2008 Woodie Awards
DPS responds to letter, call
Michael Lauer
Issue date: 3/28/08 Section: Letters to the Editor
Printed in the last issue of The University News was [a] letter from a student who opines that Saint Louis University's department of public safety mishandled what he calls an attempted burglary of a campus apartment ("DPS bungles call," March 7).
This letter is filled with gross falsehoods, and I feel compelled to respond.
First of all, the letter's author was not part of this incident in any way. He reports secondhand information that he received from a "friend."
I have spoken directly to the person who reported this incident. This student indicated he does not know the [letter's] author and said he had not related concerns to anyone.
In fact, the student involved said he was satisfied with public safety's handling of the situation, which the letter's author grossly misrepresents.
In his letter, the student alleges that it took 20 minutes for DPS to respond to the call and that only one officer was sent to the scene. Both of these statements are blatantly untrue. The incident report, the radio tape recordings of this incident and the person who reported this incident all confirm that two DPS officers arrived within five minutes of the call.
The author claims that someone was trying to break into a student's apartment. The fact is that someone threw a trashcan against the student's apartment's window.
The student did not report this incident as an attempted burglary and continues to believe it was a random act of vandalism.
I am extremely disappointed that The University News chose to print this letter without doing any fact checking. I understand that letters to the editor are meant to express opinion. However, the newspaper does a disservice to its readers when it chooses to print a letter filled with hearsay and false statements. I think our students deserve better, especially when it comes to matters of campus safety.
My office door is always open to all students and to reporters with The University News. In the future, I encourage you to contact me in such instances, and I will try and clarify incidents.
Michael Lauer
Director of Public Safety
[Editor's note: "DPS bungles call" was removed from The Univeristy News' website after further consultation with the letter's author.]
This letter is filled with gross falsehoods, and I feel compelled to respond.
First of all, the letter's author was not part of this incident in any way. He reports secondhand information that he received from a "friend."
I have spoken directly to the person who reported this incident. This student indicated he does not know the [letter's] author and said he had not related concerns to anyone.
In fact, the student involved said he was satisfied with public safety's handling of the situation, which the letter's author grossly misrepresents.
In his letter, the student alleges that it took 20 minutes for DPS to respond to the call and that only one officer was sent to the scene. Both of these statements are blatantly untrue. The incident report, the radio tape recordings of this incident and the person who reported this incident all confirm that two DPS officers arrived within five minutes of the call.
The author claims that someone was trying to break into a student's apartment. The fact is that someone threw a trashcan against the student's apartment's window.
The student did not report this incident as an attempted burglary and continues to believe it was a random act of vandalism.
I am extremely disappointed that The University News chose to print this letter without doing any fact checking. I understand that letters to the editor are meant to express opinion. However, the newspaper does a disservice to its readers when it chooses to print a letter filled with hearsay and false statements. I think our students deserve better, especially when it comes to matters of campus safety.
My office door is always open to all students and to reporters with The University News. In the future, I encourage you to contact me in such instances, and I will try and clarify incidents.
Michael Lauer
Director of Public Safety
[Editor's note: "DPS bungles call" was removed from The Univeristy News' website after further consultation with the letter's author.]
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