Probe: Officers didn't beat Sofield

A witness and Sofield's attorney rejected the internal probe's findings. Police officers did not use excessive force when they arrested College freshman Bill Sofield inside the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity house October 30, according to the results of a 1 1/2-month internal investigation. "There was no improper behavior by police," Managing Director of Public Safety Tom Seamon said. The probe began after witnesses said police beat Sofield, 18, while arresting him for disorderly conduct after a string of bloody assaults on police near the FIJI house on Locust Walk. Sofield was not responsible for any of the assaults on police. Police officers "struck [Sofield] in the body several times" and then forced him to the floor to handcuff him, Seamon said. But he explained that the response was justified because Sofield -- a 5'11", 190-pound lacrosse player who police said was "extremely intoxicated" -- resisted arrest. Sofield's attorney, Walter Phillips, denied that his client was drunk. Although Sofield didn't use force against the officers, Seamon said he "did not want to go willingly? [and] tried to leave the room to evade arrest," in addition to resisting efforts to handcuff him. "It is extremely difficult to handcuff a suspect who does not want to be handcuffed," Seamon added. In written statements sent to University officials in early November, several FIJI brothers accused the officers, who were from numerous area police forces, of beating Sofield. Sofield never resisted arrest, the witnesses claimed. Color photographs provided by Phillips show welts on Sofield's lower back and elbow, as well as two closed black eyes. The injuries to Sofield's back and elbow were probably caused when the student was punched by officers trying to handcuff him, police said. But the black eyes were not caused by blows to Sofield's face, according to witnesses who said officers never punched him in his head or face. And police said the black eyes likely occurred either when Sofield was forced to the floor inside the house or when he "stumbled and fell heavily on his right side" while being led from the house in handcuffs. Sofield's facial injuries are not as apparent in his mug shot, however. The black-and-white photo shows dark shading around parts of Sofield's eyes but no other indications of injury. Police have not determined the exact nature of Sofield's injuries, Det. Commander Tom King said. He said the University Police Department never gained access to Sofield's medical records, despite repeated requests to Phillips. But a nurse who saw Sofield at Mercy Hospital after his arrest said that the student didn't require medical attention, according to King. The nurse also said Sofield was too drunk to be properly examined when he arrived at the hospital, King said. "At the base of this whole incident is alcohol abuse -- the larger issue," Seamon said. He called for increased student involvement in finding a solution to the problem. The incident began the night of October 30, when Sofield, his brother Richard, 28, and Richard's friend Warnell "Yode" Owens, 26, were standing outside the FIJI house. The three intoxicated men were "boisterous [and] cursing" when an officer approached them, Seamon said. After the confrontation escalated and the officer told the three men they were under arrest for disorderly conduct, Owens and Bill Sofield -- at his brother's direction -- fled into the FIJI house, police officials said. Owens, a 6'2", 250-pound former Harvard University football player, allegedly left the FIJI house through a back door and assaulted four police officers in three incidents between the rear of the house and the corner of 36th and Walnut streets. A University Police officer tackled him from behind, leading to his arrest. One of the officers allegedly struck by Owens required facial surgery as a result of his injuries. FIJI President John Ward, who was in the house at the time of the arrest and later called for a full investigation, expressed "disappointment" with the probe's results. Both Ward and Phillips said they felt the objectivity of a such a police-led investigation is questionable. The University Police Department initiated the investigation as a result of concerns from Sofield's parents and student witnesses but without a formal complaint, Seamon said. King said he'd welcome a formal complaint and expressed confidence that an independent investigation would produce similar results. Sources close to the family have previously said no decision on filing a civil suit would be made until Sofield's criminal case is over. Seamon said he urged the District Attorney's office to consider the "mitigating circumstances" such as Sofield's young age, drunkenness and the fact that he never tried to injury police officers.

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