‘Alleged assault’ ruled to be non-issue by police

 

 

Two weeks after an MHCC incident in which a student claimed a campus Public Safety officer assaulted him, Gresham Police say they have found no evidence of wrongdoing.

 

Based on police interviews and a police review of MHCC security camera videotape, and since no injury resulted, under Oregon state statute no assault occurred, said Gale Blessing, MHCC chief human resources officer and director of institutional safety and security.

 

Blessing spoke with The Advocate on Thursday, in an interview also attended by MHCC Director of Communications Maggie Huffman.

 

The incident report submitted by MHCC welding student Erik Brannen claims that MHCC Public Safety Officer Wayne Feagle confronted him on May 2 for riding his bike on campus. On that same day, Brannen talked to his faculty advisor, Rick Walters, who directed him to type an incident report and to meet with Blessing.

 

After submitting his report and meeting with Blessing, Brannen said he called Gresham Police from the J and K parking lot area. He met with the officer in the lot and filed a police report. But the police officer was unable to see conclusive evidence from videotape recorded an MHCC Bookstore security camera and said he wouldn’t be investigating any further.

 

Reached on Wednesday, Feagle declined to discuss the matter: “I don’t feel comfortable talking about it; it’s still under investigation.”

 

Brannen told The Advocate he had detoured from his usual biking route on May 2, swinging by the Bookstore to purchase a Scantron test sheet.

 

He said he was was riding his bike past the Student Union when he heard someone yell for him to get off his bike. He said he didn’t see who made the request but did say “Okay.” He rode to the front of the store and got off his bike.

 

“I set my bike against a pillar when I heard a ‘Hey you!’ and someone grabbed me by the elbow,” Brannen told The Advocate.

 

In his incident report, Brannen wrote that he would drop the complaint if Feagle apologized to him publicly.

 

“I want him to admit that how he handled the situation was inappropriate,” Brannen later told The Advocate. “They (public safety officers) are not police officers; they shouldn’t act like they are above the law.”

 

Brannen said that “now that it has been explained in a non-confrontational way” he understands he violated campus policy by riding adjacent to a building on campus. “If they want to enforce it, they need signs. I’ll help them (MHCC) put them up,” he added.

 

On Thursday, Brannen said he was disappointed his complaint had been dropped by the police and by MHCC.

 

“They made me out to be the bad guy; they’ve turned this into my fault,” he said. “I don’t want him (Feagle) fired. I don’t harbor any ill feelings toward him what so ever. (But) “I was wronged and all I asked for was an apology and they can’t even do that,” he said.