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DPD report says Willis incident is hate crime
Mark Norris, Managing Editor, mnorris@smu.edu
Issue date: 10/6/06 Section: News
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The Daily Campus obtained two different copies of the report Monday afternoon, three days after Willis was indefinitely suspended from the team for a violation of team rules.
The first version is a complete report, whereas the second is a redacted version.
The Daily Campus was told that the first report was sent in error - but that version is what was aired in a 6 p.m. report on CBS-11 Monday night.
The second version of the report does not include the names of those involved and the narrative of the report was withheld.
The report does say that two suspects "repeatedly hit" Beard in the face with their fists, causing injuries. The offense description included assault and hate crime, and that the incident occurred at 1:07 a.m. Friday.
The first report is much more detailed.
The report states that Beard was at a party when two suspects entered the residence.
They walked in and "Susp. #2 stated to the comp (Beard) 'I heard you been talking sh**" then called the comp a 'fa*'."
Then Willis and the other suspect "repeatedly struck the comp (Beard) in the face and neck with their fists causing a 1 inch laceration above the right eye and severe swelling of the comp's lip."
Beard told the police officers who responded to the scene that he knew the suspects and that the assault was a hate crime.
The Daily Campus was also able to obtain a copy of the SMU Police report on the incident.
It was heavily redacted, with only the ages and heights of those interviewed by SMU Police.
Six people were listed on the report - two suspects, two victims and two witnesses. A 19-year old female is listed as one of the victims in addition to Beard.
An SMU police officer responded to the off-campus incident.
SMU Dean of Student Life Dee Siscoe is now reviewing the incident, according to SMU public relations officer Kent Best. He said there is no timeline on the handling of the case.
Cases before Siscoe are evaluated using the SMU Student Code of Conduct.
Some likely parts of the code to be used in the Willis case would be section 3.03 for assault and 3.14 for harassment.
The assault section states, "Physical abuse and/or other conduct which endangers the health or safety of any person is prohibited. Examples include, but are not limited to: fighting or assault in any form."
The harassment section states in-part, "All members of the University community are protected from harassment, including, but not limited to, members according to their race, ethnicity, age, gender, disability, sexual orientation, and religion. Any words or acts deliberately designed to disregard the safety or rights of another...will not be tolerated on the basis of the standards of the SMU community. Such physical, psychological, verbal, electronic, and/or written acts directed toward an individual or group of individuals are prohibited and therefore may be subject to judicial action."
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
Scott
posted 10/10/06 @ 1:00 PM CST
If the report is found to be true the suspects should be at a minimum off the football team and perhaps out of SMU, apart from any criminal penalties. (Continued…)
Casey
posted 10/10/06 @ 10:34 PM CST
As an alumni, I am astonished that the university could let something like this get blown so out of proportion. This situation should have been resolved by someone when it was first brought up concerning the allegations of stalking and harrassing Justin Willis. (Continued…)
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