Posted on 12/07/2001 5:44:28 AM PST by brewcrew
UW-Madison police will not question foreigners
10:44 PM 12/06/01
Andy Hall Wisconsin State Journal
UW-Madison police on Thursday joined a handful of law-enforcement agencies across the country that are refusing to assist the U.S. Justice Department in questioning 5,000 foreigners about the Sept. 11 terrorism attacks.
A local Islamic leader praised the university police for showing sensitivity to foreign residents, but law-enforcement officials in Madison and Milwaukee said other federal, state and local agencies will press ahead with interviews of about 130 Wisconsin residents named on a Justice Department list.
"The purpose of the project is to, in a very non-threatening, non-controversial manner, contact the people who are on the list we received from the Department of Justice," said Grant Johnson, interim U.S. attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, which includes Madison. Investigators will request interviews, but "if they say no, we'll thank them and leave. If they say they want an attorney, we'll say fine ... have your attorney call ... and we'll set it up."
Asked to react to UW-Madison's decision, Johnson said, "I certainly don't have any qualms about that whatsoever." It's not necessary for university police to participate, he said.
In a carefully worded statement, UW-Madison Chancellor John Wiley announced that the university's police department "has declined to participate in arranging and conducting interviews for the U.S. Attorney's Office with a number of Dane County residents, including UW-Madison international students."
Wiley said the university always has, and will, cooperate with investigations of "suspected criminal activity."
"But university officials, including me, believe the criteria to select individuals for interviews ... is broadly based and appears to consist of people who are not suspected of any crimes or suspicious activities," he wrote, echoing language from a Nov. 27 announcement that University of Michigan police also will refrain from the interviews.
UW-Madison police, Wiley said, will remain active on an anti-terrorism task force headed by the U.S. Attorney's Office that includes federal, state and local agencies.
In an interview, Wiley said he doesn't object to other members of the task force interviewing foreigners. "I do have an objection to our police doing it," he said.
One concern, Wiley said, is that although the interviews are described as voluntary, people who decline to be interviewed could face coercion from law-enforcement agencies.
Earlier in the week, Madison police Chief Richard Williams said his department will work with federal officials, if requested, but he does have concerns about the process. "It's religious and racial profiling," Williams said. "They're being looked at because of their race, religion and culture ... The test will be to define some behavior beyond the fact that they're Muslims from a certain country."
Other police agencies declining to take part in the interviews include those in San Mateo and San Jose in California and Portland and Corvallis in Oregon, the Associated Press reported.
Salih Erschen, outreach coordinator for the Islamic Community of the Madison Area, said the estimated 2,500 to 3,000 Muslims in Dane County will appreciate the UW-Madison Police's decision.
"I think it's a noble thing that the police (are) going to stay away, the UW police at least, because a lot of the people that might be questioned, at least in Madison, would probably be UW students," Erschen said.
He described the local Islamic population as "amazingly beautiful, wonderful people ... very much concerned and enveloped in their career and their studies. For the most part what you see in Madison is Muslims who are very devoted to research and getting a higher degree, a lot of doctors, engineers."
Despite federal officials' vows that the interviews are voluntary, Erschen said, "in the end they know it's going to cause hardship in the hearts of these people, no matter what."
Johnson, the interim U.S. Attorney, said the interviews are "an investigative technique that's used every day. If you have a bank robbery and there's a blue car involved, you're going to go out and ... interview everybody who owns a blue car."
He added, "There's absolutely no pressure being applied whatsoever."
Some people may not realize they possess valuable information, said Johnson, who added that about 100 people in his jurisdiction are being sought for questioning. "If you get one or two good pieces of information out of the entire 5,000 interviews, it's worth it."
In addition, about 30 people in the Milwaukee area are being sought.
Francie Wendelborn, media liaison for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Wisconsin's Eastern District in Milwaukee, said the interviews are directed at men who entered the United States after Jan. 1, 2000, from an unspecified list of countries where the al-Qaida terror network has operated.
"We're trying to learn more about their world," Wendelborn said. "And we need their help."
A Justice Department press guide, she said, contains this suggested response to questions about the propriety of the interviews:
"We have allowed these individuals to enter our country to visit, to study, to do business, and we expect them to cooperate and help us by providing any information they may have. This is what we would expect of a neighbor who has witnessed a crime in his neighborhood. We all have a responsibility to help prevent future acts of terrorism."
I guess they can't handle it with them
NOW? Must be one of them Badger sayings. I'd be more surprised to find out that a conservative had infiltrated the UW police.
Sorry 'bout that. Not well stated.
I should have said that they're getting more brazen about it.
Does anyone know if the UW cops are part of the Wisconsin State Police? If so, I can't imagine this type of emboldened non-cooperation with the US DOJ can last very long.
Yeah, but you can bet your last dollar that they will question us if they so much as think we have an outstanding parking ticket. After all - we are just Americans!! It makes you sick!!
There is one set of rules for them, and another entirely different set for us. Sheesh!!
I'd rather vote the punks out of Madistan, then we can have our capitol building back (one of the most beautiful, btw).
But hey we still have sunday to lok forward to and a good old fashion lambeau pasting of "Da bears'
Judging from you previous posts ... I'm not surprised. BTW don't your friends over at DU(h) miss you. I know we don't
Like the freedom of school children to recite the pledge of allegiance or sing the national anthem?
If anyone needs to "get over" anything, it's Madison, WI needing to get over ITSELF.
Attempts to Bury the hatchet
And the 60's weren't even there yet!!
g
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.