Demand for WVU to cut ties with MPD, WPD, and GPD
Demand for WVU to cut ties with MPD, WPD, and GPD
The Issue
We, the students, staff, faculty, and alumni of WVU, are asking that West Virginia University (WVU) formally cut ties with local law enforcement. At least three jurisdictions in which WVU students live and work--the Morgantown Police Department (MPD), the Westover Police Department (WPD) and the Granville Police Department (GPD)--have documented cases of violence against BIPOC, NBPOC, and/or disabled people.
MPD has a history of racial profiling and assault on BIPOC and NBPOC, as does WPD. This includes the case of Andre Howton, who was brutally beaten by WPD officers in front of his own home. This can be seen in the news article linked below:
https://voiceofmotown.com/watch-video-of-police-brutality-just-outside-of-morgantown-resurfaces/
GPD officers, too, brutally beat a man with Huntington’s Disease in 2014, even as he shouted “I can’t breathe” and onlookers video recorded the incident:
Not only this, but, in 2019, WVU willingly allowed MPD to tear gas and use sonic weapons on its own students for being too rowdy during a snow day:
And as the COVID-19 pandemic settled across the nation, MPD again tear-gassed WVU students during a street party in the city’s Sunnyside neighborhood, a center of off-campus student housing:
Such action is not only cruel and inhumane, but in direct violation of international law according to the Geneva Convention:
https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/customary-ihl/eng/docs/v2_rul_rule75
This move to cut ties with the MPD follows the example of the University of Minnesota, who cut ties with the Minneapolis Police Department in the wake of Goerge Floyd’s murder. If, as they state across social media, WVU “will not tolerate any form of racism, discrimination, or bias on our campuses. And we will always address areas of concern with open eyes and open hearts,” then a good start would be to formally cut ties with the Morgantown Police Department.
WVU President Gordon Gee: Protect your students, staff, alumni, and faculty. Sever ties with the MPD, WPD, and GPD. #blacklivesmatter.
3,646
The Issue
We, the students, staff, faculty, and alumni of WVU, are asking that West Virginia University (WVU) formally cut ties with local law enforcement. At least three jurisdictions in which WVU students live and work--the Morgantown Police Department (MPD), the Westover Police Department (WPD) and the Granville Police Department (GPD)--have documented cases of violence against BIPOC, NBPOC, and/or disabled people.
MPD has a history of racial profiling and assault on BIPOC and NBPOC, as does WPD. This includes the case of Andre Howton, who was brutally beaten by WPD officers in front of his own home. This can be seen in the news article linked below:
https://voiceofmotown.com/watch-video-of-police-brutality-just-outside-of-morgantown-resurfaces/
GPD officers, too, brutally beat a man with Huntington’s Disease in 2014, even as he shouted “I can’t breathe” and onlookers video recorded the incident:
Not only this, but, in 2019, WVU willingly allowed MPD to tear gas and use sonic weapons on its own students for being too rowdy during a snow day:
And as the COVID-19 pandemic settled across the nation, MPD again tear-gassed WVU students during a street party in the city’s Sunnyside neighborhood, a center of off-campus student housing:
Such action is not only cruel and inhumane, but in direct violation of international law according to the Geneva Convention:
https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/customary-ihl/eng/docs/v2_rul_rule75
This move to cut ties with the MPD follows the example of the University of Minnesota, who cut ties with the Minneapolis Police Department in the wake of Goerge Floyd’s murder. If, as they state across social media, WVU “will not tolerate any form of racism, discrimination, or bias on our campuses. And we will always address areas of concern with open eyes and open hearts,” then a good start would be to formally cut ties with the Morgantown Police Department.
WVU President Gordon Gee: Protect your students, staff, alumni, and faculty. Sever ties with the MPD, WPD, and GPD. #blacklivesmatter.
3,646
The Decision Makers
Petition created on June 10, 2020