Detroit Student’s Arrest Sparks Campus Police Review
DaJuawn Wallace’s controversial arrest has prompted Saginaw Valley State University to internally review its police department.
DaJuawn Wallace is a graduate student at Saginaw Valley State University set to get his degree in May 2016.
The recent arrest and subsequent dismissal of charges on a Detroit college student has prompted a review of one campus police department’s procedures.
Saginaw Valley State University President Don Bachand has emailed students and faculty informing them he is internally investigating the police department. Bachand also encouraged students to email him with any complaints they have about the department in a timely manner.
The review comes after DaJuawn Wallace, 24, was arrested in February and charged with felony fleeing and eluding after he drove a mile and a half before pulling over for a campus police officer who had his police lights on. Wallace, who is a Saginaw Valley State University graduate student, said he was waiting for a well-lit area to pull over in, according to mlive.com.
The charges brought national attention and led Wallace to argue if he was older or female he wouldn’t have received such a harsh penalty. The Saginaw County Prosecutor’s Office later dismissed the felony charges against Wallace, who never sped his car up and put his hands out of the car window to signal to the officer that he was waiting to pull over.
The campus police officer had pulled Wallace over because his vehicle was similar to a car the officer saw driving on a sidewalk on campus.
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