Eight current and former ASU officers and employees are suing ASU's Police Department, accusing the department of skewing crime statistics to make the University appear safer and discriminating against employees who objected to this process.
David Dow, the plantiff's attorney, said in a statement that the Department fostered a "culture of corruption." Dow said some were forced into retirement and that the department falsified documents.
He also cited other claims such as harassment, unlawful violations, ignoring crimes and public record law violations.
“It is a sad day when we obtain information including tape recordings suggesting law enforcement officers and human resource employees at the country’s largest university have misled the public and are funding a police force that not only fails to protect the student body but targets and harasses those serving the community,” Dow said in the statement.
Charles Cornfield, a former ASU Police Department employee, is one of the plaintiffs on the suit. According to the suit, the department waged an investigation over his contributions to a blog, The Integrity Report, which posted about issues within the department and complained about discriminatory practices.
Cornfield declined comment on the suit, saying all questions were being handled by Dow at this time.
Mark Johnson, the Senior Director of ASU Media Relations and Strategic Communications, wrote in an email that they still haven't received official notice of the suit.
"Typically we do not comment on pending litigation, regardless of how unsubstantiated, malicious or meritless it may be,” he wrote.
Editor's note: Clarification has been added.
Related Links:
We the Police: The relationship between Tempe and its protectors
ASU Police Department battles with uncertain effects of budget cuts
Reach the assistant news editor at megan.janetsky@asu.edu or follow @meganjanetsky on Twitter.
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