In light of the recent Tiger Xpress brawl, safety concerns continue to bubble. “I understand with budget concerns that there is little money to have more officers to have a more visible presence.
“But, a first step could be closed circuit surveillance of campus areas, so that the limited staff can respond quickly from a command center or be notified and respond quickly while on patrol,” commented a user on The Gramblinite’s web site.
Assistant Police Chief Dwayne Chambers doesn’t seem fazed by beliefs that campus is not secure.
“Campus is safe, as it has always been,” he said and added that GSU has about 11 officers and four police cars.
Of the four, all are operable he, said. That statement contradicts a source close to the police department who said that the department has two or three working vehicles and does not want to give all officers vehicles.
The insider said s/he believed that some officers remained unarmed, due to their race. Some unarmed officers are not Black.
Chambers said that 10 officers are armed and added that unarmed officers are actually security guards, “the eyes and ears of the department.”
Other community safety concerns include what some students believe are trigger happy officers.
A GSU student who said she had police officers in family expressed discomfort with the aggressive young man in the Xpress brawl being tased by Chambers. Chambers stands by the decision and said that the man attempted to resist arrest.
Tasers are non-lethal weapons designed to temporarily stop assault, said Chambers, who said that tasers are less dangerous than batons.
During training officers must take a hit from a taser, added Chambers.
“Crime is down compared to last year,” said Chambers. He cited a 57 percent decrease from last year in campus crime.
GSU is last on a safety list of nine Louisiana schools on stateuniversity.com.