Posted on 07/29/2015 1:04:14 PM PDT by Leaning Right
Regarding the recent shooting of a motorist by a University of Cincinnati police officer...I know it's a minor point, but why in the world is a university police officer making a traffic stop for a licence plate violation?
Evidently, the university was okay with its cops making traffic stops for minor violations. I know most university cops have police powers, but what's the deal here? I for one would be upset and confused if a university cop stopped me on a public street for a non-university related violation.
Was the guard in a regular car on patrol or riding a golf cart buggy or bicycle?
To insinuate he was a peace officer seems a stretch.
Armed.. Definitely deadly.
Revenue generation.
Apparently the university police can make traffic stops off the campus as long as there aren’t injuries involved or serious infractions.
University police at the University of South Carolina are also commissioned as constables, which gives them the power to make an arrest ANYWHERE in the state.
I don’t understand that either.
I'll bet you wouldn't start lipping off to the cops about "Oh HELL no! and "No you DINT!".
Folks that want to escalate things with cops.. succeed.
Buddy of mine used to work at the McDonalds on the Pitt campus.
The campus cops would come in and want free coffee.
The manager would send them away and tell them “uh uh....the free coffee is for REAL cops!”
They are not rent-a-cops, they are state law enforcement officers, albeit bored.
Soooo. . .they are empowered with the same authority as state officers and enforce state and university laws.
In Florida they are state law enforcement with statewide jurisdiction.
They don't merely "have polices powers" - they are police.
University Police officers in Alaska are regular police officers. They carry the full force of the law.
Yep, I get that. My objection - if you want to call it that - is that a university police officer was evidently stopping someone on a public street for a relatively minor violation. I'm not questioning the legality of that. I'm questioning the sensibility of that.
If I were the university president, I'd sure want my officers on campus, protecting students. It's a minor thing in the greater story here, I know.
Pardon me, but what's a "university law"?
http://www.uc.edu/publicsafety/about/police.html
The UC Police Department (UCPD) is a fully empowered law enforcement agency that operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. All police officers are certified by the state of Ohio and have full police authority. The department currently employs 72 police officers and 26 security officers.
UCPD works closely with the Cincinnati Police Department (CPD) to prevent crime within and around the campus community. Together, UCPD and CPD have partnered with UC’s Institute of Crime Science to utilize real-time data to proactively develop strategies to keep our campus and community safe.
UC Police is organized into four main sections:
Patrol
Investigations
Community Engagement
911 communications (dispatch).
Patrol beats are separated into three areas on UC’s main campus - Uptown, East and West. Additional patrols work with Cincinnati Police to cover neighborhoods surrounding UC’s main campus. UCPD also serves UC’s Blue Ash and Clermont campuses.
The university must get a cut.
Police
The UC Police Department (UCPD) is a fully empowered law enforcement agency that operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. All police officers are certified by the state of Ohio and have full police authority. The department currently employs 72 police officers and 26 security officers.
UCPD works closely with the Cincinnati Police Department (CPD) to prevent crime within and around the campus community. Together, UCPD and CPD have partnered with UC’s Institute of Crime Science to utilize real-time data to proactively develop strategies to keep our campus and community safe.
UC Police is organized into four main sections:
Patrol
Investigations
Community Engagement
911 communications (dispatch).
Patrol beats are separated into three areas on UC’s main campus - Uptown, East and West. Additional patrols work with Cincinnati Police to cover neighborhoods surrounding UC’s main campus. UCPD also serves UC’s Blue Ash and Clermont campuses.
http://www.uc.edu/publicsafety/about/police.html
Those would be defined criminal acts that occur on university/state property.
Basically, state laws and regarding “university” laws, those are laws passed by state legislature that apply only on university property.
I also found this:
“Tensing shot and killed DuBose, who is black, after stopping his car at Rice and Valencia streets in Mount Auburn for having a missing front license plate. Although Tensing works for UC, the university’s officers are permitted to patrol and make traffic stops in areas where many students live off campus.”
http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2015/07/29/publish/30830777/
Perps don't spend their lives on campus and they don't wear identifying attire. They lurk on the periphery, do their thing and get out. Point is, aggressive patrolling in the areas surrounding the campus is how university cops deter or apprehend perps. That's why they have police powers. Campus bound cops wouldn't be cops - they'd be security guards.
Remember, missing plates are a good tip off to possible stolen vehicle.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.