The University of Central Florida apparently hires undercover cops to sniff out underage drinkers at home football games. This past weekend, one such cop confronted one such group of underage drinkers, who got belligerent with him, and didn’t believe he was a cop. What happened next isn’t exactly clear, but events ended with the cop flashing his badge, and firing several rounds into the air. An Orlando reserve cop apparently heard the gunshots, saw the gun, and mistook the undercover cop for an assailant. He shot him dead. He also wounded a UCF student, who’s now in the hospital.

It seems like the reserve cop was probably doing what he was supposed to, and likely won’t face charges. But here’s a question: What if it wasn’t an off-duty cop but a legally-armed civilian who saw the undercover cop firing a gun in a crowd, and shot him dead? Something tells me he’d almost certainly be facing charges. Which is a good reason why sending armed, undercover agents in to bust up something harmless as 18-20 year-olds drinking beer at a tailgating party is a patently stupid policy.

A Cato colleague whose sister attends UCF sends along a letter to students sent by the school’s president (click “more”). In it, he says that the decision of some 18, 19, and 20 year-olds who are old enough to vote, sign contracts, and die for their country to drink before the game are what really contributed to the cop’s death. And note that he promises ever-more-militant enforcement of underage drinking at future events. Zero tolerance in action.

AN OPEN LETTER TO THE UCF COMMUNITY

September 25, 2005

Dear Friends:

Our community experienced a tragic loss Saturday afternoon with the death
of UCF Police Officer Mario Jenkins. Of course, our immediate thoughts
and concerns are for Officer Jenkins widow and family, and his fellow UCF
police officers. For those of us who joined them at ORHS Saturday
evening, it was a heart-wrenching experience. We also share concern for
the UCF student, Michael Joseph Young, who was injured Saturday at the
Citrus Bowl.

The events leading to Officer Jenkins fatal shooting by a reserve Orlando
police officer are under investigation by the Florida Department of Law
Enforcement, which is standard procedure when any police officer is
involved in a fatal shooting. Many eyewitnesses have given statements to
FDLE investigators. But, in cases such as this, it is common for even the
most conscientious observers to give accounts that vary, sometimes
significantly so. The university community must respect this investigative
process and accept that it may be a while before its outcome is known. It
may be that a full understanding of the events will never be known.

However, it is abundantly clear that no matter how we view those tragic
events, the use and abuse of alcohol were contributing factors.

In recent years, we have increased our efforts to control alcohol-related
problems on campus and at football games, and while progress has been
made, we have not accomplished enough. Saturdays tragic events could have
happened at any tailgating event in America. But they happened here. So
we must work to see that more is done to improve the atmosphere at our
home football games.

Grief and anger are poor counselors when wise policy and practice are
needed, but we cannot wait for emotions to pass before addressing what has
become a serious problem. Therefore, I will immediately appoint a task
force to develop policies and procedures dealing with alcohol use at large
public gatherings sponsored by UCF. Understandably, the focus will be on
home football games. When Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer called me Sunday to
express his condolences, he also offered his assistance and support for
our efforts to control alcohol abuse at the Citrus Bowl. I appreciate his
response and those of Orlando Police Chief Michael McCoy and Orange County
Sheriff Kevin Beary. All have been real friends to our university in this
terrible time.

In closing, let me request that you reach out to our UCF police at this
time of sorrow. They serve us with professionalism and dedication every
day and deserve our admiration and respect. Let them know that you share
their sense of loss. It is a loss to all of us.

John C. Hitt
President

This entry was posted on Monday, September 26th, 2005 at 6:35 pm by Radley Balko and is filed under Alcohol, Police Professionalism, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.