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by Thomas MacMillan | Oct 6, 2010 7:37 am

(15) Comments | Commenting has been closed | E-mail the Author

Posted to: Legal Writes, Downtown

Ben Schenkel was tired and sweaty and ready to leave a Friday night party at a downtown club. As he headed for the exit, he saw a “hulking” man barreling towards him carrying an assault rifle. That man, a New Haven cop, cursed at Schenkel and punched him in the face.

That’s the story Schenkel told to a gaggle of reporters Tuesday afternoon inside Yale’s Old Campus. Schenkel, a 20-year-old junior, and nine other Yale students gathered for a press conference about the police raid of a private Yale party at the Elevate lounge on College Street around 1 a.m. Saturday.

The action resulted in five arrests and an outpouring of complaints from students who claim the cops mistreated them. Video has surfaced from within the club, showing police shouting “Who’s next?” after they allegedly Tased and detained one student. Students have complained that police threatened and verbally abused clubgoers and even punched and kicked people.

The university has launched an inquiry into the events of the evening. Police Chief Frank Limon has promised a thorough investigation of all allegations of mistreatment.

The police say they were reacting to dangerous overcrowding at the club, and then a student who assaulted them.

“Many students felt confused, hurt, and scared due to police actions. Polite clarification questions were answered with profanity and threats of arrest,” said Jaya Wen, one of the organizers of Friday’s party. “Certain police officers created a situation in which hundreds of people felt unsafe.”

She said Yale students hope to talk with the police and local government to make sure such situations don’t happen again.

Three students shared their experiences at the club. The last of these, Schenkel, was the only one who said he had been physically assaulted by an officer. Click the play arrow above to hear his story.

Thomas MacMillan Photo Here’s what he said happened:

At about 12:50 a.m., Schenkel was leaving the party because he was tired and wanted to beat the crowd.

“Being a week shy of 21, I was completely sober at the time,” he said.

As he was about to go down the stairs to leave, an armed man dressed all in black charged up them. It wasn’t immediately apparent that the man was a cop. “I thought either that Elevate was being robbed or that we needed to evacuate for something urgent like a bomb threat,” Schenkel said. He said he was “terrified like never before.”

He asked the cop politely if students should exit, and got no answer. He asked again, and the cop “berated me with profanities and a threat to throw me in the slammer to make an example out of me.”

Schenkel said he backed up. The cop pushed him and shouted “Who the fuck do you think you are?” The cop then punched him in the chin, breaking the skin. Schenkel said he avoided serious harm by leaning back as the blow struck.

Schenkel said the blow was completely unprovoked, that he had addressed the cop deferentially as “sir” during the entire interaction.

Schenkel’s and his fellow students’ accounts of their experiences have all been submitted to the police department for investigation, said Mike Jones, Yale senior and alderman.

Marty Evans, a senior, said he witnessed the Tasing and assault of one of the students who was arrested. He said it was entirely unnecessary.

State Rep. Gary Holder Winfield, who looked on as the students spoke on Tuesday, said he was there because he represents them. He said he’s concerned about what he’s heard. “If it turns out the student’s recollections are accurate,” he said, the department will need to take steps to ensure it never happens again. That could mean training or personnel changes, he said.

“We take all allegations of police misconduct seriously,” said Chief Limon. He said he initiated an internal affairs investigation into the raid even before any affidavits were submitted. He promised a full investigation.

“I Did”

Elsewhere on campus, flyers appeared with a satirical riff on the “Get Tested” public health campaign about STDs.

“Get Tasered,” the flyers read. “It’s all of our responsibilities as socially active individuals to get tasered regularly, regardless of whether we have had a ‘risky’ encounter. ... Call now to make an appointment for free and widely publicized tasering at Elevate or look out for our off-campus locations during Operation: Nightlife.”

Comments

posted by: townie-yalie-lady on October 5, 2010 11:08pm

are we really surprised by the agro-behavior of the cops on crown street? and are we really surprised at the supreme word-smithing/dramatics of the yalies? kids at a dance will lose always lose the fight with brawny cops. and the swat-team militia cannot defend itself against the power of prose. lose-lose. snore. avoid crown street at all costs. but we knew this already.

posted by: Ben Stango on October 5, 2010 11:40pm

STUDENT RESPONSE COMMITTEE
Responding to the Recent NHPD Raid on the Yale Student Party at Elevate Lounge
MEDIA ADVISORY

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:
Michael Jones, (203) 936-9434
Ward 1 Alderman, City of New Haven

Students To Hand Deliver Complaint Forms To Officials En Masse
[NEW HAVEN, CT] — A group of students who witnessed questionable behavior during the
recent Elevate raid will gather to march together and hand deliver their Civilian Complaint
Forms to officials. This will be a strong display of solidarity among the community, and should
serve as example that everyone should feel free to share their accounts of the raid.
WHO: A group of students
WHAT: Eye witnesses of questionable behavior deliver complaints to officials
WHERE: Meet at Phelps Gate at Yale University (344 College Street)
WHEN: Thursday, October 7 at 3:45 p.m.

The New Haven Police Department’s Raid on Elevate Lounge occurred at approximately
12:50 a.m. on the morning of October 2nd. Officers in the NHPD and CT Liquor Commission
agents raided a party co-hosted by Morse and Ezra Stiles Colleges (two of Yale’s twelve
residential colleges) that was hosted at Club Elevate on Crown Street. The raid occurred as part
of “Operation Nightlife” which is a recent initiative of the NHPD to increase police presence in
the city’s Entertainment District – in which Elevate Lounge is located. During the raid, 5
students were arrested.

###

The Student Response Committee is a coalition of the Yale College Council, the Morse and Ezra
Stiles College Councils and Student Activity Committees, and other interested campus leaders.
The group remains committed to working with the City of New Haven and the New Haven
Police Department to work towards an amicable resolution.

posted by: Ben Stango on October 6, 2010 12:29am

STUDENT RESPONSE COMMITTEE
Responding to the Recent NHPD Raid on the Yale Student Party at Elevate Lounge
MEDIA ADVISORY

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:
Michael Jones, (203) 936-9434
Ward 1 Alderman, City of New Haven

Students To Hand Deliver Complaint Forms To Officials En Masse
[NEW HAVEN, CT] — A group of students who witnessed questionable behavior during the
recent Elevate raid will gather to march together and hand deliver their Civilian Complaint
Forms to officials. This will be a strong display of solidarity among the community, and should
serve as example that everyone should feel free to share their accounts of the raid.

WHO: A group of students
WHAT: Eye witnesses of questionable behavior deliver complaints to officials
WHERE: Meet at Phelps Gate at Yale University (344 College Street)
WHEN: Thursday, October 7 at 3:45 p.m.

The New Haven Police Department’s Raid on Elevate Lounge occurred at approximately
12:50 a.m. on the morning of October 2nd. Officers in the NHPD and CT Liquor Commission
agents raided a party co-hosted by Morse and Ezra Stiles Colleges (two of Yale’s twelve
residential colleges) that was hosted at Club Elevate on Crown Street. The raid occurred as part
of “Operation Nightlife” which is a recent initiative of the NHPD to increase police presence in
the city’s Entertainment District – in which Elevate Lounge is located. During the raid, 5
students were arrested.

###

The Student Response Committee is a coalition of the Yale College Council, the Morse and Ezra
Stiles College Councils and Student Activity Committees, and other interested campus leaders.
The group remains committed to working with the City of New Haven and the New Haven
Police Department to work towards an amicable resolution.

posted by: anon on October 6, 2010 6:43am

“As he was about to go down the stairs to leave, an armed man dressed all in black charged up them. It wasn’t immediately apparent that the man was a cop.”

Good thing the students weren’t exercising their right to bear arms.

posted by: NHresident on October 6, 2010 8:02am

It is a shame that these “kids” had to suffer an unnecessary trauma at the hands of police officers. This is nothing new as some inner city kids(not all criminals) are harassed in the same manner daily but there are no press conferences for them.
The officers need to be retrained to use respect and they will get respect.There are ways to get a crowd to calm down and leave without provocation of violence. The police department needs to slow down and figure out a safe tactical approach to circumstances. The students attending the party were not shooting at people they were minding their business and having a good time until the police showed up and started yelling at them.
Storming a party where for code violations (too many people)and possible underage drinking is ridiculous. I don’t know the whole story but if that was the case then they should have had the Fire Marshal turn the lights on and turn off the music and tell everyone to leave in an orderly fashion after presenting ID’s.
Furthermore this new crack down is not going to curb the violence that they witnessed a few weeks ago, even then the shooting had nothing to do with the clubs. It was some punk who with an extensive criminal history that was allowed to purchase a gun off the street and used it with malice and forethought. Investigate the mini war that is going on in the inner city. Get the drugs and guns off the street, infiltrate these “gangs” find out where they are getting these guns!!!

posted by: JB on October 6, 2010 9:46am

I foresee lawsuits rolling in and justifiably so. How is city hall planning to pay for them?

posted by: Ella Johnson on October 6, 2010 9:48am

Looks like Yale will find it harder to attract the best and brightest next year. No parent would want their child subjected to this. So John DeStefano has turned Yale in to a second rate college overnight.

posted by: streever on October 6, 2010 10:11am

I have personally experienced some very good, decent officers, and a few out of control ragers who took any question or request as an affront to their authority and responded with threats of beatings or arrest.

Case in point when I first arrived here, and upon witnessing a girl who was black-out drunk or drugged crawling across the green at 11 pm. I called the police who came, assaulted her (slamming her head into their cruiser) and handcuffed her.

Why? Because when they told her to “get in the car” she started to cry quietly and had her hands on her face. At that point they grabbed her, cuffed her, and slammed her head directly into the cruiser while screaming at her.

When I approached and said I was the one who called 911, out of concern for her and not to have her arrested, they threatened to arrest me and said I’d be charged with “interfering”.

Yes, there are some VERY bad apples. I applaud the Yale students for standing together against this type of outrageous behavior.

posted by: streever on October 6, 2010 10:15am

Ultimately we need to ask ourselves “why”?

Why did the police roll in there like a swat team for a complaint that the room was over-crowded?

For a press op. To show the public “Look, the Mayor is doing something about this problem.”

Wrong way to do it. They should have just had a few officers go in, to the manager or owner, and say, “Turn on the lights, get on the PA, tell everyone OUT. You are in violation of fire code.”

If you’re worried about underage drinkers, card everyone leaving, as they leave in an orderly fashion through the front door.

It was ridiculous that this got the swat approach.

posted by: j on October 6, 2010 12:32pm

The cop pushed him and shouted “Who the fuck do you think you are?”

This is not the first time a member of the NHPD has revealed their deep insecurity when dealing with those affiliated with the local academic institutions. One officer recently asked a colleague of mine “so, you think you’re smarter than me?” when this colleague asked for clarification about a violation she received.

Unfortunately, when officers behave that way [=unprofessionally], they answer their own questions.

posted by: robn on October 6, 2010 12:34pm

Nobody…but nobody gets away with physically or sexually humiliating a Yale student….unless that person happens to be another Yale student inducting them into a secret society.

posted by: Worried on October 6, 2010 12:48pm

Big bad police officers taking out their frustrations on “easy targets”. I see it regularly. Why don’t you act this way to real criminals??? It’s much easier to yell/bully a bunch of scared undergrads. I’ve lived in New Haven a long time and the police behavior I’ve seen in the last year or so is disgusting. The bully cops give the good ones a bad name.
Chief, I know you have a big job ahead of you but please get the unstable cops under control. Tax payers don’t need to be verbally or physically assaulted by your officers. As a city taxpayer, home owner and working in New Haven I’ve started looking at homes outside of the city. The middle class will all be gone soon… Way to go guys.

posted by: mmrmike1 on October 6, 2010 4:23pm

Lets get one thing sraight about this incident. The police enter the club the first thing to be done is secure the people in there to protect themselves and then the students. They have no idea what they are going to be walking into.If the the students had followed what they were told to do we wouldn’t have heard a thing about this.The students may get away with this by the Yale PD but this is New Haven where guns and violence are a daily occurence.Good job NHPD and keep up the good work.

posted by: givemeabreak on October 6, 2010 5:17pm

How dare any of you accused or comment what happen I was there, if this “kid” really thought the place was getting robbed then don’t you think he would of got on the ground, instead he goes up to the Clearly Marked Police officer and asked him what is going on. ... Give me a break and His chin still hurts, well it didn’t hurt talking to the press give me a break

posted by: Tim on October 7, 2010 11:24am

mmrmike1 -

Well stated!

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