Year-round training preps NSU for future

University police officers hear the snide remarks. Rent-a-cops. Security guards. Look, there goes Officer Couldn’t Cut-it-in-the Force.

At Nicholls State University, however, Campus Police Director Craig Jacuzzo has worked diligently to change that perception. Through year-round cross-agency training, the six-year chief said his staff is well rounded and prepared to handle any potential situation.

His theory came into play in the early hours of Aug. 28 when a university police department patrolman saw a Thibodaux Police patrol vehicle with its lights on outside of a student’s apartment building.

The officer examined the situation, an investigation ensued and later that day Thibodaux Police officer Corey Morris was arrested on simple rape charges.

“What was ironic was we had just completed training on DNA collection,” Jacuzzo said. “We had just completed training on crime scene, and then the [Morris] incident occurs where we have a female that has been allegedly raped. We have charges filed against him where that training came into effect.”

A Lafourche Parish grand jury came back with a True Bill on Wednesday, indicting Morris on simple rape charges.

In addition to the DNA and crime scene training, they learned to identify social drugs common to a college campus, current domestic violence laws and security and safety at university sporting events in the past year.

The training exercises sponsored were grant-funded by federal agencies, including the U.S Department of Justice and the President’s Initiative to Advance Justice through DNA Technology.

“On a university level, because of the staffing issues, because of our manpower shortages at times and because of the type of dynamic events that we have, our officers have to be cross-trained and can handle anything,” Jacuzzo said. “It makes them a more well-rounded officer because they are exposed to every situation.”

On the Nicholls campus in 2009, according to crime statistics reported to the U.S. Department of Education, there was one count of a forcible sex offense, three counts of aggravated assault and four counts of burglary.

The eight reported on-campus criminal offenses pale in comparison to the seven other 4-year state universities with enrollment between 5,000 – 9,999, who averaged 22 criminal offenses per school in 2008, according to the Department of Education website. NSU reported 12 on-campus criminal offenses in 2008.

Thirteen of the department’s 18 officers are commissioned through the Louisiana State Police, have on-campus sworn arrest powers and carry a firearm.

Jacuzzo said his officers need to be prepared to handle cases ranging from any scenario, whether it is unlocking someone’s vehicle, providing security for celebrities like Peyton and Eli Manning during the annual Manning Passing Academy, responding to domestic disputes or the rightful treatment of a crime scene.

Another issue that has been brought to light during recent tragedies is the need for strategy and role recognition during the case of an on-campus active-shooter.

In April 2007, Sueng-Hui Cho killed 32 people on the Virginia Tech campus, and earlier this year Colton Tooley fired four rounds on the University of Texas campus before fatally shooting himself.

“When [an active shooter situation] does happen, you have to be able to respond to it,” Jacuzzo said. “You have to be able to have those abilities to communicate with a student body, have officers trained to know what’s their responsibility if that occurs and prevent any continuous loss of life and try to prolong the safety of the students as you are looking for an individual.

[Before the Virginia Tech Massacre] they thought of an education institution of having a sanctuary of learning and the safety that was there was an automatic thing. You can see with Virginia Tech, Columbine and the repeated shootings across the country that that’s getting violated more and more. So we have to train as emergency responders more and more.”

Jacuzzo said his officers trained for an active shooter situation by using old, soon-to-be demolished buildings. They worked on responding, using explosive entry devices, learning their roles and communication with other agencies.

Campus police departments, though undersized, are taking on additional responsibilities with smaller staffs. Municipal and parish agencies work as larger forces, which allows their officers to become specialized and develop an expertise in a specific area.

Alex Barnes, a former Nicholls UPD student officer, graduated at the top of his class from the Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Basic Law Enforcement Regional Training Academy in June before signing up for the campus police department.

“It is very important because unlike your municipal and city agencies, university police have a wider variety of things that is expected of us and things that we need to do,” Barnes said. “We may not deal with certain instances as often as they do. However, we deal with things more – for lack of a better term – randomly.”

Nicholls UPD officers serve as more than security guards. They’ve made arrests in two kidnapping cases and recently charged another agencies officer with rape.

Barnes said the unfit stereotypes branded on campus police officers are “ignorant.”

“I think they need to realize that we are actually state commissioned officers, and we actually have more policing powers, per se, than your local police department because we have the option of handling you through the legal system or handling you administratively as far as through the university.”

Officer Alex Barnes with the Nicholls State University Police Department writes a ticket on the NSU campus. Barnes is one of 13 officers on the force who has sworn arrest powers and carries a firearm. ERIC BESSON