Student safety discussed
Public safety offical says: "We would never force a gun battle on campus"
Andrew Riggs / The Collegian
Police tape off a sign on Barstow Avenue that was struck by a bullet Tuesday morning. Bullets also struck three other university buildings and signs. |
By Katrina Garcia
The Collegian
Fresno State’s Director of Public Safety said the university’s response to Tuesday’s police chase would have been different had the suspects fled on campus.
“Obviously, the use of police force would have been much different,” David Moll said, Director of Public Safety at Fresno State. “We try not to provoke any shooting. We would never force a gun battle on campus.”
Two men suspected of a bank robbery led officers down Barstow Avenue Tuesday morning. The suspects opened fire on police officers near the Cedar and Barstow Avenues intersection. Law enforcement blocked off the north entrances of campus, but the campus was not on lockdown and classes were not cancelled because Moll said the suspects fled away from campus and officers believed the men were hiding off campus.
Moll said University Police Department, along with Fresno and Clovis police departments, responded exactly how they needed to during Tuesday’s chase. Because of the amount of foot traffic going through campus, Moll said had the suspects fled through campus, police shooting in retaliation would have been highly unlikely.
“The police are highly trained,” Moll said. “They’re not going to start or engage in gun battle unless they have no choice.”
Moll said while the university would not have been on lockdown, students and faculty would have been told to stay inside or get inside the nearest building.
Another thing Moll has discussed is how to use technology to notify students about emergencies on campus. For about six months they have been thinking about the possibility of investing in a system that would let students know via cell phones when there is an emergency.
With the software students could volunteer to register their cell phone number on theWeb. In the event of an emergency, the police could send out a message to everyone on the database.
Anyone who is registered would get a phone call containing an automated message informing students of an emergency situation.
Moll said the university must bid on the software, and if given the green light, the campus-wide emergency notification system would not be immediately in place.
Moll added that since it’s up to the students to sign up, emergency messages will only reach the number of people in the system.
“The whole success would depend on the students,” Moll said.
Moll said that the department was “actively considering” the program before Tuesday’s incident.
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