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SA condemns DPS response to Ackerman Avenue incident

UPDATED: Tuesday, Feb. 12, at 2:14 a.m.

Syracuse University’s Student Association on Monday condemned the Department of Public Safety’s response to what SA called a “racially charged” crime along Ackerman Avenue early Saturday.

“On February 9th, three students of color were assaulted with a handgun by a Caucasian woman with a group of Caucasian men,” SA said in a statement posted on Instagram. “This crime was clearly racially charged which, cannot be ignored by the University.”

SA presented a resolution at its Monday meeting urging DPS to recognize the racial implications of the crime. It also condemned DPS for what SA said was the department’s lack of transparency in its weekend notifications, regarding the assault, to the university community.


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” in the 800 block of Ackerman Avenue 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.

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Talia Trackim | Digital Presentation Director

The email did not list the woman’s race. DPS Chief Bobby Maldonado said on Monday that DPS doesn’t release a suspect’s race due to previous concerns from the campus community about racial profiling.

SA President Ghufran Salih said at the organization’s meeting on Monday that her and Vice President Kyle Rosenblum have been speaking with DPS Chief Bobby Maldonado and Patrol Commander Kathy Pabis about the incident. Salih said she and Rosenblum have been working to set up a meeting between DPS and students involved.

“I don’t agree with what happened, the way that DPS handled this, and I’m very disheartened by it. And so that’s why we’re trying to get DPS to talk to the students and to tell the truth about what happened,” Salih said.

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.

This post has been updated with additional reporting.

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