Housing assures campus is safe

Personal safety is something many students take for granted. But with the murder of LSA senior Tamara Williams at the Northwood Family Housing Complex on Tuesday, many people are wondering what the University is doing to ensure campus safety.

Officials say there is no cause for alarm.

"Residents of (University) Housing have a much better trained police force with our system," said Joel Allan, director of Housing security.

Non-deputized security officials patrol each of the campus residence halls. These individuals split up the halls, patrolling them at all times and responding to the needs of other area patrolmen.

"We have 13 minimum on duty, and two supervisors," Allan said.

It was two of these officers who were the first on the scene at Northwood. When the first 911 call arrived, the campus security official assigned to Northwood and a second official assigned to Northwood and Baits Housing complex responded, Allan said.

"The response time to the first 911 call was very rapid, both by campus security and the (DPS) officer," said Alan Levy, director of Housing public affairs.

Allan said the responding officers behaved properly. He said that non-deputized security officers are told not to intervene in a situation involving a weapon, but rather to stay close and call DPS officers. It was a DPS officer who shot and killed Kevin Nelson after commanding him to stop stabbing Williams. It was the first time a DPS officer fired a gun while on duty.

"They were the first there, took positions where they could see, and then backed up the officer when he arrived about a minute later," Allan said.

Non-deputized campus security officers do not carry weapons.

"My policy is not to carry any weapons at all," Allan said. "They go through training in verbal judo, pressure points and after that point, they must call for assistance."

DPS officers are allowed to carry firearms, a fact that worries some students. But Levy says officers use their power responsibly.

"Seeing that this was the first use of a firearm in seven years, clearly it has not been" an issue Levy said, adding that there is a "need to carefully review everything that happened, and the result may be that we change some things."

Leo Heatley, director of DPS, said officers train regularly for the use of firearms.

"We know that firearms are so important, so (officers) train with them every month," Heatley said. "They must qualify twice a year in firearms testing."

One question that arose was whether the officer had to shoot Nelson, who was stabbing Williams at the time.

"He was hoping he could save (Williams') life," Heatley said. "Our officers go though extensive training, including a program on when they can shoot, which is called 'shoot/not shoot.'

"An officer must believe he is saving a person's life, or that he was threatened, to use lethal force."

Campus security works very closely with DPS and the Ann Arbor Police Department to keep the area safe, Levy said.

"This is generally a safe campus, but bad things happen," Levy said. "I feel confident that the services and staffing are amongst the best in the country."

Director of Family Housing Eric Luskin, who oversees the Northwood housing complex, said security cannot be left to professionals alone.

"I think campus security is a community concern, and everyone in that community needs to work together to ensure security," Luskin said, adding that he hopes changes can be made to improve the safety of residents.

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