H u n t N e w s NU. c o m
T h u r s d ay , D e c e m b e r 3, 2015
news
crime log
Compiled by Stephanie Eisemann, news staff
ENTRY OF THE WEEK
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Northeastern University Public Safety Division Wednesday, Nov. 18 @ 9:53 p.m. A Resident Assistant (RA) in Davenport B reported the smell of marijuana coming from a room. The Northeastern University Police Department (NUPD) responded and, after investigation, placed a student under arrest at 10:19 p.m. for possession of cocaine and prescription pills. The student, who had prior incidents with NUPD, was transported to police headquarters.
Northeastern University Public Safety Division Tuesday, Nov. 17 @ 8:55 a.m. A Northeastern University (NU) student reported a subject posted a picture of flames captioned “Burn Your Local Mosque” to the Facebook page of his student group, Islamic Society of Northeastern. The subject was not affiliated with the university. A report was filed.
Northeastern University Public Safety Division Tuesday, Nov. 17 @ 11:17 p.m. An NU student reported leaving his iPhone 6S unattended in Cabot Cage for approximately one hour. He returned to find it missing. A report was filed.
Northeastern University Public Safety Division Wednesday, Nov. 18 @ 1:56 p.m. NUPD received a duress alarm from the Wollaston’s Market in the Marino Center. Officers responded and placed a male party in custody. The subject, who was not affiliated with Northeastern, had shoplifted and assaulted two employees in attempts to flee. NUPD transported the male back to headquarters and charged him with one count of shoplifting, two counts of simple assault and one count of disorderly conduct.
Northeastern University Public Safety Division Thursday, Nov. 19 @ 12 p.m. An NU student reported someone was stealing her mail from 204 Hemenway St. and that a check mailed to her by her grandmother had been cashed. A report was filed.
Northeastern University Public Safety Division Friday, Nov. 20 @ 11:24 p.m. An RA in International Village (IV) reported a middle-aged male sleeping on one of the couches in the lobby. NUPD responded and located the male, who was not affiliated with Northeastern. He appeared to be intoxicated. EMS was notified and transported the 57-year-old to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
Saturday, Nov. 21 @ 2:27 a.m. Northeastern University Public Safety Division A caller reported loud music coming from the basement of 84 Fenway and the rear alleyway. NUPD responded and found the music was coming from a first floor apartment, which had a window open in the rear. NUPD spoke with the residents, who had not realized the window was open, and they agreed to turn down the music for the night.
Northeastern University Public Safety Division Saturday, Nov. 21 @ 3:04 a.m. The caller from the previous entry reported that after NUPD left the area of 84 Fenway, occupants turned their music back on. NUPD responded and advised the residents to turn the music
Northeastern University Public Safety Division Sunday, Nov. 22 @ 7:14 p.m. NUPD observed an NU student sitting in a Massachusetts-registered vehicle with what appeared to be two bags of marijuana on his lap. The Boston Police Department (BPD) was advised, but NUPD cleared the subject prior to BPD’s arrival, confiscating slightly more than an ounce of the substance. The student had not been under the influence of drugs. A report was filed. Northeastern University Public Safety Division Monday, Nov. 23 @ 7:51 a.m. A male was reported shoplifting from the Wollaston’s Market in the Marino Center. NUPD responded and collected the information of the male, who was a previous offender and not affiliated with the university. He was checked for warrants with negative results and searched prior to being arrested at 8:05 a.m. The male then told officers he had swallowed half a gram of heroin prior to their arrival. NUPD transported the subject to Boston Medical Center. The subject was left in the care of hospital staff and will be summonsed. Monday, Nov. 23 @ 5:37 p.m. Northeastern University Public Safety Division An NU student reported someone was filing false police reports against him. A report was filed and a sergeant was notified due to the subject’s extensive history with NUPD.
Northeastern University Public Safety Division Monday, Nov. 23 @ 6:54 p.m. An NU student reported someone broke into the basement of 204 Hemenway St. and stole his mountain bicycle between 9:30 p.m. the previous night and 6:45 p.m. the day of report. A report was filed. Northeastern University Public Safety Division Friday, Nov. 27 @ 1:18 a.m. NUPD stopped a male who appeared to have blood on him in front of the Columbus Parking Garage. The subject, who was not affiliated with Northeastern, was found to have a warrant out of South Boston District Court for shoplifting. EMS was requested, as the male had a puncture wound on his hand and a laceration to the back of his head. NUPD and EMS transported the subject to Boston Medical Center. The subject was then placed under arrest and transported to Transit Police headquarters.
Weapons, From Page 1 the rifles in the case of an emergency. “Officers will not be carrying assault rifles on campus,” he said. “If we get intelligence that campus security is at a high threat level, the assault rifles will be deployed in vehicles.” Galindo said the advanced weaponry could help save an officer’s life in a dangerous situation. “Depending on the caliber of weapon the subject has and how many subjects there are, firearm capabilities can give the officers an advantage,” he said. However, Kade Crockford, director of the Technology for Liberty program at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Massachusetts, said there is not sufficient evidence to show assault rifles would lessen the damage of a school shooting. “Assault rifles are not going to stop school shootings,” she said. “Campus police departments often say they need it, but there is no evidence to support the claim that this is actually necessary. It might make officers feel more powerful or secure, but feeling is not the same as being.” Albert Sweeney, former associate director of the Northeastern University Public Safety Division who retired in July 2015, said assault rifles are not typically necessary in activeshooter incidents. “For immediate response to an active-shooter incident, in the first five to seven minutes, the most critical elements for success are the professionalism and training of the first three to four officers properly equipped with their handguns,” Sweeney wrote in an email to The News. “They will be the ones getting into formation and moving toward the shooter.” Assault rifles are typically only used in situations where a suspect barricades themself inside a building, Sweeney added. NUPD’s acquisition of new assault rifles was part of a series of purchases, which also included new handguns and mountain bikes. The purchases were meant to update the department’s equipment over the past year, Galindo said. They were funded by NUPD’s annual budget from the university. Twenty NUPD officers are currently undergoing training to be able to use the assault rifles. They must pass a physical exam, complete an interview process and undergo 16 hours of training each month with the Massachusetts State Police in order to have access to the assault weapons. “We have super high standards of qualification to handle that weapon,” Galindo said. The entire department has been involved in training for the new strategy to respond to active shooters for the past 10 months, even though not all officers will be able to handle assault weapons, Galindo said. The training included the department’s first full-scale active shooter drill conducted on campus on Columbus Day. The preparation is meant to enhance NUPD’s effectiveness as first responders, Galindo said. For an on-campus threat, officers from the Boston Police Department (BPD) can take five to 10 minutes to arrive, followed by MBTA Transit Police and State Police, he said. “All the training that we do is meant to handle the first five minutes without support,” Galindo explained. While many campuses are obtaining assault rifles to confront the threat of violent crime, this type of weaponry is not necessary for the most frequent crimes on college campuses, which include alcoholrelated incidents and sexual assault. Northeastern police and university officials received no reports of murder or manslaughter in 2014, and just one report of aggravated assault, according to the department’s most recent annual report. In that same time, the department received 17 reports of sexual assault. The data for 2012 and 2013 show similar trends. A BPD spokesman said the agen-
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cy works closely with NUPD to coordinate responses to emergency situations but declined to comment on the campus police’s new strategy. BPD headquarters is located beside Northeastern’s campus on Tremont Street. The department’s new approach to active-shooter events comes toward the end of a year in which, as of Dec. 1, there have been shootings at 28 colleges and universities, according to the nonprofit Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund. In a recent attack at Umpqua Community College in Oregon, a gunman killed nine people and injured several others before taking his own life. William Taylor, president of the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators and chief of police at San Jacinto College in Texas, said he supports the use of assault rifles in such situations because they have a higher impact than handguns and are more accurate. “We have realized that if you have an active shooter situation, you have to go immediately,” he said. “You don’t have time to call in a special team. He said many institutions across the country are already using assault weapons, and many others are in the process of obtaining them. This trend has grown since the 2007 shooting at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, which left 33 people dead, including the gunman. “It was a catalyst that made people realize the level of threat and the need to be prepared,” Taylor said. According to a 2014 New York Times article, at least 66 universities have obtained assault rifles, including the University of Central Florida, Arizona State University, Florida International University and the University of Maryland. The new active shooter response plan at Northeastern is expected to launch in mid-December, Galindo said, but it may take longer depending on the need for additional training. “We are not going to launch until we are confident that they understand the responsibilities of this equipment and are properly trained,” Galindo said. Crockford, of the ACLU, expressed concern that NUPD did not discuss the use of assault rifles with community members before developing its new strategy. “It’s troubling that decisions like this are being made in secret without any public conversation about the merits or drawbacks of such a plan,” she said. “Police should be engaged in a dialogue with university community members, but also folks who live in and around campus.” NUPD’s goal of maintaining a safe and secure campus includes being prepared to quickly respond to situations that present an immediate threat to public safety, Northeastern representative Renata Nyul said in a statement. “NUPD officers undergo intensive, high-level training and have the tactical capability to take control of life-threatening situations, both independently and in close coordination with city and state law enforcement,” she said. “Like most other urban universities, Northeastern’s police department maintains an appropriate inventory of tactical equipment that is standard in reacting to immediate threats.” Northeastern students had mixed opinions about NUPD acquiring assault rifles. Many were shocked the university had not informed them of the development. “I find this very surprising, and I think this is the worst idea,” Jacob Greenberg, a junior psychology major, said. “I support campus police having firearms, but assault rifles are a military-grade weapon, and the potential for misuse is great. Giving them more firepower makes me nervous.” Others saw no fault in the policy, as long as it was executed well. “If the officers are trained, then I think it is okay for them to have assault rifles,” Tony Mannion, a graduate student in pharmacology, said. Alec Cheung contributed to this report.