UPD releases results of internal investigation into Corry Village incident

August 11, 2010

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The University of Florida Police Department has completed its internal affairs investigation into the March 2 incident at Corry Village involving graduate student Kofi Adu-Brempong.

UFPD’s internal affairs investigator has issued a four-volume report, which includes interviews of the officers and information gathered from witnesses and other sources. While no laws were violated and the police officers’ use of force did not violate law under the circumstances, the internal affairs report finds three significant violations of UFPD policy:

• Use of the Critical Incident Response Team — The CIRT team is designed to respond to an active shooter or other situation that poses grave danger to others. The team should not have been used by the commanding officer to enter the apartment of someone who may hurt himself or herself, according to UFPD policies.
• Notification — The commanding officer of the scene should have notified the assistant director for patrol and provided information to the police chief under UFPD policy so that they could undertake critical assessment of the situation.
• Individuals experiencing mental health issues – The commanding officer failed to utilize UFPD officers on the Crisis Intervention Team, who are trained to deal with people with mental health problems. He did use other appropriate conventions in dealing with an individual with mental health issues.

Lt. Stacy Ettel, a decorated officer who has served the department for 17 years, was the commanding officer on March 2. Police Chief Linda Stump has elected to exercise the right under university regulations to nonrenew Ettel’s contract of employment.

“UFPD is nationally and internationally accredited and its policies and procedures are considered best practices. These policies must be followed to safeguard students, employees and visitors on campus, and also the officers charged with keeping the campus safe,” Stump said. “This was a difficult situation and it was important to take an honest and critical look at our policies and the officers’ actions. That process took some time and I am confident that the conclusions of the internal affairs investigation are fair and reasonable.”

The UFPD internal affairs investigation began in May after the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and State Attorney criminal investigations were concluded. As a result of that investigation, the State Attorney found no basis for criminal charges against any officer. The UFPD internal affairs investigation was undertaken to thoroughly examine the events of March 2 and determine if the officers involved followed the police department’s strict policies and procedures in this situation.

The four officers who entered Adu-Brempong’s apartment with Ettel were determined not to have violated any policies and to have followed the lawful orders of their commanding officer. They were reinstated to full duty two weeks ago.

“The UFPD internal review is complete and thorough, and I support Chief Stump’s decision,” said President Bernie Machen. “We will now turn our focus to identifying additional steps we can take to ensure our police department and the university work together effectively.”

The internal investigation report and other documents related to the Corry Village incident can be found on the UF president’s web page, http://www.president.ufl.edu/incidents/2010/corryvillage/.