Letters to the Editor

Revamp the procedures

To the Editor:

The incident involving Rui DaSilva at the Quadrangle two weeks ago was regrettable. As members of the Penn faculty, we deplore the fact that the spouse of a highly esteemed colleague, and himself the associate master of a college house, should have been pepper-sprayed, handcuffed, detained and issued a citation for failing to act with sufficient alacrity when ordered to drop items of his own property (that he was attempting to carry into his own living quarters) and put his hands against a nearby wall. Even more regrettable is the fact that Vice President for Public Safety Maureen Rush, representing the University, should expend so much effort in her letter on Thursday in trying to persuade us that the actions of the Campus Police were necessary and appropriate, instead of seeking ways to avoid such mishaps in the future.

We do not question the need to protect the community from theft and other crimes and wish the police to do so effectively and without undue danger to themselves. We would like them to explore ways of accomplishing this purpose with less risk of affronting the innocent. (We will set aside the issue of racial profiling, which the University authorities deny, although of the numerous white colleagues and students we have seen carrying bicycles in and out of buildings over the years, we wonder how many have been challenged.)

Two specific issues: First, how can we prevent such mishap? There seem to have been misapprehensions on both sides. Given that an innocent property owner may easily not understand immediately that he is being challenged as a suspected thief, is there no way that identification can be requested before escalating to pepper spray and handcuffs?

Second, if such a mistake is made -- and the possibility of human error must always be factored into a code of procedure -- how can we minimize the damage? We are hard-pressed to understand what purpose was served in not releasing DaSilva as soon as he had established his identity as a member of the University community, which he was able to do even before being transported to the hospital. The police must also have accepted that the bicycles were not stolen, since rather than being removed to the station as evidence they were left behind. What purpose was served in transporting DaSilva in handcuffs to the police station, continuing to handcuff him and issuing him a citation for "disorderly conduct" even after receiving telephone calls from his wife and other faculty members confirming his identity?

Finally, how could Rush, and those who advise her, have thought that the appropriate remedy for the initial mistake (no matter how honest) was for DaSilva to appear in court and plead guilt? If current police procedure has no more commonsensical way to deal with cases of mistaken identity than to compound the affront to the aggrieved party, then the procedures need revamping.

Nancy Farriss History professor This letter was co-signed by History professors Steven Feierman, Michael Katz and Lynn Lees and Anthropology Professor Gregory Urban.

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