UI students petition to remove Moscow Police Department from campus

The University of Idaho has long worked in tandem with the Moscow Police Department to promote safety and security on campus.  

Housed in an office in the Student Union Building, officers with MPD’s campus division interact with students on a daily basis.  

In the weeks following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, community members in Moscow organized more than five protests in solidarity with the Black Lives Movement, among even more demonstrations in nearby Pullman and Lewiston. Some of these protests were organized, supported and participated in by UI students and alumni calling for the defunding of police at a local level.  

In early June, UI President C. Scott Green sent two emails addressed to UI faculty, staff and students lamenting the death of George Floyd.  

“The death of George Floyd at the hands of a police officer is another scene in a drama we have seen play out too many times in our nation’s history,” Green said. “We don’t have to agree, but we do need to act with kindness and compassion.” 

Kailyn Eagy, a student at UI, said the initial email statement was insultingly lackluster.

“Let’s not pretend the violation of basic human rights should be responded to with kindness,” Eagy said. 

Students and other Palouse residents started a change.org petition demanding the university terminate its multi-million-dollar contract with MPD, which is set to renew Sept. 30. The petition has over 260 signatures.  

“Words of appreciation for diversity and inclusion are insufficient,” the petition stated. “We demand the university divert these funds toward community-led public safety and toward organizations that are doing work to defend and uplift black lives.” 

Eagy and others emailed Green, Dean of Students Blaine Eckles and members of the university’s communications and marketing department requesting the university issue an apology and delete the social media posts highlighting portions of Green’s statement.

The Office of Multicultural Affairs at UI has since sponsored a Black Lives Matter Speaker Series featuring discussions on racial justice and systemic inequality. Several keynote speeches and workshops have already taken place.

The campus division commander of MPD, Captain Tyson Berrett, said the university has not contacted him regarding any changes to how MPD operates on campus.  

“We work with the Office of Multicultural Affairs, the Dean of Students Office and the President’s Office,” Berrett said. “If they have anything they would like to see us change on campus, we’ll work together to do that, but right now there haven’t been any changes because we have such a good working relationship with the university.”  

Eckles also said UI has a close working relationship with MPD.  

“This is a quintessential college town, where we have a tight knit relationship with the city,” Eckles said. “I tell folks ‘You are going to see police officers on our campus more often than you likely ever would in your home town,’ not because it’s not safe but because we value that relationship with our police department.” 

Jakob Lee, a MPD officer in their campus division, said the branch enjoys patrolling campus. 

“Just because the campus division is full time police up there, doesn’t mean other patrol officers aren’t also patrolling up there because they are,” Lee said. “In fact, they enjoy doing so, we enjoy interacting with students and the campus community up there.” 

Angela Palermo can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @apalermooo