University of Rochester peace officers still fighting to be armed
ROCHESTER, N.Y. September 6, 2023 — As college students get back into the swing of life on campus, so are security officers. Campus public safety officials are calling on University of Rochester leaders to allow their officers to be armed.
“This week is a big week for the university, with freshmen and even upperclassmen starting to move in,” said Eric Bonacchi, University of Rochester Public Safety Officers Association president. “So we elected to put some crime stats out for a one-mile radius around the university campus. Crime does and will spill onto campus as we move forward in the fall.”
Bonacchi wrote a letter to U of R President Sarah Mangelsdorf asking her to allow peace officers to carry firearms on “all geographic areas of the university.”
“Unfortunately they have not responded,” Bonacchi said. “They’re not really the ones that are out here seeing the crime firsthand. And I think it’s time that they listen to the professionals who have been in law enforcement for dozens of years and really take our serious concerns.”
Bonacchi has served as an unarmed peace officer at the university for eight years and feels safety concerns have increased. With his staff experiencing and witnessing firsthand several dangerous encounters.
“I currently work overnight patrol and, you know, we’re coming across individuals that are putting our union and our officers in positions that are very unsafe,” said Taurean Raspberry, URPSOA vice president. “We’re pulling actual guns and knives off of people. We’re affecting arrests. We’re stepping out with suspicious vehicles.”
The Department of Public Safety currently has several armed officers around Strong Memorial Hospital, but peace officers hope the university can fit the current needs with national trends in university policing.
“With the increased rise in mental health or just regular day-to-day things, every day is a challenge, not every interaction is a good interaction,” said Raspberry. “We’re trained law enforcement professionals. So there should be no apprehension. This isn’t a case where you just passing out guns to random people. We go through the same screening process as any other police department. We’re trying to get ahead of that as a union before something devastating happens.”
Student Arielle Garcia is a junior at the university and she says she has witnessed many friends experience the dangers near campus.
“A lot of students get robbed, especially off-campus, normally on the bridges or there’s another bridge over across campus that a lot of people get mugged or not a lot, but it happens,” said Garcia.
But despite hearing about the crime surrounding the university, she says guns are a safety issue no matter who has them.
“More guns brings more violence,” said Garcia. “I understand that there is already a lot of violence in the Rochester area, but I think we need to put more money and funding into social services that will help the Rochester community grow and instead of using violence against violence.”
The U of R says it is deeply committed to protecting the safety and security of everyone in the campus community. In a statement, the university says the billboard is misleading. It says crimes and incidents on campus are historically low and remain so and the Department of Public Safety plays a vital role in this effort.
“Help keep the community safe, to help back up other law enforcement who may respond, it’s imperative,” said Raspberry. “And if we can do it on the hospital campus and it’s okay, why can’t we do it on the university campus.”
