Concerns surrounding the Middletown Police Department (MPD) response to a Phi Beta Sigma-sponsored event on Sept. 16 have sparked student discussion about law enforcement on campus. Many at the event were students of color and their guests, and some have expressed concerns about racial profiling by MPD as well as raised questions of Public Safety’s reaction.

The event, which was held at the Psi U fraternity house, was broken up by Middletown Police (MPD) and Public Safety officers after several noise complaints were received from residents in the surrounding homes

After the party was broken up, most attendees proceeded to Fountain Avenue where another party was underway.

“There was a large populace of migrating students from Psi U to Fountain Avenue, many of them, again, were students of color, and it appeared that MPD seemed to follow these students to Fountain,” said Jason Harris ’09, who is treasurer for Ujamaa, a student of color group working on the issue.

Between five and six police cars were present at the gathering on Fountain Avenue when the students arrived.

In a document of student concerns prepared following the event, students claim that MPD used excessive force in their response that night.

“We’re looking at the issue of: why was that response taken? There had been large Fountain parties the past two or three weekends before that, and those were handled quite differently,” said Ujamaa member Jane Charles-Voltaire ’07.

Among the concerns was the use of canines at the scene.

“The administration says that it was only one canine unit, but most students there said they saw several dogs, whose presence served as a scare tactic,” Harris said.

Both Deputy Police Chief Phil Pessina and Public Safety Director Dave Meyer maintained that the canines never left the patrol car.

“Canines have only been in vehicles and were only there because the officer called to the scene happened to be a canine officer,” Meyer said. “No canines were used to clear crowds that I know of.”

Pessina explained that the officer and canine should be viewed as one entity, and that the dog is simply on patrol, too.

Others claimed to have seen rubber bullet guns, which Pessina acknowledged are part of MPD’s non-lethal forces.

“That is a very humanistic approach,” Pessina said. “If we have to use that it’s for specific reasons, to control persons and to not have to worry about someone getting injured, but it’s not like any officer can just use them. We have standards and procedures warranting their use.”

The document of student concerns also cites the use of inappropriate language by MPD officers as well as “unjustified arrest threats.”

“MPD made insulting remarks—curse words were used toward students—and officers threatened students with arrests, although none were actually made,” Harris said.

Many students feel that due to the large gathering of students of color, MPD operated under racial bias. Ujamaa sees the event as a springboard for a broader discussion of racial profiling issues.

“It was a registered party, and there were many guests of Wesleyan students there,” Charles-Voltaire said. “That doesn’t take away from the personal bias of the MPD.”

Pessina maintained that MPD has no bias.

“We have worked hard to be sensitive to diversity and ethnic groups,” he said.

Ujamaa met with President Bennet soon after the events.

“[Dean of the College] Maria Cruz-Saco jumped on it within four days, and we had a meeting with Bennet,” said Ujamaa member Elana Cook ’08.

Ujamaa members praised the responses and support they received from Cruz-Saco, Dean of Diversity and Academic Advancement Danny Terraguci, and Dean Mike Whaley.

“They came to our meeting, left their offices and came into student space, and supported us when we met with Bennet,” said Charles-Voltaire. “They were very supportive and made sure that students got to speak, which isn’t always how it works whenever you’re dealing with bureaucracy like that.”

Ujamaa advocates a need for consistency is the manner that MPD and Public Safety handle situations.

“Although we [students] do not always appreciate the things they do, students are used to P-Safe, and when MPD invades our space, it become an issue of territory. MPD is an unknown presence,” Harris said. “We need to define the relationship between MPD, P-Safe, and the student body.”

According to Patton, MPD have full jurisdiction over University streets, as well as any event occurring on University grounds.

“Fountain Avenue, and all streets across campus, are city streets and the police can come onto them,” he said. “Public Safety is a security force. They cannot make arrests.”

“Wesleyan University is in the city of Middletown and the Middletown Police Department is charged with the law enforcement of the University,” Pessina said. “We have a partnership with Public Safety. They are charged with facilitating the safety and health of the campus, but because they don’t have law enforcement and jurisdictional powers they rely on us.” Pessina explained the collaborative effort of Middletown police and Public Safety on campus. Meyer echoed his sentiments, noting that MPD is more familiar with non-University people so they are hired to patrol certain areas.

“They are working on the peripheral parts, like Hi- and Lo-Rise, Pearl Street, Washington Street, and Fountain, where we’ve had most of our burglaries,” Meyer said.

Public Safety also calls on MPD when a situation becomes too large to deal with alone.

“We’ve had several large-scale parties and had the Middletown Police out there with us,” Meyer said. “On Fountain, it can take [Public Safety] an hour and a half to clear a party. Truthfully speaking, the police are very restrained in dealing with students. They’ve been patient. Other times, outside Wesleyan, when you don’t move, you get arrested.”

According to Meyer, there is no pressure from the administration to have police on campus.

Since the meeting with Bennet, administrators, Ujamaa, and the WSA have taken further steps to address the concerns, and all stress that there are more actions to be taken.

“Peter Patton and I met with the Police Chief and Mayor and revisited those events and concerns that students brought to me,” said Bennet.

Ujamaa is working to establish a sit-down with the MPD in coming weeks to talk about the issues that have been raised.

“We’re going to meet with the MPD to speak about ways to increase dialogue between Public Safety, MPD, and Wesleyan students within a more relationship-based dynamic,” Harris said. “The discussion needs to be held in a broader context, and we need to look at how these measures impact certain communities, especially students of color.”

Charles-Voltaire stressed that the examination of these events, and the ensuing dialogue, can contribute to the state of student life at the University.

“The question becomes: is the University making a commitment to all of its student body? Is Diversity University just a gimmick that’s not followed through on?” she said. “This isn’t about students of color only, it resonates in all relations of the student community.”