Black Caucus preservation of crucial evidence lauded by police
Image: Pat Mansell
February 03, 2021
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. The investigation of the “Zoom-bombing” that occurred Jan. 27 during a Black Caucus portion of Penn State’s Spring Virtual Student Involvement Fair is ongoing. University Police has been consulting with internal and external resources, including the Office of Information Security, FBI and the Centre County District Attorney’s Office. Ethnic intimidation, harassment, disorderly conduct and unlawful use of a computer are some of the criminal charges that individuals who are identified could face.
Investigations that involve digital forensic evidence can be lengthy, but police want the community to know that they are actively investigating this crime with the full resources of University Police and Public Safety (UPPS). Unfortunately, this Zoom attack on underrepresented communities is one among a number of similar incidents targeting universities across
Penn State University Police and Public Safety
issued a statement Wednesday providing a brief update on its investigation into alleged hate speech directed at the university’s Black Caucus last week.
Penn State said it’s consulted with a combination of internal and external resources in the investigation, including the Office of Information Security, FBI, Centre County District Attorney’s Office.
According to the department’s statement, charges of ethnic intimidation, harassment, disorderly conduct, and unlawful use of a computer could be filed against the 51 unauthorized users who allegedly crashed the Black Caucus’s Involvement Fair Zoom room on Wednesday, January 27. Those individuals reportedly directed “racist and homophobic slurs” at three Black Caucus executives and sent anti-Semitic and white supremacist language and symbols in that chat.
New Osagie Lawsuit 12:42 am
Earlier this week the parents of Osaze Osagie filed a new complaint as part of their family’s federal lawsuit.
Their lawsuit follows the release of names of the officers involved in their son’s shooting back in 2019.
They claim the officer who shot their son was quote, unfit for duty.
Sarah Metts has the details on the latest accusations and how the Centre County District Attorney is responding.
The Osagie family is still seeking justice for their son’s mental health crisis, that turned into the fatal officer involved shooting back in March of 2019.
In the recent amended complaint to the federal lawsuit against the borough, they are claiming one of the state college police officers who was there the day of Osaze’s death, M. Jordan Peiniazek, as unfit for duty.
Min Xian / WPSU
About 50 people attended a protest in downtown State College Tuesday night to renew calls to remove three borough police officers who were involved in the killing of Osaze Osagie.
The protest was sparked by new details in the lawsuit by Osagie’s parents against the police. In an amended complaint filed in the federal court Monday, the family of Osaze Osagie alleged that former borough police officer Jordan Pieniazek abused alcohol and had behavioral issues.
The family said in a statement that at least one police officer was aware of those issues and the department shouldn’t have allowed Pieniazek to respond to mental health crisis calls.
The parents of Osaze Osagie alleged in a new court filing on Monday that the former State College police officer who fatally shot their son in 2019 was “mentally unstable and violent,” and was “unfit for duty” when he was assigned to go to Osagie’s apartment the day of the shooting.
An amended complaint filed in
the family’s federal lawsuit against the borough and four officers also claims that a now-retired police captain had received information about former officer M. Jordan Pieniazek’s alleged “excessive drinking and domestic abuse” and did not take steps to ensure Pieniazek was fit for duty in the days leading up to the shooting.