as Crime Time – Get Home Safely and outreach campaigns like the welcome back event police hosted for students at the beginning of the year, as steps they’ve taken to improve student perceptions.
Now, police are hoping that sentiment will carry over into tonight’s festivities.
“Things are better,” said District 1 Commander Robert Liberati, who oversees county police involvement in College Park. “What we saw in those videos was not what we are about, and I don’t think it’s what the students are about either. … It was a snapshot. It was a bad situation and it was handled badly. We’ve had some time to digest what happened.”
In the time since, Mitchell has devoted his first year as head of University Police to promoting open lines of communication between students and police to repair any sense of mistrust and perceptions of danger.
“Those kinds of interactions, which are founded in friendship and support of the student body, are going to pay the dividends and show a side of us in policing that will help put the memory of what happened a year ago in context,” Mitchell said. “We’re not all bad. There are those who have acted outside the bounds of their authority. They will be held accountable and dealt with severely, there’s no doubt.”
Mitchell added it would take more than a couple of safe celebrations for the university community to fully overcome what happened last year.
“It’s going to take more frequent contact when there’s no crisis — just routine interaction and support — to demonstrate we’re human, we do care and we’re working in partnership with you so that you have a safe and prosperous experience here on campus,” he said.
Liberati said county police are also taking a whole new approach this time around. County officers will be in College Park early and in extra numbers tonight, Liberati said, but they will not be dressed in riot gear nor will they have the intent of clashing with students. Instead, Liberati said, police will be focused on promoting safety.
“We’re going to be very visible,” Liberati said. “Not with shields and protective gear … out there talking to people and directing them toward the bonfire. … It’s not a matter of us coming down the street in a line and clearing the block. It’s a matter of us stopping the little skirmishes before they turn into big things.”
Liberati would not say how many officers will be in the area because it could interfere with police strategy, but he added his department has done significantly more planning for the game this year. If a riot-like activity occurs, officers will use “a lot of discretion” before making any arrests, he said.
As police work to anticipate what may happen this evening, students said they are ready to give police a second chance.
Freshman business major David Burkey said he spent the weekend looking at YouTube videos from the riot to prepare for his first home Duke game. He said it was clear police acted out of their power but admitted students were partially to blame.
“To a certain degree I understand,” Burkey said. “You can’t just let people run crazy. But at the same time … it seemed like there were a couple times where they were maybe a little overaggressive with the students.”
Other students added the bonfire seems like a good solution and a safe tradition.
“It definitely shows that they’re trying to make an effort to stop what happened last year and actually sponsoring a safe event,” freshman government and politics major Mitchell Steinberg said. “Whether people attend will be a different story. But it’s a good step forward, saying ‘We want you guys to celebrate but we want it to be in a controlled manner.'”
Although students were largely in support of the bonfire, private investigator Sharon Weidenfeld, who represented several of the students arrested last year, said it is going to take time for students to move on.
“Until we see what happens after the Duke game this year and until we see other events down the road, I don’t know that students have a new trust in the Prince George’s County Police,” she said.
Despite all the anxiety about what happens after, the Terps have a game to play first. And are the police pulling for the home team?
“Of course,” Liberati said, laughing.
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