Black Washington University students, concerned faculty and community members have demanded changes to Clayton Police Department’s practices and procedures – along with an apology from the City of Clayton – after 10 incoming black freshmen were falsely accused of “dining and dashing” and were forced to return to the restaurant while trailed by a caravan of police cars, even though some of the students produced receipts.
“The officers involved in this incident, a false accusation against 10 black Washington University students claiming that they left a restaurant without paying, engaged in the most dangerous form of racial profiling by relying solely on the race of the incoming students when stopping them,” the Washington University Association of Black Students said in a statement on July 16. “Such stops are illegal under the Fourth Amendment, which requires officers to have a reasonable, articulable suspicion that prompts them to engage and stop everyday citizens in a free society.”
The incident occurred after a late-night visit to the International House of Pancakes in Clayton on July 7.
After the students were forced to walk three blocks back to the restaurant with a number of police cars trailing them, the restaurant manager immediately said they were not the perpetrators.
Kimberly Norwood, a law professor at Washington University, said she was “infuriated, outraged, and pained, all in an instant.” And she seconded the black student association’s assertion that these incidents are dangerous and can be deadly.
“We been through this over and over again and, no matter how many times we have this discussion or go through these experiences, we keep finding ourselves in the same place,” Norwood said. “I cannot imagine what those students were going through, knowing that a whole lot of people in their shoes do not survive these encounters.”
She was incensed that police forced them to walk back to IHOP to participate in a police “line-up,” for all intents and purposes, despite some of the students producing receipts.
Norwood was among more than 115 faculty members who signed an open letter on July 18 that demanded the police department make changes and put a stop to racial profiling. (See the full open letter here). The letter denounced the police’s “racially-based action,” and called out the City of Clayton as “acknowledging and condoning racial profiling” in the city’s July 16 statement.
The City of Clayton offered a weak apology in a statement on July 16 that referred to the black students by the university’s animal mascot: “We are so sorry this was the start for these newest Washington University in St. Louis Bears.”
Clayton’s statement described the students as “collateral damage,” which angered university administrators and students.
“This particular restaurant, IHOP, has had 45 ‘dine and dash’ calls since January,” Clayton stated. “It is sad and unfortunate that so many people treat this business this way. The additional cost of this kind of criminal activity is that it leaves the community open to collateral damage such as this incident.”
Clayton Police Chief Kevin R. Murphy told The St. Louis American that the department will conduct an internal review of the incident, and they have scheduled meetings with students and some family members over the next few days. Clayton officers currently receive three hours of training in implicit bias and one hour in racial profiling each year, he said.
“We plan to continue the training and discussions we do on engagement and disengagement strategies and de-escalation,” Murphy told The American.
However, Murphy has stated publicly that no policies were violated on July 7.
“If no policy was violated, as the chief states, then the policies need to be reviewed,” Norwood said. “If a proof of payment is not proof of innocence, what is?”
On July 18, several black WUSTL faculty members met with some elected officials to talk about calls to action in the wake of the incident. The group will be calling on the City of Clayton to adopt policies such as civilian oversight of police work and tracking racial profiling for pedestrian stops – not just vehicular stops, as required by state law.
“Clayton has the power at their local level to become a model community,” said state Rep. Stacey Newman, who represents Clayton and the Danforth campus, and was at the meeting. “Clayton police department is as much a part of this problem, and the mayor and city council are also responsible.”
Jill Friedman, vice chancellor of public affairs for WUSTL, said the forced march back to the restaurant violated protocol and was unnecessarily humiliating.
“At a minimum, if their identity had to be confirmed, there is a police protocol that should have been followed that would have kept our students in place,” Friedman said.
The group of students, which included both men and women, were participating in the WUSTL Arts & Sciences First-Year Summer Academic Program. The program helps incoming students who are often first-generation college students to acclimate to college life.
Friedman said that Clayton has yet to offer the “clear and direct apology and explanation to our students” that the university and students expect.
St. Louis Police Sgt. Heather Taylor, president of the Ethical Society of Police, called for accountability for what was a clear case of racial profiling.
“Some of these students had receipts, but we’re still forced to walk back with cop cars following them. How awful,” Taylor said. “At some point our community leaders and legislators have to get serious about accountability for police departments with our racial profiling laws.”
“Our expectation is that our students will hear directly from the City of Clayton for both an explanation and an apology,” Chancellor Mark Wrighton said in a statement on Monday night.
“Incidents like this cause damage to the reputation of the entire St. Louis region. As residents and as a significant contributor to moving the region forward, we understand that – in response – we have to redouble our efforts to build a community where all feel welcome.”
Washington University recently made a big push to increase diversity and inclusion by adding several senior positions and programs dedicated to this effort, both on the Danforth campus and at the medical school. Its newly announced chancellor, Andrew Martin, is stressing the importance of diversity and inclusion in his first interviews since his appointment.
However, Norwood said this incident is a blow to that work.
“How does it impact Wash. U’s diversity efforts? A lot,” Norwood said. “It puts a serious dent in our efforts.”
Friedman said the university will continue to work directly with the City of Clayton “toward an acceptable resolution for our students, including a direct and clear apology.”
Friedman said that the university is concerned about the way this incident affected the students personally, before they have even started their first fall semester in St. Louis.
“They were embarrassed,” she said. “They were scared. And they were humiliated because they were wrongly accused of committing a crime, detained, and made to feel powerless.”
Clayton hasn’t learned a thing from this racially motivated attack.