Statement from ECU Police Chief Gerald Lewis on internal investigation of March 17 response to assault

This incident began off our campus in a club in downtown Greenville but concluded on our campus with an assault. An ECU PD dispatcher dispatched officers to the scene.

We have completed our internal investigation of the ECU PD response to this incident. ECU Officers did not use violence in their response, but the internal investigation indicates the protocol followed by the initial responding officer violated multiple police policies.

Since March 21 the officer has been on investigatory leave, which means he has not been on our campus or performing police work. Today the officer was provided notice of dismissal.

We did identify from our internal investigation some immediate steps we intend to take:

• ECU PD will be looking at implementing additional fair and impartial policing training provided by an outside expert.
• We will be adding a police position to proactively review officers’ responses as they appear in video.

In conclusion, let me say this:

Our responsibility as police officers is to help and provide aid, and that did not happen in this instance in a way that is appropriate for someone who had been badly assaulted. That is not acceptable. This response does not represent what we expect of our officers, nor is it representative of our record in the community.

I am proud of the men and women of our department. Our officers are out in the community each day and night, building relationships with students and making a continual difference in the safety and well being of those on our campus.

We will not tolerate violence on our campus. The latest data shows it is in fact rare on our campus and that ECU is among the safest campuses in the UNC system. We will work even harder going forward as a police department — and as a university — to build a safe and welcoming environment on our campus.