Get Herald RSSPresident Ruth Simmons discussed two alleged incidents of police brutality that occurred last month during the second faculty meeting of the semester Tuesday evening. The question-and-answer session that followed Simmons' report centered largely on the University's policy requiring students to show their Brown IDs to certain University officials upon request.
The first incident occurred on campus in the early morning hours of Sept. 10 and involved officers from both the Department of Public Safety and the Providence Police Department. The PPD officers involved in this incident were "working at the time on a paid University detail," according to a Sept. 12 campus-wide e-mail describing the incidents sent by Simmons and Russell Carey '91 MA'06, interim vice president for campus life and student services.
Simmons said at yesterday's meeting that Brown Chief of Police Mark Porter is currently reviewing the policy of hiring PPD officers to patrol campus. The University has offered to sponsor additional "professional development" training for PPD officers, she said.
Simmons also said an internal DPS investigation relating to this incident will be completed soon.
Regarding the University's policy requiring students to present identification upon request, Simmons said administrators are working to make sure students understand how to file complaints if they believe they have been unnecessarily asked to present identification. She also said administrators must ensure that DPS officers are properly trained about when it is appropriate to ask students to present their IDs.
Several faculty members posed questions about the University's policy on when students are required to present identification.
"There must be a purpose for someone to ask you for your ID," Simmons said. "No one has the right to approach you and ask you for your ID without reason."
Simmons referred several questions from faculty members to other officials present at the meeting, including Carey and Vice President for Administration Walter Hunter.
According to Carey, any University official can request to see a student's ID, but "deans and officers" are typically the officials who ask students to present their IDs.
"Students should be aware of their right" not to be stopped without sufficient reason, Simmons said. But students should not be encouraged to "confront police on the spot" and should instead report the incident afterward.
DPS is required to report any time they ask students to present their identification on campus, according to Hunter.
According to a report of such stops reviewed by the Public Safety Oversight Committee, DPS made 150 such requests last year, Hunter said. Of the individuals who were asked to present their IDs, 125 were white, he said.
When asked by Simmons whether this data would be made public, Hunter said the report would be posted on the committee's Web site soon.
Also Tuesday, Simmons took time to discuss this weekend's meeting of the Brown Corporation. She said Corporation members will discuss efforts to internationalize the University. Also, a decision regarding the University's financial aid policies may be approved, she said.
Associate Professor of Sociology Ann Dill, who chairs the Faculty Executive Committee, said members of the FEC will meet with the Corporation over the weekend to discuss how faculty can be involved in efforts to internationalize the University.
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