University of Oregon Police Department Chief Matthew Carmichael has been in Eugene for over a year and is the fourth new chief in the last decade. After a year with Carmichael in this position, the campus community has a sense of how the police will act under his leadership.
“There is always work for us to do as a police department moving forward. The last year I would say we have increased community engagement. We are finding ways to make sure all community members who do not feel served by us are, and we still have challenges,” said Carmichael.
Carmichael has over 30 years of  experience working in law enforcement. He took over his last job as police chief at University of California, Davis after the department caught national negative attention when a police officer pepper sprayed a group of student protesters. Carmichael’s job was aimed at restoring community relations.
At UO, Carmichael has also focused on improving community engagement since he was hired as police chief. He has implemented changes that include hiring student assistants to the chief, acquiring new police uniforms and vehicles, acquiring permanent body cameras for officers and meeting with student groups and members of the campus community.
UOPD has also worked with ASUO on the annual Campus Night Safety Walk this year. ASUO provides funding and oversight for Safe Ride and the Designated Driver Shuttle — two programs that are now run in collaboration with the UOPD.
“I have worked last year with ASUO executive with the programming with UOPD on Campus Night Walk and things like that, and my personal experience  has been great in the sense that we have worked really well with them. [We] collaborated with Chief Carmichael specifically really well,” said ASUO President Amy Schenk.
One of Carmichael’s newest changes is that UOPD officers will now have Tasers and “patrol rifles,” the latter of which will be kept in safes in the trunks of patrol cars.
There are people who are skeptical of the introduction of these new weapons, such as Bill Harbaugh, vice president of the UO Senate and professor of Economics.
“It raises the level of force at the University and that is good in terms of allowing a more effective response to an incident if it happens, probably when it happens given the way things are going. I think it also makes it more likely that those kinds of incidents will happen,” said Harbaugh.
Harbaugh cited the recent Georgia Tech incident in which a student called the police on himself, pulled a knife and then threatened the police until they shot him as an example of how arming campus police with these new weapons could have a negative effect. He also said he appreciates Carmichael’s efforts to integrate the UOPD with the community. Harbaugh said that he is not an opponent of the police and thinks Carmichael is generally great.
“I do not believe that the UOPD’s addition of rifles and Tasers will now encourage someone to harm themselves through us,” said Carmichael in response to Harbaugh’s statement. “What I do believe, based on the examples that I have seen nationally, is that I will feel that I am being a good police chief and I am doing what I am intrusted to do.”
Another change during Carmichael’s first year is the announcement that UOPD would be getting new vinyl wraps for the patrol car as well as new uniforms, both of which will closely reflect the school colors. The announcement caused controversy after a picture of a truck with a new vinyl wrap appeared online and raised the questions concerning whether or not this was a new paint job and what the cost would be.
Regardless of these controversies, these future changes are still in place.
Correction: A former version of this story referred to the Designated Driver Shuttle by the incorrect name.