DANA KUHNThe friends who gathered for Jun Cai’s 21st birthday party were expecting between 75 and 100 people to attend. They weren’t expecting, however, that the Washington University Police Department would make an appearance as well.
The students residing in Suite 303 of Building 4 in the Millbrook complex threw the party on Feb. 1. It began around 11:30 p.m., but by approximately 2:20 a.m., Washington University Police arrived regarding a noise complaint.
The Residential College Director in charge of the students’ suite in Millbrook, Sarah Lahr, confirmed that the party was in conflict with several housing guidelines, including the restriction of parties to roughly twenty-five guests, the 24-hour courtesy policy and the ban on beer kegs in the apartments. Though the students admit to being in violation of these housing restrictions, they have expressed some grievances about their perception of the way they were treated upon the arrival of the University Police.
According to Cai, the noise complaint was first responded to by two police officers, Ron Moore and a blonde-haired female officer.
“The male officer threw open the door and said ‘Shut this fucking party down,'” said Cai. In an e-mail, University Chief of Police Don Strom said that “the responding officers have assured [him] they did not kick in the door.”
Cai reports that the students at the party quickly found their jackets in his and roommate Vince Lee’s room and proceeded to leave. At this point Lee reported that the fire alarm sounded and everyone, including the roommates, was told to exit the building. Strom’s e-mail verifies this chain of events.
Because of the valuables in the room, Cai reported asking Moore to lock the doors, attempting to get his keys out of his pants pocket. According to Cai, the officer then forcefully put him in an arm lock and held him against the wall while threatening to arrest him.
Strom’s report shows a different account of the proceedings.
“During the fire alarm, an officer observed one of the residents stumbling around the hallway with his keys,” said Strom. “He was directed to leave due to the alarm. The student ultimately refused to leave and the officer obtained his identification. The student was also attempting to lock the apartment while police still believed there might be persons inside who had not yet been evacuated. The student directed profanity at the officer and claimed the police had no authority to do anything. The student attempted to grab his identification back from the officer and the officer briefly restrained him.”
Eventually, all of the suitemates were escorted outside to police vehicles and questioned as to whether they were intoxicated or under the influence of any other illegal substances. Lee reported that the suitemates were not intoxicated and asked the police officers to administer sobriety tests. Cai stated that an officer responded to these requests by saying, “Shut up and stop being smart asses.”
Strom said that to his knowledge, no obscenities were used by the officers.
“As we have not had an opportunity to fully interview the students he spoke of, I cannot comment on the details of their allegations,” said Strom. “However, based on my review of the incident report and speaking with the officers involved, it would appear their actions were proper and placed a priority on the safety of all involved.”
After being questioned outside, the roommates reported that Officer James Shoemaker arrived and escorted Cai back to his suite. Cai explained that after Shoemaker noticed a white substance on his jacket, the officer questioned him about whether the substance was narcotics or the contents of a fire extinguisher. Cai reports that the officer then proceeded to remove some of the substance from his jacket and lick it. Cai said he then offered Shoemaker his jacket for testing, again receiving the response, “Shut up and stop being a smart ass.”
Strom noted that, “The officers report they did observe a powdery substance on the clothing of one of the individuals and wondered whether it could be related to the improper discharge of a fire extinguisher at the complex earlier in the night.
Upon being questioned in their suite, the roommates report that the female officer continually claimed that their party was unregistered and therefore in violation of school code. The claim that the University Police believed that parties in Millbrook must be registered was substantiated by the Police Media Log which classified the party as an “unauthorized party.” The party, however, was in fact actually authorized under the Millbrook housing code.
Lahr confirmed that the housing code does not mandate parties be registered in Millbrook. Despite this stipulation, the students said that he female officer continued asking about the party’s authorization and reportedly began to use more and more profanities as her frustration grew.
The suitemates also report being questioned about drug deals that were occurring at the party. Moore, according to the suitemates, reported seeing multiple drug deals, but not interfering for his personal safety.
“Officer Moore said he saw money and an object exchanged hands but did not know what the object was,” said Lee. “The officer said that although he didn’t see the object, he was certain it was drugs because of his extensive experience.”
The roommates also report that during the questioning, which they said lasted until 4 a.m., the officers explained to them that they could be arrested for any drug deal that occurred or the fire alarm that was pulled outside their suite.
Strom did not comment on the officers’ allegations of drug deals. He said that the matter is now in the University’s hands.
“I trust these officers and respect their professionalism in handling situations such as this under difficult circumstances where behavior can sometimes be impacted by the use of alcohol or other substances,” he said on the situation as a whole. “Based on the violations observed in the apartment, and in keeping with Department practice, the incident was referred to University administrators for further action.”