Police take heat for underage drinking raids
Tucson police have received an increasing number of complaints from parents and students with their attempts to weed out underage drinkers.
Negative sentiment came to a head following the arrest of 36 students on Oct. 17. The students were traveling in a bus from the Vagabond Hotel after a Gamma Phi Beta sorority date dash.
For the first time, police met significant resistance from community members, said Capt. John Leavitt of the Tucson Police Department midtown division.
"It was an interesting phenomena to experience where all the other enforcement operations that we were engaged in were tremendously supported, but when that particular incident occurred, parents from people on the bus and others who believed they knew the circumstances complained quite loudly," he said.
One of the loudest voices has been Glen Huntsberger whose son Matt was arrested on a minor in possession charge after police stopped the bus.
Huntsberger has launched a letter campaign that has reached, among others, Tucson law enforcement, President Peter Likins and Democratic Governor Janet Napolitano.
Huntsberger said that police are using scare tactics and heavy-handed enforcement techniques to force their message onto students.
"I hate it when students become the victims of a bully, which I think the police department is," he said.
Although he said he supports the police in their attempts to stop criminals, especially drunk drivers, Huntsberger is concerned that the wrong people are being singled out.
It makes no sense that the students were arrested despite making attempts to ensure safe driving after the event, he said.
"When you have a group of kids who do everything right and mitigate every single criticism that anybody can levy towards you, and handle everything right, to have the police take such an interest and put so many resources, it just doesn't seem right," Huntsberger said.
Democratic City Councilwoman Carol West, who has also received a letter from Huntsberger, said she does not understand the issue. Taking precautions to provide safe transport between the sorority house and the bar does not necessarily keep the students safe.
"Mr. Huntsberger is living in a dream world," she said. "He doesn't get it that when those kids get dropped off from the bus, they're going to have to drive home."
Leavitt has been steadfast in his defense of the enforcement of drinking laws regardless of whether underage drinkers have designated drivers or a bussing service. By drinking, underage people are putting themselves in danger on a number of levels, he said.
"They keep thinking that because the young people were in a bus that they were safe," Leavitt said. "But what we know (from) our local experience is ... that date-rape most often involves girls that have consumed a high level of alcohol."
Statistics compiled by TPD indicate a decrease in sexual assaults since they've stepped up their campaign against underage drinking.
Reports of sexual assaults for people between the age of 16 and 20 from May 2003 to November 2003 dropped 23 percent from the previous year. The number of sexual assault suspects during the same months went down 43 percent from the previous year.
Because more than one man often sexually assaults victims at a time, there are usually more reported suspects than victims, Leavitt said.
"What is happening, especially in the college-aged girls, is that they will have too much to drink and then they will pass out in a room with four or five boys," he said. "They will wake up and they will have been sexually assaulted and we will find three, four or five different semen samples."
Huntsberger said he understands that sexual assault is an important issue and thinks there is a connection to alcohol, but he does not think that police should base their motivations on the potential for crime.
"To assume that a crime will take place based upon whatever evidence they want to use doesn't seem right," he said. "It's not the American way. These students are being arrested for alcohol in their bloodstream, not for sexual assault."
Some students have echoed Huntsberger's claims, saying that cops are singling them out even though they are not likely to commit a crime after drinking. This, some said, has created a rift between students and police.
"There's a stigma now in Tucson that the police are not out to help you, they're out to get you," said Grant Sahag, pre-business sophomore. "I think their job is to provide a safe environment. What they're doing is not promoting that."
Sahag said he recently was at a party with other underage drinkers. When students on the balcony saw two bike cops ride up to the complex, some started jumping off to get away, he said.
When the police did confront the people at the party, they asked for them to turn down the music and think of their neighbors. Even though the police did not arrest anybody, the incident typifies student's fears, Sahag said.
Matt Huntsberger, a pre-business sophomore, said he was apprehensive when the police pulled over the bus. He had heard of other incidents where underage people were caught drinking and immediately booked into jail, he said.
But after receiving his citation and being delivered back to the sorority house where he started the night, he was not deterred in any way.
"To tell you the truth, the first thing that my date and I did was drink when we got back," he said. "They're not going to make people stop drinking."
Although she only drank one drink at her Halloween party earlier this year, Lauren McCrindle, a psychology sophomore, was cited with a minor in possession. She said she did not drink much anyway, but the MIP has not stopped her from continuing.
"I think I'll be a little more careful next time," she said. "I feel that they're always watching us."
Despite her objections to the police enforcement, McCrindle said she is very wary of parties, especially when offered drinks.
"Guys will walk right up to girls and offer them one, two or three drinks," she said. "It's obvious what they're doing."
Leavitt said this is one of the reasons why the police are so vigilant against underage drinking.
"It is not unusual for this to happen in that age group," he said. "I think it is a huge cost that society and the individual pays when a sexual assault happens."
But with every report of underage drinking and every large-scale operation where large numbers of students are arrested, some people think the police are more interested in sending a message rather than focusing on keeping people safe.
Glen Huntsberger said he disagrees with the fact that police watched the underage students drink at the bar, but waited until they left before acting.
"I think it is very hypocritical of the police to watch the crime being committed," he said. "If the crime is not worth stopping, then it isn't worth prosecuting."
This is not true, Leavitt said. The ultimate goal is to keep people safe from the problems that arise when underage people drink.
"What we are dealing with is not drinking and driving when we're arresting people (being transported) in a bus," he said. "What we're dealing with is a greater public safety issue of the impact of youth alcohol. That's what people miss."