By Makenna Hall, Managing Editor of Content
A select number of Susquehanna Public Safety officers will remain armed following a few minor changes to the university’s Use of Force policy.
Following the university’s December 2018 announcement to arm some officers, a group of students responded in a protest. As reported in a Quill article from the same month, the protest resulted from a combination of students being excluded from the decision-making process as well as from the lack of safety students felt knowing campus officers would have guns, some citing experiences of racial profiling by Public Safety.
Vice President for Student Life Susan Lantz stated that concerns raised by students were taken into consideration after the announcement was made and some changes were made regarding the security measure, including the additions of a definition of force to the Use of Force policy, a review protocol for use of force incidents and minimum standards required for officers to carry firearms.
According to Lantz, Public Safety officers will not wear body cameras or have cameras on their work vehicles.
“Because SU Public Safety officers are not police officers, the wearing of body cameras will bring significant risk of violating the Pennsylvania Wiretapping and Electronic Surveillance Control Act. Pennsylvania has strict privacy laws protecting persons against unauthorized audio recording,” Lantz said.
Lantz also stated that armed officers are required to make a report anytime their weapon is pulled from their holster, regardless of whether or not it is fired.
“In most circumstances, the investigation would include both internal authority (President and Vice President for Student Life) and external authority (a police agency),” Lantz said.
According to Lantz, the student body was not directly involved in the decision-making process, but the topic was presented to several groups before the announcement was made, including the Board of Trustees that has two student representatives and the University Council that has one student representative. Immediately before the announcement was made, the university met with the Student Government Association (SGA) executive board and the SGA senate.
Lantz stated that another change made after the university received student feedback was the addition of student representatives to the University Safety Committee. The committee includes representatives from all aspects of campus and meets quarterly to discuss, review and develop plans for environmental, health and safety risks, including issues regarding Public Safety training, Lantz said.
The two student representatives are Public Safety Liaison Austin Swanson and Diversity Special Interest Representative Justin Darden.
Swanson began volunteering in September of 2019 as the line of communication between SGA and Public Safety. As liaison Swanson meets with Director of Public Safety Angelo Martin, to discuss any new events or equipment being used by the department, relays this information to SGA to gather feedback and meets again with Martin to share the thoughts of the student body, along with his own thoughts.
University President Jonathan Green stated in the initial 2018 email announcement that all officers, armed and unarmed will continue with implicit-bias training.
Concerning the prevention of racial profiling of students by Public Safety officers, Lantz stated that the hiring process is rigorous and includes thorough background investigations and the ongoing training includes coach-trainee hands training with “multiple layers of supervision.”
Currently, Susquehanna’s Public Safety department does not employ any Black officers. Lantz stated that in the last three years, the department has made several efforts to recruit a more diverse staff by expanding recruiting into more diverse areas like Harrisburg and Williamsport, Pa.
Public Safety officers are trained in de-escalation and work directly with professional counselors to aid in students’ mental health crises, according to Lantz. Last semester Public Safety officers had their first formal training on autism spectrum disorder with the Counseling Center; Lantz said this training is expected to be expanded on in the future.
Green’s email announcement also stated that the decision to arm officers was done to enhance security measures, considering the rise in gun violence in the United States, by reducing response time and acting as a to gun-related incidents.
When discussing the evolution of this security measure, Lantz reiterated Green’s statements about gun violence, noting the increased number of school shootings in the U.S.
“Public Safety officers are not police officers and not involved in highway traffic stops or arrest situations. Thus, on-going scenario training is utilized that focuses on such situations as an active shooter on campus,” Lantz said.
However, this was not the only factor that led to the consideration of arming Public Safety officers; according to Lantz, several on-campus incidents also played a role in the decision.
One incident included a 2017 armed robbery by a non-student in a residence hall. Another incident considered was a 2018 report of a gun being fired by a student on campus, near Pine Street and University Avenue. The student was quickly identified and was suspended pending the decision of a conduct hearing, according to Lantz.
Lantz noted two other 2018 incidents administration considered as this measure was developing, including a threat to three students by an armed veteran that came to campus and the concern that an armed political group would be “patrolling” campus during Ben Shapiro’s visit.
