Brian de Moya '00 said last night he does not intend to meet with the panel formed to investigate allegations that he was threatened and mistreated by Safety and Security officers Saturday, Jan. 31.
De Moya said he sent a BlitzMail message yesterday afternoon to panel Chair Ozzie Harris, associate director of Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity, informing Harris of his decision not to be interviewed by the panel.
Harris could not be reached for comment about the BlitzMail message last night.
De Moya alleges Safety and Security officers cursed at him and threatened him verbally after coming to his room in French Hall to investigate a noise complaint around midnight that evening.
De Moya said he was later assaulted by a Hanover Police officer called to the scene by the Safety and Security officers. He told The Dartmouth Wednesday he had a bruise on his upper right eye socket from being thrown into a concrete wall by the police officer, as well as cuts and other bruises.
Dean of the College Lee Pelton called for the panel Thursday. In a letter Pelton published in The Dartmouth on Friday, Pelton said he requested that Senior Associate Dean of the College Dan Nelson appoint a panel from the College community to investigate the allegations "in order to determine what actually occurred."
Nelson appointed Harris to chair the panel Thursday. Pelton said Harris was chosen to lead the panel because he is well-respected in the College community and has previous experience conducting fact-finding studies.
Harris told The Dartmouth yesterday evening he hopes to have the make-up of the panel finalized today so it can begin gathering facts this week.
Harris will select an administrator not connected to the Dean of the College office, a member of the faculty and a student to join him on the four-member investigative panel.
De Moya said Harris contacted him Friday and asked him to meet with the panel during this week. De Moya said he does not intend to meet with the panel because he is unsure of the panel's purpose.
"No one has really answered me about what the committee is investigating," de Moya said. "All I've been told is that it's a fact-finding committee."
De Moya said he originally thought the panel was formed solely to investigate allegations of Safety and Security misconduct, but now fears the panel will be investigating allegations of misconduct on his part as well, he said.
De Moya said he also requested in his e-mail message to Harris that he be allowed to review the statements of the Safety and Security officers involved in the incident.
The Safety and Security officers "have all read ours," de Moya said. "We're not really prepared to go into the fact-finding panel without knowing all the facts."
De Moya said there is still a possibility he will meet with the panel at some point.
"There needs to be some questions answered before I would consent to doing that," de Moya said. "I'm kind of tired of having the entire process being thrown at me."
Harris said Thursday he hopes to report the panel's findings during the week of Feb. 16, at which time Pelton will decide what action, if any, to take.
Harris said the fact-finding panel will look at the information and hoped to interview everyone involved before making recommendations.
De Moya said he has nothing to add at this time to his official written response to a Safety and Security investigation of the incident.
De Moya's official response said he was threatened and taunted by Safety and Security officers, one of whom attempted to detain him. Then, de Moya alleges, he was handcuffed, manhandled and taunted, then brought to the police station.
Hanover Police Chief Nick Giaconne told The Dartmouth yesterday that when de Moya arrived at the police station he voluntarily took a breathalyzer test to prove he had not been drinking and blew a .000 blood alcohol content.
Giaconne said de Moya will not be charged with any crime stemming from the incident.
De Moya's roommate, Bert Sperling '00, was arrested Saturday for unlawful possession of alcohol found in their room the night of the alleged incident. Sperling was also given a citation by Safety and Security at the time of the alleged incident for the same charge.
Safety and Security officers found empty beer cans on the floor and beer cans in the refrigerator of their three-room double when they came to investigate the noise complaint. Sperling previously told The Dartmouth the beer was left over from a birthday party he threw for himself earlier in the evening.
Sperling said in an interview Sunday that he will plead not guilty to the charge and hopes that the judge will be lenient "in light of my circumstances."
De Moya said Sperling has also decided not to meet with the panel. Sperling also submitted an official written response to the Safety and Security investigation last week detailing his account of the alleged incident.
