UPDATED: Tuesday, Feb. 12, at 3:25 p.m.

A statement that circulated on social media among Syracuse University students Monday accused campus and city police of mishandling a reported assault along Ackerman Avenue early Saturday morning and spurred Student Association to publicly condemn the Department of Public Safety for a “lack of transparency” over what it called a racially-charged crime.

SA President Ghufran Salih told The Daily Orange on Monday afternoon she had seen the statement, signed by “Your Fellow Students,” and is trying to put Department of Public Safety Chief Bobby Maldonado in contact with victims of the assault.

At an SA meeting Monday night, Salih added that she’s also been in touch with DPS Patrol Commander Kathy Pabis.

“There’s a lot of discrepancies that students have been concerned about in the student statement versus the DPS statement,” said Salih, in an interview.

The students’ statement on the assault reads, in part:

“In a space that we assume to be protected, in a space where Syracuse University students are supposed to feel safe, this was not the case. We would like to send a message out to our fellow students and, especially, students of color and we urge you all to be cautious.”

Maldonado said in a statement to The Daily Orange on Monday afternoon the Syracuse Police Department is continuing to investigate the assault along Ackerman Avenue.

“Acts of violence and intolerance of any kind, including those based on race, contradicts our values and will not be tolerated,” Maldonado wrote. He added that SPD has taken over the assault investigation and DPS is “in frequent communication” with city police.

Maldonado said DPS is working with SPD to “apprehend those responsible for this crime and to prevent future occurrences.”

The information previously released by DPS on Saturday, via email, stated that one woman attacked three students, possibly with a pistol. It did not specify the race of the suspect.

The DPS statement reflected the “most current account” of the incident, Maldonado said in his Monday statement.

According to the students’ statement, four white people — three men and one woman — entered a “birthday gathering” at a house in the 800 block of Ackerman Avenue on Saturday. One of the men yelled, “What’s up n**ger” at a student of color, according to the statement written by students. The white woman then repeatedly struck three students of color in the head with a pistol, the statement says.

The woman threatened to shoot the students before she and the three men left the 800 block of Ackerman Avenue, according to the students’ statement.

Neither DPS or SPD has publicly noted any reported verbal exchanges between the victims and assailants in published statements.

The email sent by DPS early Saturday morning listed one woman assailant. It did not specify the race of the suspect. Maldonado on Monday said DPS doesn’t release a suspect’s race due to previous concerns from the campus community about racial profiling.

When approached by D.O. reporters Saturday morning at the scene, both DPS and SPD officers did not comment on the incident.

According to DPS crime logs, an assault was reported at 814 Ackerman Ave. at about 12:40 a.m. Saturday. Kai Nguyen | Staff Photographer

Victoria Payne, a second year SU student studying social work, said she attended a party at the Ackerman Avenue house Saturday. She said the attack occurred after SPD officers shut down the party due to a noise complaint, and about 20 people remained in the house at the time of the assault. 

In an interview with The D.O., Payne said she was upstairs when a fight broke out on the porch of the house, and she heard people yelling that a woman had a gun. People who were downstairs at the time of the assault told Payne a white woman, who yelled a racial slur, struck three students of color while three white men also attacked the students.  

Payne added that she expected DPS to specify that the attack was racially-charged “because it’s important to know if people are going after students of color.”

“It made us all feel not cared about,” she said.

Sophomore Khari Brandes was hiding upstairs at the house during the altercation, he said, and in that moment didn’t have much information. Brandes heard there was a gun, and multiple friends were assaulted, he added.

Brandes said SPD put in an “earnest and honest effort,” but officers on the scene lacked sensitivity. Brandes said one of the people who was assaulted was frustrated because SPD was trying to make it look like he had provoked his attacker, according to Brandes.

SPD released a statement Monday just after 4:30 p.m. saying one white man and one white woman attacked three men along Ackerman Avenue on Saturday. SPD’s statement did not identify the race of the victims.

According to DPS crime logs, an assault was reported at 814 Ackerman Ave. at about 12:40 a.m. Saturday. The crime logs show that that case is now being handled by SPD.

SA on Monday night released a statement on Instagram condemning DPS’ response to the incident and said it would present a resolution at its Monday meeting urging DPS to recognize the racial implication of the assault.

“Students of color on campus should have the same right to feel safe and heard on this campus, and we implore the University to reframe their language in future situations,” the statement read.

Ryan Golden, chair of SA’s Academic Affairs Committee, presented a bill at the meeting to “recognize the racial implications and racially-charged motives of this assault.” The bill said DPS “refused to categorize this criminal act as a hate crime.”

The bill was not voted on Monday because a bill in SA cannot be voted on on the same day it’s introduced by a member.

The SU Student Association just posted this statement on Instagram condemning DPS’s response to the assault on Ackerman Avenue this weekend: pic.twitter.com/602icNr9ZG

— Jordan Muller (@jordanmuller18) February 12, 2019

In an email to the student body on Saturday morning at about 2:50 a.m., DPS said three students reported being approached by an “unknown female” who struck them, possibly with a handgun. The woman fled north toward Euclid Avenue, the email said.

All three students had minor injuries and declined medical treatment, according to the email. The woman was described as being in her early 20s with brown hair, a gray jacket and dark pants, per DPS’ email.

“We are saddened and disturbed by the events that occurred, and are especially disheartened by how the situation was handled by DPS and the City of Syracuse Police,” the students’ statement read.

The students’ statement did not specify exactly why students are condemning actions taken by DPS and SPD.

“We will continue to take strong measures to protect all members of our campus community,” Maldonado said.

In an Instagram post on Monday afternoon, SU’s branch of the National Pan-Hellenic Council said it was “deeply saddened and disgusted” by the events that occurred Saturday morning.

“We stand together in solidarity with the afflicted students and implore that Syracuse University, The Department of Public Safety, and the city of Syracuse, take a serious vested interest in finding the assailants,” the National Pan-Hellenic Council’s statement read.

The National Pan-Hellenic Council is an organization of nine nationally-recognized historically black fraternities and sororities.

As of about 11. p.m. Monday, several campus groups had released statements condemning DPS and SPD’s response to the assault, including: BLISTS, Renegade, Femme Noire, SU’s chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists, SU’s Residence Hall Association, SA, Light on Ebony, Mane Attraction, Lambda Alpha Upsilon, the Caribbean Student Association, Alpha Kappa Psi and Delta Beta Nupes.

This is a developing story and will be updated with additional reporting.

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Published on February 11, 2019 at 6:57 pm

Contact Kennedy: krose100@syr.edu | @KennedyRose001