New Commander Reaches Out To Students
April 07, 2011
UMD's civic communication class sponsored an event working to strengthen ties between students and local police.
UMD's civic communication class sponsored an event working to strengthen ties between students and local police.By Erin Egan, Diamondback
In his first on-campus outreach event since becoming commander of Prince George's County Police District 1 more than a month ago, Commander Hector Velez pledged to improve students' perception of police officers — the first indicator as to how relations will function under his command.
More than 100 students and seven city officials gathered to discuss those relationships in hopes of strengthening ties at last night's event, sponsored by communication professor Kristjana Maddux's Civic Communications class. During the discussion, students expressed frustration and fear toward University Police and county police after last year's post-Duke basketball riot that led to allegations of police brutality and warranted an FBI investigation into county officers' actions.
Many students recounted times when they were either ignored by an officer or didn't approach one because they were scared. One student tearfully explained a story about a friend who was mugged at night while walking home alone after a police officer was unkind to her when she asked to be escorted.