The UCF Police Department and the Orange County Sheriff’s office have completed at least 150 bar raids since a special program to patrol noise and alcohol in the UCF area began in April.
At least 26 people have been arrested or given a student affairs referral through the end of May.
The SNAP (Sector 2 Noise and Alcohol Patrol) program also targets off campus apartment complexes and parties, not just bars. However, bar raids seem to be the big focus.
Orlando criminal defense attorney Lyle Mazin sat down with KnightNews.com Friday to share the rights students have when dealing with the police.
KnightNews.com obtained body camera footage of the UCF Police Department and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office raiding bars and looking for underage drinkers.
Police officers in the body camera footage told the student they would not ask her friend any questions, if she came out and walked home with her. Shortly after, the police questioned her friend anyway.
The officer asked, “Do you have a fake ID also or do you not have one at all?”
The girl then said, “No”
The officer continued to keep asking the student’s friend questions.
“You don’t have any ID? How did you get in?” said the officer.
Instead of arresting students, police are handing out student affairs referrals. A UCF police officer can be heard telling an Orange County deputy students often fear the student conduct court more than regular criminal court, due to the fact that they can lose their scholarships, housing, and even get kicked out of UCF. The UCF Student Conduct Board is made up of a committee of students and professors who ultimately decide if the student is guilty.
Mazin said he is gravely concerned about how UCF’s conduct board has a much lower burden of proof to meet than a regular criminal court, and how it appeared to him that law enforcement officers found it funny that they are putting a student’s academic future in jeopardy.
“What also concerns me gravely is that police officers find it funny that they’re going to put a student in a horrible situation where they can lose their scholarship, potentially can be thrown out of school, and really destroy their future because they are drinking a beer at age 20 three months before they turn 21. It’s not funny, I don’t think its appropriate to be joked about, and it really disheartens me that I hear that on the body cams,” said Mazin.
Mazin shares tips to protect your rights and gives full legal analysis below.
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UCF has said previously that their goal isn’t to ruin the good times students are having, but to save lives. KnightNews.com will work to schedule interviews with UCFPD and local bar owners as we continue to investigate how students safety, crime, and underage drinking are addressed.
