Four of the five officers involved in the on-campus shooting of a UF graduate student were reinstated to their duties with the University Police Department on Thursday.
Only Lt. Stacy Ettel, the commanding officer when 36-year-old Kofi Adu-Brempong was shot at his Corry Village apartment, has not been reinstated as of Monday.
The internal affairs investigation is still ongoing, so Florida law does not allow anyone involved to comment on the investigation. But UF spokeswoman Janine Sikes said the investigation should be over by the end of August, if not sooner.
According to a UF press release, the university has contracted Margolis Healy & Associates to “evaluate UF’s internal affairs review protocols and ensure that the police department strictly followed them during the internal review process.”
The university’s decision whether to reinstate Ettel probably won’t be made until the investigation has ended, she said. The investigation will make a final decision whether the officers followed university policies.
The other four officers—Bill Ledger, Keith Smith, William Sasser and James Mabry—were reinstated Thursday because evidence indicates they followed lawful orders, Sikes said. She added that the state attorney has decided not to charge them.
Those officers returned to their former positions, except for Sasser, who has now joined the motorcycle unit.
Since the incident, UPD has maintained a full staff by moving officers who were normally off-patrol to patrol duty, Holcomb said.
Meanwhile, the officers have been doing non-uniformed office duties, he said.
For example, Sasser has been assisting Holcomb with bike registrations, answering phone calls and other office duties, Holcomb said.
UPD spokesman Capt. Jeff Holcomb said he’s not sure about the other officers, but Sasser told him he has already requested overtime, which is something the officers weren’t allowed after the shooting, until now.
According to Sikes, UPD Chief Linda Stump and UF President Bernie Machen are working to create a police advisory committee. While the details of the committee have not been determined, Sikes said it will probably be composed of students and faculty. What the committee will do is uncertain.
Student Government senators unanimously passed a resolution calling for a UPD review board on June 15.
According to Student Body President Ashton Charles, SG has yet to see any progress regarding the review board. SG is waiting for the investigation’s completion before they act further, she said. UPD and the university administration has been thorough in its investigation thus far, she said.
Machen was unavailable for comment and will be on vacation for the rest of the week, Sikes said. She also said that Stump will be out of her office until Thursday.
According to Sikes, UPD is placing an emphasis on improving relationships between officers, students and faculty. Another program Stump hopes to emphasize, she said, is Student Community Oriented Policing Effort.
The program assigns UPD officers to specific sections of campus they regularly patrol. This, she said, allows the officers to become familiar with the students and faculty in that area and to know how to deal with situations better.
“We want to make sure people know there are efforts to bring students and officers together,” she said.
Adu-Brempong has been living with local relatives since his release from Shands at UF in early May, according to his civil attorney Bill Hoppe.
Although he no longer requires constant medical attention, he still has a long way to go before reaching the end of his recovery, Hoppe said.
Adu-Brempong’s injuries are extensive. The bullet that pierced his face blew out his upper palate and some of his teeth.
According to Hoppe, there are shattered remnants of teeth lodged in his mouth. He will undergo reconstructive surgery and receive a replacement palate and set of teeth in hopes of repairing some of his speech.
A second bullet remains stuck in his vertebrae, Hoppe said, as doctors said it would be more dangerous to try to remove it than to leave it.
Adu-Brempong was also shot in the right hand, which resulted in partial loss of motion, Hoppe said.
Despite Adu-Brempong’s injuries, Hoppe said the grad student is recovering quite well.
“It’s now five months today, and he’s doing as well as could be expected,” he said. “I’m very positive and he’s very positive about his future.”
Adu-Brempong continues to go to counseling as part of his court mandates, he said. If he continues to go for the next three years, his charges of aggravated assault and resisting arrest with violence will be dropped.
Hoppe said this should present no problems as long as he stays on current medications.
“His goal is to recover, and when he has recovered sufficiently, to complete his doctorate at the University of Florida,” Hoppe said.
In June, the news that Adu-Brempong’s charges were deferred came as good news to more than just him and his family.
Concerned students and community members had been calling for the charges to be dropped since the shooting occurred. For Adu-Brempong, a deferred sentence means that as long as he keeps going to counseling sessions, his charges will be dropped.
Dave Schneider, a third-year history and political science major, organized three rallies in spring demanding, among other things, the charges be dropped and a board of citizens and students review UPD protocol.
“Our position all along was that [dropping the charges] was the most important demand,” he said. “That happening was very fulfilling for the campaign.”
However, he said, there is still much to be upset about, mainly the reinstatement of the officers involved.
“It’s still a massive injustice that the police were not publicly reprimanded or charged,” he said.
Schneider said his group, Justice for Kofi Adu-Brempong, will now turn its attention to making sure the SG-recommended review board will have actual power to influence UPD policy.
The proposed advisory committee cannot investigate police conduct or determine discipline because the Police Officer Bill of Rights prohibits it, according to an official UF statement.
