'This is an intervention': School district renews call for UD accountability in student arrest

Reverberation from the controversial student arrest on the University of Delaware's campus in mid-June once more reached the Christina School District boardroom Tuesday night.

The system's school board again held a discussion of 18-year-old Mohammed Sanogo's arrest, continuing a reckoning after the Newark High School graduate was violently arrested less than an hour after his graduation on the Newark campus.

The board was prepared to hear motions against university ties, said board member Naveed Baqir in leading the evening's discussion. Baqir had since June pledged to continue advocating for "sanctions" against the state's largest university — similar to a previous move to cease hosting district graduations at the university's Bob Carpenter Center — unless more accountability was seen from the school.

This night, though, he decided to hold off.

University of Delaware's own dean of the College of Education and Human Development spoke to the board early in the meeting. Representing his institution, Gary Henry pressed the relationship between Christina and the University of Delaware was too valuable to lose.

"It is our strong desire and goal to figure out a path forward that continues the mutually beneficial, reciprocal relationship that the University of Delaware has with the Christina's School District," Henry said, noting teacher residency programs and more. "By that I mean, when your students are stronger, more interested in the University of Delaware, and come to us, we are better for having your students."

Baqir thanked Henry for his words by the time he held the floor. He told the board he had multiple motions in mind — taking account of expendable district ties to the university — but out of respect for the dean's attendance, he would table the proposals. Until the board's next meeting, he said, the body will leave another window for university action.

Board President Donald Patton supported the move. In fact, he called on University of Delaware police to act before this item can return to his agenda.

"The message I'd like to send to University of Delaware is they're in control of this ending," Patton said to the room. "By just apologizing, acknowledging that they made the mistake, their officers made a mistake — then we can move on. I think this keeps going on because the truth is not what is being told."

Kelly Powers covers race, culture and equity for the USA TODAY Network's Northeast Region and Delaware Online, with a focus on education. Contact her at kepowers@gannett.com or (231) 622-2191, and follow her on Twitter @kpowers01.

AG: State drops charges against Newark High School student arrested after graduation at UD

'Missed opportunity': ACLU-DE, other advocates call out University of Delaware response to violent student arrest

'This is an intervention'

Board members still did not hold back in walking through the events of June 15.

"This is an intervention," Baqir said.

"You've got a problem. You've got a problem, fix the problem. All we want to hear is some acknowledgement that, okay, we made a mistake. And this would have gone away, nobody would ever be talking about this."

Baqir used a majority of his time to walk through initial university police reports alongside discussion of released video from UD. From the cars said to be present when police approached, to the description of Sanogo's exit and more, Baqir noted multiple points where he asserts officer accounts do not line up with the footage.

"Please watch that video," he said. "The first eight minutes of that video, you see only one car. And that is a car not owned by the student. Not driven by the student. This student was nowhere near that car."

UD's video highlighted a car driving around the parking lot with a passenger hanging out the window, explaining officers' plans to intervene. However, the footage does not highlight that Sanogo remained parked, not in that car, until officers arrived.

Baqir told the board such editing decisions "makes me believe that they are trying to connect the actions of another person to justify the arrest of this kid." Fellow board member Douglas Manley echoed these concerns, taking a moment to call out similar discrepancies and discomfort with the university's editing. Both directly accused the department of lying.

See for yourself: What University of Delaware police body cam footage shows us about Newark HS grad's arrest

Ultimately, Baqir traced officer actions all the way to the end — to the arrest that would spark outrage and confusion across the state.

"Then they grab him from behind, lift him up in the air, slam him to the ground, face first," Baqir said. "And you only know about this because there's witness video."

As of yet, UD has stood by its officers' actions.

"The University has stated and continues to maintain that UD police officers acted appropriately in addressing behavior that posed a risk to public safety," a statement under the video Baqir discussed reads. "The University will continue its review of this situation to look for learning opportunities."

By late last month, the state dropped Sanogo's charges after examining such body camera and surveillance footage, talking to police and having Sanogo attend a "Department of Justice-sanctioned" course. A letter submitted to the clerk of court read that the state is "satisfied that Mr. Sanogo now understands how his actions that evening contributed to a dangerous situation."

The announcement came with updated university statements and the newly released footage. Similar to Dean Henry's comments Tuesday, university spokespeople told Delaware Online/The News Journal that the institution intends to "continue productive dialogue with the Christina School District, along with other valued community partners, as we work together toward building a stronger relationship."

Days after the attorney general's update, ACLU-Delaware, the Philadelphia chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations and Christina school board members banded together to call the university’s response “a missed opportunity for transparency and further accountability."

It remains to be seen if they'll get what they seek.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Christina schools renews call for UD accountability in student arrest