DPS chief says officer presence was not raised after firing of Fine
Despite the firing of Bernie Fine, former associate head coach of men’s basketball at Syracuse University, the Department of Public Safety didn’t step up enforcement Sunday night.
‘We had no increased patrol activity,’ DPS Chief Tony Callisto said. ‘The regular schedule continues. We really don’t anticipate any problems as a result of the firing, so no, there’s not really any special activity going on.’
Callisto said DPS expects nothing like what hit Pennsylvania State University a couple of weeks ago following the news that legendary football coach Joe Paterno and university President Graham Spanier had been fired.
On the night of Nov. 9 and into the next morning, more than 1,000 Penn State students stormed College Avenue. Some students tore down lampposts and reportedly threw rocks at media members and police officers. Students also flipped over a TV news van that was parked along College Avenue.
Callisto said there has been no information released that would cause DPS to believe a similar incident will occur at SU.
‘The only thing we’ve been involved in is trying to make sure that we find appropriate locations for any media folks that come into town,’ he said. ‘There’s no extra security or extra staff as a result of that.’
There are up to 16 or 17 officers in the university neighborhoods and on campus in the night-time hours on Sunday night, Callisto said. That number stays consistent until weekend nights, when DPS has up to 21 officers in the neighborhoods and on campus.
Callisto also said he couldn’t comment on the rumor that a search warrant would be executed at Manley Field House on Monday as part of the investigation into Fine. Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick said he had no information about the rumored search warrant.
Published on November 28, 2011 at 12:00 pm
Contact Jon: jdharr04@syr.edu
