Posted on 02/29/2016 11:06:48 AM PST by abb
This story is part one in a two-part investigative series. The second part will examine the culture in the Parking and Transportation Services Department and will be published later this week.
A parking attendant has alleged that Executive Vice President Tallman Trask, the Universitys primary financial and administrative officer, used a racial slur after hitting her with his car.
EVP Tallman Trask oversees Dukes finances and administration.
The parking attendant, Shelvia Underwood of Raleigh-based McLaurin Parking and Transportation, claims that Trask hit her with with his vehicle Aug. 30, 2014, before a Duke football game against Elon University, and called her a stupid n***** as he drove off. Weeks later, Underwood received an apology note signed by Trask after she filed a police report with the Duke University Police Department.
Dear Ms. Underwood,
I very much regret the incident before the Elon football game. I should have been more patient and I apologize, the signed note reads.
Trask initially told The Chronicle that he categorically denied hitting Underwood with his car and using a racial slur. When presented by The Chronicle with the apology note, he acknowledged hitting her unintentionally but again denied using the slur.
Both Trask and Underwood have hired attorneysDhamian Blue of Blue Stephens and Fellers, Trinity 00 and Law School 03, and Donald Huggins of Hairston Lane PA, respectively.
Trask allegedly used a racial slur after hitting a contracted parking attendant, Shelvia Underwood, near the traffic circle in front of Chapel Drive.
The allegations
Underwood said that before the Elon game, she was directing traffic away from Chapel Drive near the traffic circle that connects Campus Drive, Flowers Drive, Chapel Drive and Wannamaker Drive.
It was the night of the Elon game, so of course it was busyeveryone wanted to go to the Chapel, and no one could go to the Chapel, according to the rules that have been given, she said.
After the game had already started, Underwood said Trask approached in his silver Porsche while she was speaking with a pedestrian. Underwood said that in order to help the pedestrian, she stopped Trask. She added that she did not realize who Trask was because she was a contract employee.
As Underwood started to turn around to address Trask, he hit her with his car, she said.
As I turn back around, I take a step and this car has hit me. My hands are on the hood, then I hit the ground, Underwood said.
Underwood got off the ground, then said she shouted at Trask, Really sir, really? Youre in that much of a hurry that you hit me with your car?
Underwood said she told Trask that the road was closed unless he had a parking pass. Rather than initially showing Underwood a pass, Trask responded by banging on the steering wheel and saying, This road is not closed twice, Underwood said. Underwood explained that Trask then held up two parking passeswhich she said was all he needed in the first place to be allowed to go through.
As Trask drove off, Underwood said he called her a dumb, dumb stupid n*****.
Huggins, Underwoods lawyer, declined to comment.
Trasks response
When initially asked about the incident by The Chronicle, Trask categorically denied hitting Underwood with his vehicle. After he was presented with a picture of his written apology note via email, however, he explained that he had unintentionally hit Underwood. Trask wrote in a statement emailed to The Chronicle that witnesses did not overhear him using a racial slur quite simply because I didnt say it. It is a complete fabrication.
The full statement can be viewed here:
As I was driving to the home football game against Elon in August 2014, I was stopped in the traffic circle (between Flowers and Chapel Drives) by a parking attendant I did not recognize, who gruffly said this road is closed. I told her I park on the quad, and have every day for almost 20 years. She told me to go park somewhere else. My regular parking pass, which is good in all spaces on campus at all times, was hanging from my rear view mirror.
There was a special all access pass for the Elon game in the corner of the windshield. I pointed to that and thought she was satisfied. She stepped away, but after I started moving (maybe five feet) she stepped back in front of the car. I slammed on the brakes and her hand ended up on my left fender. I did not intentionally hit her. By then I was extremely frustrated and said how many permits do I need to show you? in a somewhat heated voice. I regret that I lost my patience and thats what my note of apology was about.
I learned several days later that Ms. Underwood had filed a complaint and claimed I had said something else. Her allegations were separately and independently investigated by the Duke Police and the Office of Institutional Equity, both of whom interviewed all witnesses. None of them heard me saying what she claimed I said, quite simply because I didnt say it. It is a complete fabrication.
I had assumed this was resolved more than a year ago until I received a letter last November from a Raleigh attorney threatening to sue me (not clear for what) unless I paid her an unspecified sum. I declined to do so then and do not intend to do so now.
In an email to President Richard Brodhead Jan. 14, 2016, Renee Adkins, who served as special events manager for PTS from 2003 until January 2015, described the allegations against Trask in detail as part of a larger narrative about the culture of racism, harassment, retaliation and bullying in PTS.
Brodhead reiterated in an email to The Chronicle that police and OIE investigations found no evidence to corroborate the use of a racial slur.
There is no question that Dr. Trask behaved intemperately on this occasion, and he was right to offer an apology, Brodhead wrote. Dr. Trask has been an extraordinary servant of this university for over 20 years, and no one who works with him closely would find it believable that he would use such language.
Witnesses weigh in
The Chronicle did not speak to direct witnesses who could fully confirm either Underwoods story or Trasks story, but several of Underwoods co-workers corroborated parts of her account. One co-worker, who requested anonymity for fear of retaliation, was stationed near Underwood and recounted what happened when Trask approached Chapel Drive.
He was going faster than he should have been, and kind of saw me and looked the other way, the co-worker said. I had my hand up trying to get him to stop or at least slow down.
After Underwood stopped Trask, the co-worker was still busy with other traffic and could not exactly hear the exchange between the pair, the co-worker explained. The co-worker did see what happened as Trask drove away from the scene.
She was hopping on one foot back out of the way of the front of the vehicle. And then it took offthere was no, Sorry maam, or anything like that. As soon as she cleared the front of the vehicle, he was gone, the co-worker said.
The co-worker also said that after Trask left the scene, Underwood asked, Did you hear what he called me? The co-worker added that there were no parking passes visible on Trasks car.
Adkins, who worked at Duke for 18 years, explained that in her experience overseeing special event parking, Trask usually did not have his parking passes, and she told employees to look out for him for that reason.
Over 99.5 percent of the time, his passes were never in view and he would need to reach down somewhere in his vehicle to retrieve them if he was stopped, Adkins wrote in an email.
Jazzy Holloway, a family friend of Underwoods who said she was on her way to the game with her kids walking toward the stadium, said she also saw part of the incident. After she bent down to tie her sons shoes, Holloway said she saw Underwood on top of Trasks car and heard her say, Really, sir? after she slid off the car.
In addition to seeing Trask bang on his steering wheel, Holloway said she heard him use a racial slur.
I heard him say Stupid n*****, Holloway said.
Marian Brown, former lead transit supervisor for PTS and a PTS employee for 23 years, said on the day of the Elon game she was in the command post, where she could hear reports from all employees in the field. She noted that Sam Veraldi, former director of PTS, was also present in the command post when Underwood reported that Trask hit her on the radio.
I turned up the mic, and said Um, 10-9, could you repeat that message? [Underwood] said it again. When she repeated it, I turned the mic up and was watching everyone go, What! Everyone started making calls, Brown said.
Brown noted that after Underwood reported being hit on the radio, Adkins immediately got on her golf cart and drove to the scene of the incident.
Veraldi did not return multiple requests for comment.
Adkins explained that she placed Underwood near Chapel Drive because she had asked McLaurin for one of its best employees who was capable of handling such a busy area.
In a Feb. 5 letter to Huggins that was obtained by The Chronicle, Trasks lawyer, Blue, reiterates that the situation was fully investigated by OIE and states that Underwood stepped in front of Trasks moving vehicle.
According to the letter, OIE spoke to Trasks wife, Julie Trask, in the process of producing its report. Julie Trask declined to comment to The Chronicle. However, The Chronicle spoke to Holloway, who OIE did not interview.
Blue explains in the letter that Underwood said she has been hit by cars before, which indicates a routine practice of placing herself in harms way, and writes that Julie Trask, who was in the car with Tallman Trask, agreed with Tallman Trasks version of events.
Ben Reese, vice president for institutional equity, and Cynthia Clinton, director of harassment and discrimination prevention and compliance for OIE, declined to comment.
Before The Chronicle obtained the letter to Huggins that makes reference to the OIE report, administrators did not reference the report in response to multiple requests for information about the incident.
After The Chronicle reviewed the letter and requested a copy of the OIE report Saturday, Michael Schoenfeld, vice president for public affairs and government relations, noted that OIE reports are confidential personnel records and that the University would respond to the request Monday.
I wanted a sincere apology
Underwood and Trask also have different recollections of what happened after he hit her with his car.
Two days after the incident, Underwood said she went to the Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center because she was having pain in her arm. She said she was diagnosed with a muscle contusion and possible fractured elbow. Underwood provided a copy of the medical report documenting the hospital visit and diagnosis to The Chronicle.
Records from Shelvia Underwood's visit to the hospital after being hit by Tallman Trask's car.
Although Underwood said she wanted to file a police report with DUPD immediately after the incident, she explained that her immediate supervisor, Meredith McLaurin, told her that she would file a police report on Underwoods behalf. However, McLaurin told Underwood the next day that Underwood would have to file the report herself, Underwood said. McLaurin declined to comment.
Underwood said that after she went to the hospital, she received a call from DUPD investigator Arthur Holland asking that she call him. She returned the call the next day and requested a police report for the incident.
The two agreed to meet the following day, four days after Trask hit Underwood, and Underwood explained her side of the story during the meeting. Holland told Underwood that she would need to return the next day to sign the report and provide a copy of her hospital medical records. Underwood added that she agreed to do what Holland asked.
Holland did not return a request for comment.
Later that day, Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2014, Underwood said she received a call from Steve McLaurin, the owner of McLaurin Parking and Transportation.
When I see Steve is calling, I know something is upIve worked for McLaurins for seven years and had never received a call from him, Underwood said.
McLaurin told Underwood that because she was not seriously injured and Duke was inquiring about how he was going to handle the situation, a sincere apology [from Trask] should cover it, Underwood said. Explaining that she was fearful of losing her job if she filed a lawsuit, Underwood said she told McLaurin that if she received a sincere apology, she would not proceed further.
McLaurin said that his company has been contracted by the University for six seasons, with approximately 30 employees working during football season. He also noted that since Underwood received an apology from Trask, he believed the situation was resolved, and did not respond to multiple requests for further comment.
When Underwood returned to meet with Holland the following day, he also asked about the agreement to drop the matter if Trask issued a sincere apology, and Underwood reiterated what she told McLaurin, Underwood said.
When Underwood asked for a copy of the report she had filed, however, DUPD declined to provide it, claiming that it was implementing a new system, she said. Only after Underwood told DUPD that she had talked to a Raleigh Police Department lieutenant who said that they are required to provide a copy of the report to the complainant did DUPD provide the report.
A copy of the report that was provided to Underwood was obtained by The Chronicle and does not include Trasks name, information about his vehicle or that he hit Underwood. It states that the incident involved Underwood and concerned behavior.
The first page of the police report of the incident involving Underwood and Trask.
When asked about the police report by The Chronicle, DUPD Chief of Police John Dailey noted in an email that the copy provided to Underwood was only the first page of the complete report. He wrote that it is filled out correctly, and because it is not a public record by state code and DUPD is a private agency, DUPD is not required to provide full copies of reports to those who bring complaints. Dailey declined to provide the full report when it was requested by The Chronicle.
Sixteen days later, Sept. 20, 2014, three weeks after the initial incident, Underwood was working again at her usual post before the Duke-Tulane football game when she received the apology she had requested from Trask.
At the same location, a tall guy comes up behind me and says, Um, I dont know exactly what happened out here, but whatever, here you go. And he hands me a card, Underwood alleged.
Adkins later identified the man as Vice President for Administration Kyle Cavanaugh.
Are you kidding me? Underwood said. I wanted a sincere apology, and this isnt even close to it.
Tallman Trask's signed apology note
Cavanaugh did not reply to multiple requests for comment about his alleged role in delivering Trasks note to Underwood.
Since receiving the apology note from Trask, who oversees Cavanaugh and PTS, Underwood has been working to take legal action against Trask.
Correction: This article was updated to clarify that Adkins was the special events manager, not the director.
ping
Probably claim he was distraught over the mere thought that someone like Trump could even come close to being a nominee against uncle bernie or hildebeast.
Is the date right (August 30, 2014)?
So he’s racist against everyone? Regardless, his career is over. White Leftists can’t get away with racial slurs anymore aimed against blacks.
This guy's driving a Porsche? I pronounce him GUILTY!
That is alot of text to describe an incident in a parking lot.
Nonetheless, if he is white he is guilty, and the Duke faculty should immediately denounce him en masse and begin protests of white privilege. Perhaps a local prosecutor could help.
Check out the comments at the link to the Duke Chronicle.
From the ‘Chronicle’ in the article it’s dated Monday, February 29th.
I hear Mike Nifong is looking for work.
It is a sad day for humanity when our society thinks it is better to strike someone with an automobile than it is to call them a name.
Trask has a long and variated history.
Durham police wanted to harass some off-campus Duke students and when an officer spied a Duke flag on the wall of their living room, he immediately proclaimed it stolen and had a warrant to raid the house. (IIRC, a student was yanked of bed and pulled by his feet down the stairs, with his head banging on each step.)
It turned out the flag was store-bought and only printed on one side (and thus bore no relation to the stolen flag); but the officer got the judge to interrupt the trial while he went on campus, fetched Talmann Trask, and had him ushered into the courtroom to testify that the flag “looked” like the one that had been stolen (of course it did, it was a store-bought duplicate).
Note: the officer was able to get Trask to leave his desk and head for the courtroom to testify about something he must have known was a fraud.
(That officer — Sgt. Gottlieb — was later a major perpetrator of the Duke lacrosse case — another attempt to frame Duke students for a crime which never happened.)
I usually try to use proper grammar, but Dukies are way too deep in the weeds for me. lol
Will the Gang of 88 write a letter?
Will Trask receive threatening e-mails and hate calls like Mike Pressler?
Will the President of the University warned in a school-wide e-mail of threats of gang violence against Duke students?
Will Photographs of Executive Vice President Tallman Trask be posted prominently around Durham and on the Duke University campus with accompanying captions requesting that anyone come forward with information about the incident.
Trask also had the lacrosse players tell him their story, under the rubric that there existed some kind of “teacher-student confidentiality”; and then told the Durham police everything they said to him (which was, only that they were innocent).
He also was upset that the accused students had hired outside attorneys.
I have little sympathy for him, even if he is falsely accused in this instance.
Meanwhile, he has hired an outside attorney — for a lot lesser accusation than rape and kidnapping...
If they had happened to someone below Trask, Trask would have fired them.
Take it to court. Request a jury trial. Haha! It will take 3 weeks just to pick jurors. I was called to jury duty regarding a case where the parking attendant on the Duke campus lowered a gate, hitting an older gentleman (a Duke alum) in the head as he was in a group of fans walking to a women’s basketball game.
I was called up to the box and upon questioning, was rejected. Hell, they asked if I had any questions and I answered in the affirmative and proceeded to ask a few questions which I never received any clear answers. They just said that wasn’t something I should worry about. Bailiff! Whack his peepee! And away I went. See ya!
But it took hours just to get to me. They were eliminating potential jurists because of local university affiliations (Duke vs. Carolina vs. State). One kid was about 26 years old, told the judge that he couldn’t be partial because of his disdain for all things Duke. He was a Carolina grad and Carolina had just lost to Duke in a big basketball game just the week prior.
Another older guy had a polo type shirt with an NC State logo. He was immediately rejected by the Duke attorneys. Barely had a chance to sit down.
They had one guy sitting in the box back in the corner next to a window and he just kept looking out the window not paying attention. When they finally rejected him, he walked by me saying “eff this, I went to ECU anyway...”
Every person who was called, the first question they asked was if they had seen the basketball game and their thoughts on Duke University.
Talk about a circus... too funny.
I need to follow this story.
Calling Nancy Grace to the white phone!
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