PFARS response may bring police

When an intoxicated female student fell down and hit her head over Houseparties weekend, Public Safety found the situation serious enough to summon the Princeton First Aid and Rescue Squad (PFARS).

When PFARS arrived on the scene at Frist Campus Center, however, they were accompanied by a Borough Police officer.

The officer's arrival led to charges being filed against Colonial Club president Tommy Curry '08 for serving alcohol to a minor and maintaining a nuisance after the student told the officer that she had been drinking at the club. The charges prompted a shutdown of Colonial's social events for the rest of the semester.

Though this is not the first time such charges have been filed against a club president, the police's arrival after Public Safety's call highlighted a policy not widely known on campus: Borough Police can choose to accompany PFARS when the squad responds to an incident. The policy — and the resulting charges against Curry — raises questions about students' future willingness to summon PFARS or Public Safety in the event of an accident.

Though the Borough Police automatically respond to every off-campus first-aid call, they do not send an officer to all on-campus calls because Public Safety can handle most situations, Borough Police Lieutenant Dave Dudeck said in an interview. But, "if it's a call such as an intoxicated person where there's a chance of an alcohol violation" or other illegal activity, Dudeck explained, the Borough will respond.

After the incident, Public Safety Deputy Director Charles Davall — who was Borough chief of police before joining Public Safety in 2005 — said in an email that "apparently, [Borough Police] recently began to send officers to all first aid calls." In previous years, Borough Police did not respond to campus requests unless specifically asked to by Public Safety. Dudeck said, however, that the policy is not new and that Borough Police have always been able to respond to PFARS calls on campus.

In the case of the Houseparties incident, Public Safety did not request the Borough's assistance, but all emergency calls to PFARS pass through a dispatcher from either the Borough or Township police departments, Davall said in an interview. "The first aid squad needs to know what they're responding to," he said, "whether it be a fall victim, intoxicated person [or any other type of medical emergency]."

The intoxicated individual then informed the officer that she had been drinking at Colonial, exposing the club to legal action by the Borough.

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After being questioned by the Borough officer, the student was taken to McCosh Health Center, a location where students are often told to bring their friends without fear of legal consequences. University Chief Medical Officer Daniel Silverman said in an email that "the relatively minor disciplinary consequences that might arise from the borough police involvement pale in the face of preventing a medical tragedy."

"All transport of intoxicated students directly to [University Health Services] by friends or Public Safety remains free of any direct disciplinary consequences," Silverman said, adding that he hopes that Borough Police's "policy change will not discourage students from doing the right thing ... and potentially [saving] a life by summoning medical help when it is needed."

The consequences faced by Curry and Colonial raise the question of whether club officers and students will hesitate to call Public Safety in the future, fearing that a Borough Police officer will arrive at the scene. "The spirit of everything is that we're trying to help, not hurt," Dudeck said, responding to those concerns.

Some students view the policy from a different perspective, however.

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"I think it compromises the faith that students have in the emergency response system," Eric Rhine '09 said. "I don't think it's the easiest thing," he added, to balance the desire to protect students with the need for discipline.

"I certainly wouldn't be hesitant to call Public Safety," Geoff Nelson '08 said, though he added he feels that "people in general would be more apt to call Public Safety and PFARS if they were sure the [Borough] Police wouldn't show up."

When asked about the policy's effect on club officers' decisions, Interclub Council (ICC) president Will Scharf '08 declined to voice an opinion. "I don't think it's the place of the ICC to comment on local law enforcement procedures," he said in an email.

"The health and safety of our friends and peers should always be our first priority," Scharf added. "That having been said, I would hope that students obey all relevant state and local statutes."