Indiana University apologizes for police officer actions against Black student in 2022
IU officials say former police chief Jill Lees didn't follow procedures when deciding two campus officers did nothing wrong when they arrested a Bloomington grad student who failed to pay a $3 parking fee.
IU learned of the September 2022 arrest of Moses Baryoh Jr. when notified of a federal civil rights lawsuit he filed in U.S. District Court June 9, according to a university statement released Wednesday.
Attached was nearly 10 hours of camera footage from body and police car cameras that show what happened the night two white officers confronted Baryoh, who is Black.
IUPD videos show what happened
The officers went looking for Baryoh after he left IU's student recreation center at 8:47 p.m. without paying the $3 parking lot fee. He had cash, and they just take credit and debit cards. Officers Austin Magness and Charlotte Watts found him in his apartment complex parking lot.
"What's up, buddy? Can you come and chat with me real fast?" Magness says, telling Baryoh to take a seat on the curb. "Can ya'll tell me what this is about?" Baryoh responds, refusing to sit down. Magness tells him to put his hands behind his back, then locks handcuffs around his wrists.
"Can I please know why? Can I please know why? Can I please know why?" Baryoh asks over and over. The officers don't answer. Magness tells him, "You could have made it a lot easier."
Settlement: Unpaid $3 parking fee core of federal civil rights lawsuit Indiana University quietly settled
Baryoh, wearing just gym shorts and tennis shoes, gets placed in the backseat of an IUPD squad car. He admits having a bag of marijuana in his pocket, and hands it over. Magness pulls a Miranda advisement of rights card from his wallet and reads Baryoh his Constitutional rights.
It's then the officer tells Baryoh why police came after him. "You have been identified as someone who left the SRSC without paying."
Magness tells Baryoh he was confrontational when he refused to sit on the curb. "I tried to back up because I was scared," Baryoh says. He tells Magness that he's sorry.
"I'm not trying to hurt you, regardless of what the media says," Magness responds. "This could have all been avoided."
The officers drove him to jail, where Baryoh waited nearly an hour sitting shirtless and handcuffed on a bench in the police car entryway. "I by no means think you're a bad person," Magness says. "You made a poor choice."
More: IUPD body-worn and police car camera footage from the Sept. 7, 2022 incident
IU offers apology
"It is with regret that we share that members of our Indiana University Bloomington Police Department failed to apply IU's high standards for pursuing and arrest," said the statement, which offered an apology to Baryoh and the community.
"We are deeply saddened by the behavior and actions that took place."
IU settled the lawsuit Sept. 5; details are confidential and not available. The settlement came a week after word got out that Lees was no longer employed by IUPD. Lees could not be reached for comment.
Baryoh accused IUPD officers Magness and Watts of unreasonable search and seizure, use of excessive force, false arrest and assault. He sued both officers, IU and the IU Board of Trustees.
IU's statement said Lees made the wrong decision when she upheld the officers' actions. "An initial and standard department review of the arrest conducted in October 2022 by the former IUPD police chief concluded no wrongdoing had occurred and no subsequent action was undertaken."
Preliminary charges sought against Baryoh — theft, resisting arrest and possession of marijuana — were dismissed.
When Magness went to the parking lot after the attendant and his supervisor called police, one of the people heard on the video says, "This is a lot of ridiculousness for $3 ... wasting a lot of people's time."
IU investigation into incident
After the lawsuit was filed, IU officials reviewed "all associated behaviors, processes, and procedures," the statement said, and "determined that the former IU police chief did not follow mandatory review protocols during the initial 2022 review."
What happened? Jill Lees is no longer chief of police at IU-Bloomington
It was then "IU determined that IUPD policies were indeed violated during this incident" and imposed sanctions on those involved. Lees was either terminated or she resigned. The Herald-Times has filed a public records request seeking details.
The statement said, "all responsible parties within IUPD have received disciplinary action," but did not elaborate. The H-T filed a request seeking details about those sanctions as well and has not received a response from IU.
Changes implemented
IU listed steps taken in addition to discipline against Lees and the officers:
Hiring an outside consultant to review the police department in Bloomington and other IU campuses "to assess policies, procedures, practices, cultural norms and leadership."
Enhanced training on "fair and impartial policing, procedural compliance, and field operations."
Implementing changes "to university processes such as parking enforcement, to ensure reasonable responses in the future."
Maintaining an open dialogue to ensure that "IUPD operates at the highest ethical standards aligned with IU’s core values."
The statement said IU "holds our staff, faculty, and leadership to the highest standards of ethical conduct and integrity, including IUPD."
Letter calls leaders 'incompetent'
In a related matter, an anonymous letter has been sent to police officers and others seeking a "vote of no confidence" in the public safety leadership team that oversees all IU campus police departments.
The letter features photos of Benjamin Hunter, IU's associate vice president for public safety; Steve Adams, IU's senior director for public safety; and Brad Seifers, IUPD's deputy superintendent and the father-in-law of Austin Magness, whose actions were targeted in the lawsuit. Seifers has been appointed interim IUPD chief on the Bloomington campus to replace Lees.
The letter claims a toxic work environment at IUPD and calls the three public safety leaders "incompetent, unprofessional and untrustworthy." It asks recipients to register their concerns on the back of the letter, then send it to the IU trustees in a pre-addressed and stamped envelope that was enclosed.
Contact H-T reporter Laura Lane at llane@heraldt.com or 812-318-5967.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Jill Lees firing: IU apologizes for Black student's parking fee arrest
