Three words can say a lot.

On Saturday, a video was posted on Instagram of a group of three people violently attacking another person outside Syracuse University’s Huntington Hall. The victim desperately wailed, “Check my pockets!” as the three people seemingly accused the victim of stealing their wallets. 

The distress in the victim’s voice is painfully apparent in the video. The video recorded the person saying these three words, which is more than enough to show the disturbing reality of the incident. As the group of people continued to beat the victim, dragging and hitting them, they didn’t stop to address the victim’s words. In the video, the perpetrators do not even check the pockets of the individual for their wallets. Instead, they continue to brutally attack them.

Two SU freshmen, Nina Tran and Brian Cohen, filmed the attack. After the attack occurred, they spoke to police officers from the Syracuse Police Department, filming their interaction with them. Tran and Cohen expressed frustration with SPD’s lack of action in trying to catch the attackers. In response, Syracuse police officer Connor Kniffin apathetically said, “What are we supposed to do if he does not want to talk to us?”

The SPD officers on scene should have done much more in this situation. Unfortunately, this is not the first time that they have failed to properly address injustice. Kniffin, who was on scene for this incident, received a written reprimand for lack of action in another instance on Sept. 14, 2020, when SPD Officer Michael Birklin shoved a civilian in the face and received a 15 day suspension for violating four separate rules. Kniffin failed to include a use of force report when filing reports related to the incident. 

Another SPD officer sarcastically responded to Tran and Cohen by asking, “Am I just supposed to start tracking everyone down all of a sudden?”

As Tran and Cohen continued to communicate their anger at the lack of justice that occurred, as an SPD officer can be seen scoffing at them in the video.

SPD’s blatant lack of respect for the concerns of community members is unacceptable. As students and residents of Syracuse, we should feel protected and respected by SPD. If our own police department shows minimal concern for the safety of Syracuse residents, incidents like these will unfortunately continue to occur.

Shayan Bachani, a freshman at SU, commented on how hearing about the attack affected his perception of safety on campus. “It’s very concerning and this should not happen. I feel scared. The Syracuse Police Department has to wake the f*ck up,” he said.

SPD’s mission statement is to “prevent crime, enforce the laws, and understand the needs of the community, while providing professional service with ethical treatment for everyone.” The actions of the SPD officers present at the incident on Friday have undermined every aspect of this. 

To “prevent crime” moving forward, SPD should step in when there is an ongoing assault, even if the victim does not want to press charges against the perpetrators. It is against the law to assault someone, but SPD did not take appropriate action following the attack near Marshall Street. If SPD truly understood the needs of the community, the officers would have known that action would need to have been taken. It is a basic need of residents of SU and Syracuse to feel safe in their community. Moreover, SPD surely did not provide “professional service,” as an officer scoffed at Tran and Cohen’s concerns. 

SPD needs to do better. Its actions on Saturday were unacceptable, and the officers involved need to be held accountable. When students choose to attend SU, they should not have to consider the lack of safety and protection on and around campus as a reason for not coming to SU. Students should be able to expect a safe place where they can learn and live their normal lives, not a place where attackers are allowed to roam free without any consequences.

Julia Kahen is a freshmen news, magazine, and digital journalism and political science dual major. Her column appears biweekly. She can be reached at jskahen@syr.edu.

Published on October 20, 2021 at 10:27 pm