By Link Johnson
The Scene staff
Two separate arguments on the Forest Park campus prompted police to handcuff and detain six people on the morning of Feb. 19.
Dozens of students, faculty and staff witnessed the incidents in the cafeteria, C circle and courtyard between G Tower and the theater building.
Community Relations sent an email to staff at 11:40 a.m. titled “Security Issue Resolved,” and stating: “Approximately an hour ago, Forest Park campus police (were) notified that a person/student was on campus, allegedly with a weapon. The subject has been apprehended and is currently in custody. The safety and security of our staff, students and faculty continue to be our primary concern.”
Despite the concern that guns were involved in one of the arguments, St. Louis police reported on Feb. 24 that none were found.
According to witnesses, the first argument on campus started with a male and female in the cafeteria.
“It got kind of physical,” said Marlon Webb, 23, a general transfer student. “He kept pushing her.”
Other students reportedly stepped in to try to diffuse the situation.
“Words were exchanged, and something was kind of secretly shown,” said general transfer student P.J. Weakly, 21, noting that some people thought it was a gun.
Soon after, police arrived in the cafeteria and handcuffed four men, she said.
Campus and St. Louis police took the men to the campus police department one at a time. One of the men later was escorted across C circle in handcuffs and loaded into a St. Louis police car, as dozens of students, faculty and staff watched.
Around the same time, Forest Park President Cindy Hess, Vice President of Student Affairs Thomas Walker and Vice President of Academic Affairs Tracy Hall were gathered near the police car.
On Feb. 26, St. Louis police released the following statement in response to an inquiry from The Scene:
“(On Feb. 19), officers responded to St. Louis Community College at Forest Park at around 10:45 a.m. after being notified by campus police about an individual possibly in possession of a firearm.
Officers took the subject into custody for investigation. No weapons were located, and the subject was released. The subject does not have any outstanding warrants in the city of St. Louis.”
Forest Park Police Chief Richard Banahan declined to comment while the police action was taking place, except to say he was glad the situation had been handled “swiftly.”
Banahan declined to provide further information in the days following the incident. He agreed to release a statement to The Scene on Feb. 26, but that statement was not provided.
None of the four men was named in the St. Louis police report.
Nursing major Tim Johnson, 37, who witnessed the cafeteria incident, feels campus police overreacted.
“The police should do a better job of figuring out if the people actually got a gun or not before they start calling 10 to 15 city police up here,” he said. “These are not the type of guys to have guns.
They’re school boys. (The police) boosted them up to make them feel like they did something.”
The second incident on campus Feb. 19 occurred about an hour after the first. Academic Adviser Clemishia Seals said she saw a young couple arguing while sitting on a bench outside her office between F and G towers.
Then the couple went out to the courtyard between G Tower and the theater building.
“He pulled her weave and threw some in the tree,” Seals said.
The argument became a shouting match. The female tried to get away from the male and screamed when he grabbed her arm. By then, a crowd of onlookers had gathered.
“As (the male) continued to follow her, the confrontation got more and more aggressive,” said witness Reginald Baker, 24, a general transfer student. “It seemed as if they were arguing over something financial.”
The female leaped over a railing and attempted to retrieve her hair, and the male followed. Eventually, he hit her.
Campus police and other people began running across the courtyard and out of buildings to break up the fight. Police handcuffed both the male and female and escorted them to the campus police station.
Banahan also provided no information about this incident to The Scene by Feb. 26.
The names of the couple are not known.
Campus was buzzing with talk about the two incidents on Feb. 19. Lallie McDonald, 39, an education assistant in the advising office, said the college is no place for arguments or violence.
“If you want bragging rights, take it to the streets,” she said.
Photography student Crystal Wilson, who works in the financial aid office, agrees. She has advice for students looking to cause disruptions.
“Quit all of that, sit down and go to school,” she said. “That’s what they came here for.”
Sheronika Williams, 22, heard about the cafeteria incident while in class, and it scared her.
But the general transfer student still feels Forest Park is a safe campus.
“It’s just an incident,” she said. “I don’t think it’s on a daily basis.”