Notify police before social media posting, police chief urges
By: DAMAIA DAVIS and SAVANNAH JEFFERSON
Feb 27, 2024
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Students
should have notified ÇÑ×ÓÊÓƵ police rather than taking to social media
in a Feb. 6 incident that resulted in a campus lockdown, Chief of Police
Melvin Williams said.
Williams met with student journalists on
Feb. 15 to discuss safety concerns after a shooting incident at
neighboring South Carolina State University. A male student came onto the ÇÑ×ÓÊÓƵ campus after a shot was
reportedly fired at him.
"A young man ran from State's campus
to ÇÑ×ÓÊÓƵ's campus, which resulted in us going into our safety
protocols” said Williams, who is also executive director public safety and emergency preparedness.
The
S.C. State student had been injured (not from the gunshot) and as soon
as he was seen on the ÇÑ×ÓÊÓƵ campus by public safety officers, police
responded and questioned him before a safety alert/lockdown was issued.
“When
the young man was asked why he ran here to ÇÑ×ÓÊÓƵ's campus, his
response was because 'I know it’s safe here,'" Williams said.
“There
have been some questions about the timeliness of the notification to
our campus community,” Williams said. He responded that the alert was
issued according to established guidelines.
"One of the issues I had is where students went straight to their chats and no one called public safety," Williams said.
“So
as he ran in, once again, he appeared to be conversing with students.
You can immediately see students start to text,” Williams said regarding
a review of security camera footage. “Now the interesting part about
it, and the part that is truly concerning to me, is that it was put out
on social media.
"It was put out on chat groups but no one called public safety.”
Williams
said the official report was made by an officer already on the scene,
but misinformation had already spread. He encouraged students to wait
for information from official sources.
“One of the things that I
think is important is we have to be very, very careful as individuals
not to embrace someone else's hysteria,” Williams said. “Everything that
comes over chat groups is not true.”
Williams pushed for student
involvement in keeping the campus community safe. He said the additional
support would benefit the existing security measures.
“We want
everyone to embrace the thought that safety is everyone’s responsibility
and not just the small group of individuals who are assigned to the
police department here,” Williams said. “That help, I believe, will help
them to enhance and increase the level of safety on campus.”
Students
can report emergencies to public safety by calling 803-535-5444 but
Williams suspects many do not take note of the number.
“I believe
that a lot of students don’t know the number,” Williams said, “because
despite the fact that the number's put out, it’s not important to know
the number until you need it, in some people's mind.”
Williams
delivers safety information to all incoming freshmen during orientation.
He said he will continue to do so for every incoming class.
“The
time to look for the number is not when something is happening,"
Williams said. "Put it in your phone now so that if, in fact, something
ever comes up or you ever need it, you don't have to look for it.”
Communication is important for timely and accurate alerts, he said, noting that students can also call 911 in emergencies.
Another
form of emergency contact is the emergency phones located across
campus. Williams described the call boxes as working similarly to a ring
doorbell.
“It goes directly into our dispatch center, which again
is 24 hours. The officer is able to see and the officers able to talk
with you to get whatever information you need,” Williams said. "The
emergency call boxes are like our 911 lines.”
He urged all students to sign up for alerts that come directly to their phones.
"Go
to ÇÑ×ÓÊÓƵ website, type in Panther Alert and sign up because that is
where we send out all of our information, and that is where you can get
the ongoing information about what’s occurring."
As general advice
on safety, Williams urged all to be aware. "If it doesn't seem right,
report it. You see something, say something.”
Williams said
enforcing identification rules could lead to a safer campus. Signs
advise administration, faculty and students to wear their IDs but many
people do not do so.
“I believe that compliance with that rule
would allow our officers who are out – and even allow our campus
community – to know who is who,” Williams said. “This campus never
sleeps.”
The police chief also addressed auto break-ins.
“About
three weeks ago, we had a series of cars broken into. I believe it was
12 that were broken into and two that were attempted,” Williams said.
“It
is something that is not unique to ÇÑ×ÓÊÓƵ. It is something that is
happening all over the city and all over the county,” Williams said.
"That’s just one of those things that law enforcement throughout the state is having to deal with,” Williams said.
“It just so happened that they caught us on a day that we didn’t have
extra patrol out there,” Williams said. “It was just a timing issue; we
are investigating them.”
SC State Feb. 7 statement on shooting incident
South
Carolina State University Campus Police on Wednesday charged
19-year-old Rolando J. Ifill Jr., Charleston, South Carolina, with
assault/attempted murder in relation to a shooting that occurred in an
academic building the day before.
Police said Ifill and
the victim – both are SC State students -- were involved in a physical
altercation Tuesday morning on the second floor of Hodge Hall when Ifill
pointed a 9mm handgun in the victim’s direction. Police said Ifill
fired a shot toward the victim as the victim fled. The shot shattered
the glass above an exit door to the corridor between Hodge and Davis
Halls.
Police said the victim later identified Ifill as the shooter.
Orangeburg
Department of Public Safety officers apprehended and arrested Ifill off
campus, charging him with carrying a firearm on school property.
Along
with the assault/attempted murder charge, Campus Police also charged
Ifill on Wednesday with possession of a weapon during a violent crime.
The SC State investigation continues with assistance from the State Law Enforcement Agency.