Epps Bids to Ease Cop-Student Tension

A video of simulated interactions between Harvard police and students will be part of a three-part plan to improve relations between officers and minority students, Dean of Students Archie C. Epps III said yesterday.

Minority students five complained repeatedly over the past decade about being stopped and harassed by Harvard officers on campus. Epps has been one of the police department's most vocal critics.

The video, created last winter by police management, will be aired at the Institute of Politics this spring Epps said.

The purpose of the film is to discuss police behavior during questioning and to assess whether students are treated appropriately, he said.

Epp's plan also involves utilizing the new Nomination Service--a group of students, faculty and tutors formed to negotiate conflicts between organizations and invididuals--and a training session in June for Harvard police.

Epps said he was hesitant to show students the tape until he discussed it with race relations tutors a few weeks ago, because he thought it might raise tensions over the issue.

"The first stop made me anxious," Epps said. "I wasn't sure whether the video would make students worry more about being stopped themselves.

The video was prepared by Harvard police to address problems concerning past treatment of students by officers, Epps said.

He said state officers who are transferred to the University sometimes have problems interacting with students.

"There is often a lag between a new officer and the understanding of policing at a university," Epps said. Our attitude is to help the students."

Epps said the video intends to reveal the criteria on which Harvard police stop students as well as adulate officers on the matter of insensitivity towards minority students.

The video contains a variety of scenarios in which an actor plays the role ofthe student. Afterwards, a student panel andPolice Chief Paul E. Johnson discuss each scene,Epps said.

"[The video] was a project set out in responseto some of the issues raised in the spring of 1992with regard to the perceived insensitivity toparticularly Black and Hispanic males by thepolice," Zaheer R. Ali '94, a student in the videopanel, said yesterday.

Ali, who is the former president of the BlackStudents Association, said the video was made to"bridge the gap between perceptions of studentsand police."

"[HUPD is] trying to improve their image amongstudents," Epps said.

Epps added, however, that there have not beenany complaints this year about police treatment ofstudents.

The Mediation Service members will view thevideo during their second and final trainingsession in April.

"I'd like the Mediation Service to look at thevideo and suggest an approach to the problem,"Epps said.

The third part of Epps' plan--a trainingsession for Harvard police--is intended to assesspolice leadership and to heighten sensitivitytoward racial issues, Epps said.

"We have to raise the consciousness of thepolice to the important fact about Harvard and itsenvironment, which is that you can no longerassume that Harvard is a white suburban profile,"Epps said. 'We hope to establish that you cannotstop a person based on race.

"[The video] was a project set out in responseto some of the issues raised in the spring of 1992with regard to the perceived insensitivity toparticularly Black and Hispanic males by thepolice," Zaheer R. Ali '94, a student in the videopanel, said yesterday.

Ali, who is the former president of the BlackStudents Association, said the video was made to"bridge the gap between perceptions of studentsand police."

"[HUPD is] trying to improve their image amongstudents," Epps said.

Epps added, however, that there have not beenany complaints this year about police treatment ofstudents.

The Mediation Service members will view thevideo during their second and final trainingsession in April.

"I'd like the Mediation Service to look at thevideo and suggest an approach to the problem,"Epps said.

The third part of Epps' plan--a trainingsession for Harvard police--is intended to assesspolice leadership and to heighten sensitivitytoward racial issues, Epps said.

"We have to raise the consciousness of thepolice to the important fact about Harvard and itsenvironment, which is that you can no longerassume that Harvard is a white suburban profile,"Epps said. 'We hope to establish that you cannotstop a person based on race.