In recent months, the University’s Department of Public Safety has drawn steady fire from students and ASUO.
Over the summer, both the department and the University administration pushed for the Eugene City Council to empower DPS officers to write municipal citations for infractions they witness on campus — particularly minor in possession and possession of less than an ounce of marijuana. But ASUO leaders decried the administration for pushing the issue while much of the population that the authorization affects — namely students — was away on summer leave.
At the public July 14 City Council meeting when officials made the decision, ASUO Campus Outreach Coordinator Shannon Tarvin lambasted the motion, rightly saying that students didn’t have sufficient time to weigh in on the issue. Regardless, the City Council shot down two moderating amendments, including one that would have pushed the decision back until students returned to campus and could offer their ideas. At that same meeting, the council granted the powers with a 7-1 vote.
Only a week later, DPS fell out of the frying pan of campus criticism and into the fire. In the early morning hours of July 21, former department officer Michael Bonertz pursued a bicyclist into a pedestrian area with a department-issue patrol truck, eventually striking him with the vehicle. Twenty-five-year-old Bonertz was placed on administrative leave and resigned shortly thereafter.
All in all, a regrettable incident but not a particularly distressing one. The more damning revelations would come weeks later, when the department finished its internal investigation and produced a final deposition — a document obtained in late September by the Emerald through the state Public Records Law.
The investigator ultimately found that Bonertz was guilty of wrongdoing: The report states that Bonertz’s actions reflect “lack of awareness regarding not only policy but also the potential liability he subjected the department and university to in his actions.”
Moreover, the investigator reported that “(i)t was of great concern that officer Bonertz does not view his actions unsafe in any fashion and feels fully justified in what he did.”
This incident so far seems to reflect only the unwarranted, misguided decisions of one rogue officer during an otherwise routine early-morning patrol. Also, his departure is a step in the right direction for the department and for the community that it protects.
Disturbingly, rule violations are not limited to Bonertz’s file: According to the Bonertz, some officers created unspoken rules outside the DPS code book that can contradict DPS policy. Pertinently, with the exception of medical emergencies and construction blocking the street, DPS officers are not allowed to drive vehicles on sidewalks.
But it all begs the question, what circumstances in the campus community, and particularly within DPS, paved the way for such a problematic situation? One of the presumably screened officers believed that seriously violating the organizational rules of DPS is acceptable, and others apparently think that at least milder violations are unobjectionable. Perhaps there weren’t any warning signs that such an incident might occur, but the very fact that Bonertz held this mindset suggests that the department can better stress the importance of certain campus regulations to new officers or implement a more goal-oriented training regimen.
In light of these negative circumstances, it’s particularly important to recognize that, by and large, DPS has a good long-term track record of serving students and the campus community. But, recent department history also illuminates issues that might currently affect DPS’ credibility performance. Here’s to hoping they take this situation in stride, and that gross officer misconduct is a thing of the past.
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