William Lewis, a senior at Syracuse University, was sitting on his patio when he heard gunshots outside his apartment on Euclid Avenue on Oct. 23. “I was like, ‘Those are gunshots, and those are close.’ People were running away past my house … I ran inside,” Lewis said.

Lewis watched from his window as police swarmed the scene in search of the person who fired the shots. The university’s Department of Public Safety later identified the person as an SU student. Fortunately no one had been hurt, but that did not stop the rush of concerned texts hitting Lewis’ phone. “This is getting ridiculous,” he said, “Euclid is becoming very unsafe to be on.”

Students at SU are taking note of rising crime, both on and off campus. “People generally seem to be alarmed; it’s unfortunate to wake up and read about a new case every day,” said Philip Lockitt, a sophomore living on South Campus. 

The increase in crime is most visible on South Campus. In recent years, it has become a location with frequent criminal activity. In 2020, 116 cases of burglary on campus were reported, over a 1500% increase from the seven cases of burglary reported the previous year.

While SU students have continually voiced their disapproval of local law enforcement, these criticisms have not been productive. There has been  little substantial progress in slowing crime or bettering the relationship of SU students and law enforcement. Video of an attack on Marshall Street breathed further life into calls for the reform, disarming and defunding of DPS. 

Students took to the social media platform Yik Yak, issuing calls for protest and spreading unproven claims that the Syracuse Police Department had witnessed the event and refused to intervene. DPS Chief Bobby Maldonado disputed this at a town hall on Oct. 20, saying they could not see any police cars or officers in the area in video footage they have of the event and that four cars were responding to the event three or four minutes after the initial call. Overzealous and unfounded criticism of DPS has become a feature of campus conversation.

These misguided attempts to reform DPS and SPD mirror those of the national anti-police movement in nearly every way, including their counterproductivity. The demonization of law and order consistently serves as an obstacle to engaged policing, which correlates with an increase of violent crime and a decrease in overall arrests. If “reformists” seek the complete breakdown of public safety, then their execution has been masterful. 

On the other hand, if the incessant flood of DPS alerts in your inbox concerns you, then keep reading. Public safety relies on mutual trust between students and officers. The university administration, however, has eroded both. By throwing its officers under the bus and fostering an environment where policing is vilified, SU’s administration has failed in its obligations to the community. DPS, just like any law enforcement department, is rendered unable to perform its duties when it cannot rely on the administration to support its mission. 

The problem we see today did not develop overnight. When tensions between the student body and DPS erupted during the 2019 #NotAgainSU protests, officers had been ordered to work 16-hour shifts in order to track down the perpetrators of racist vandalism in Day Hall. The response from student protesters was nonetheless hostile. The protesters readily issued demands, including the disarming of officers and the removal of DPS Chief Bobby Maldonado and Deputy Chief John Sardino from the Board of Trustees. Fortunately, those demands for their removal and the disarming of officers would go unmet.

Misinformation surrounding the conduct of DPS became acceptable, with the official #NotAgainSU Instagram account accusing Deputy Chief John Sardino of reaching for a firearm and assaulting students. An independent review led by Former U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch found no evidence that Sardino intended to draw his firearm. Also, Sardino did not violate standard operating procedure “by jostling with members of the crowd in an effort to close the exterior door to Crouse-Hinds Hall,” the report reads.

Around that same time in February of 2020, the DPS union said in a letter to Chancellor Kent Syverud that the hostile environment the university was encouraging would hinder the department’s ability to carry out their duties. Officers present at the Crouse-Hinds protest were berated and had food and other items thrown at them, and protesters used force against Sardino while attempting to disarm him, the union said in the letter. 

The administration’s decision not to correct misinformation or hold students accountable for attacking officers sent a very clear message that hostility toward DPS will be tolerated.

Since the #NotAgainSU protests, DPS has undergone an extensive review led by Lynch, SU has established student review boards to ensure accountability, and DPS Chief Maldonado has actively engaged the student body to promote transparency.

At the time of writing this,  burglaries are up by a factor of 16, sexual assault is rampant, and instances of violence on and around campus have left students feeling less safe than ever. If student leaders and administrators are serious about protecting their community, then it is time to start working with DPS and SPD rather than against them.

Augustus LeRoux is a junior history major. His column appears biweekly. He can be reached at aoleroux@syr.edu.

Published on November 1, 2021 at 10:53 pm