jester32b

Mon, Feb 1, 2010 : 8:14 p.m.

If you look at other police agencies and ask who conducts internal investigations the answer is "they do." Each police agency investigates their own complaints on their officers/deputies. To ask a committee of civilians to investigate the actions of an officer is like having a chemisty student evaluate a musical performance. The committe may not know all the legal and procedural issues when a complaint comes forward against an officer. That is why police agencies will assign a high ranking member of the department to investigate these complaints. The focus that people are putting on the oversight committee is the wrong path to take. This officer is taking responsibility for his actions and paying the consequences. And maybe something good will come out of this, maybe random drug testing will be a requirement? Who knows

trespass

Mon, Feb 1, 2010 : 7:52 a.m.

Mick52@ The University of Michigan prides itself on having the smartest, most competitive faculty and the best of the best students. If you don't like protecting the rights of smart people then maybe it is best that you no longer work for the DPS. With regard to the Admin's intentions, you haven't tried to get them to conduct elections for the Oversight Committee. The University lawyers said that it did not matter that it had been 10+ years since the last election for faculty or student positions on the committee because the state law did not set a time limit on the members terms. The lawyers also tried to block the Michigan Student Assembly from hearing about the state law. So don't try to tell me that the Admin's intentions are pure. I will bet the DPS Oversight Committee is not even involved in this case. An internal investigation may not look at all the lessons that may be learned. Did this officer have other behavioral or performance complaints that should have been addressed by his supervisors? Did other officers know of his drug use? Should DPS officers have drug testing? This is exactly the kind of major case that should be investigated by the Oversight Committee.

jester32b

Sun, Jan 31, 2010 : 11:07 p.m.

I hope the facts will come out on this case for everyone to see, and don't judge an entire department on the actions of one officer. No one is perfect. As for oversight and the police acting like securty guards I pose these questions.... Who took the 4 suspects into custody last week after robbing a student at gunpoint? Who got into a footchase with a man with a gun, caught the susepct and recovered the gun? Who are the ones who caught the arsonist who set West Quad on fire? Oh, that would be the UofMDPS. These are just a few examples of DPS doing their job and doing it well. And if people took responsibility for their actions instead of hiding behind lawyers, DPS would be able to do more policework. Instead of hiding behind an attorney for your MIP you got, suck it up and take responsibility. Free up DPS and the courts to fight the hardened criminals that prey on the studens and campus.

Mick52

Sat, Jan 30, 2010 : 12:59 a.m.

Trespass you are way off base regarding the Admin's intentions on civilian oversight. I know I used to work there. The officers are great people who work under enormous oversight. When you work for a population who thinks they are the smartest people in the world, it can be difficult. This kind of stuff can happen as noted by a couple who have posted. Odin thank you for you understanding comments.

liekkio

Fri, Jan 29, 2010 : 11:52 a.m.

There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics. Lets stay away from all three and wait for the facts. Hopefully, the newspaper will follow up on this case.

tiredofmess

Fri, Jan 29, 2010 : 9:41 a.m.

This is a tragic situation that has came to light. Cocaine affects the rich poor and anybody in between it has no bias.I will also be glad when they post the name,intials etc so we can see if this officer has tainted any cases involving drugs.

King of the Trolls

Fri, Jan 29, 2010 : 8:28 a.m.

I bet TSA put it in his bag.

Craig Lounsbury

Thu, Jan 28, 2010 : 6:10 p.m.

In which case I stand corrected on part 2 of my comment above.

clara

Thu, Jan 28, 2010 : 6 p.m.

two weeks to file a drug charge. Not in Michigan. It can take years to get the test results back from the State Police. Once those are back, they file and.. suprise! There is a warrant for you!

Craig Lounsbury

Thu, Jan 28, 2010 : 5:39 p.m.

I bet he/she got all the free cocaine he/she could confiscate. Two weeks seems like a reasonable amount of time to file charges, at least for the average citizen?

Freemind42

Thu, Jan 28, 2010 : 4:17 p.m.

They were always the first to the scene, nobody seemed to wonder why the officer had super-human speed.

Ricebrnr

Thu, Jan 28, 2010 : 4:04 p.m.

hmmm...more proof that the students are responsible for their own safety first and foremost. Not any agency, be they professional & efficient or not as the case may be.

trespass

Thu, Jan 28, 2010 : 3:05 p.m.

The University Administration has fought tooth and nail against having effective civilian oversight of the campus police. The result is a lack of professionalism of the department. They act more like security guards than professional police officers. The DPS Oversight Committee should be charged with overseeing the investigation of whether or not there was any lack of supervision of this officer. The police chief should not be the sole arbitor of the lessons that should be learned from this embarrassing incident.

DagnyJ

Thu, Jan 28, 2010 : 2:46 p.m.

No name of the suspect?

Lokalisierung

Thu, Jan 28, 2010 : 12:15 p.m.

Finaly something LAWNET has done I can get behind.

Ricebrnr

Thu, Jan 28, 2010 : 12:04 p.m.

Well! That should certainly make the students have confidence and feel safer on campus, wont it?