daily nebraskan
monday, november 27, 1978 lincoln, nebraska vol. 102 no. 50
Police chief defends officers, criticizes administration
By Val Swinton
Lincoln Police Chief George Hansen last
week defended his officers for their be
havior during the bonfire prior to the Ok
lahoma game, and for actions taken by of
ficers during the game.
In a four page statement released Wed
nesday, Hansen also criticized the UNL ad
ministration for not making public the
policy concerning protection of the
goalposts following the game.
Hansen said he could not find any
"overzealousness" on the part of the of
ficers in actions they took during the bon
fire and game .
"The 'overzealousness' of the police
response and unnecessary use of force are
typical complaints following any police
mob confrontation," he said. M. . .we have
not been spared these charges. But they
are without basis."
Seventeen students were arrested during
the bonfire, and at least one claimed to
have received six stitches in his forehead
after an LPD officer struck him in the fore
head with a police baton.
Hansen defended the use of batons by
his officers.
"They give an officer trained in their
proper use an option between bare hands
and using his gun," he said.
"In a less than perfect world, where po
lice officers are subject to assault and at
tack," Hansen said, "the police baton re
mains an important tool."
At least one police officer received
minor injuries when he was allegedly
struck by a student during the Thursday
night bonfire, according to police.
No crackdown
Hansen denied any "crackdown" on stu
dents at UNL, but said "we offer no special
leniency because the offender happens to
be a university student."
Hansen said he disagrees with the idea
that, "we should . . . grant a special im
munity to university students who commit
offenses and not treat them like 'ordinary'
offenders."
Hansen also was angry with police
critics who said the actions of the students
were motivated by the emotions of the up
coming football game.
"The attempt by some critics to excuse
serious and substantial criminal offenses on
the grounds that they were motivated by
'high spirits' and Youthful enthusiasm' is
equally reckless in my view," he said.
"Arson, vandalism and assault cannot be
ignored as mere playful behavior."
All of the students who were charged in
connection with the bonfire pleaded not
guilty to the charges, and most have
hearing dates during Christmas vacation.
Several of the students said police were too
forceful in making arrests during the
bonfire.
In addition to the student who received
six stitches, another claimed his glasses
were broken when he was struck in the
face by an officer's flashlight. Although
officers from the UNL, Lincoln and Lan
caster County law enforcement agencies
were at the bonfire, students blame only
Lincoln Police for using excessive force.
Hansen was also critical of the universi
ty administration for not making public
their policy concerning protection of the
goalposts following the Oklahoma game.
Protect Goalposts
"Newspaper reports and statements by
university officials seem to have created
the impression that the goalposts were con
sidered inconsequential by the university
administration. . ." Hansen said in his
statement. "The policy decision to try and
preserve the goalposts was made by the
university administration .
"I authorized this department to pro
vide what assistance it could in reliance
with this decision," Hansen said. "I am per
sonally disappointed that the responsible
university officials have not made the fact
of this decision public."
, f (tea S
Photo by Bob Pearson
Hey, this stuff is real! Cheri Mellott and friends sit in the snow after sliding down a hill near Southeast High School.
Sentence altered
in recent story,
apology offered
The Daily Nebraskan would like
to apologize to our news sources, our
readers and our staff for an error
which appeared on page seven of our
Nov. 20 edition in an article entitled
"Area media, law officials agree to
not publish juvenile's names."
A Daily Nebraskan backshop em
ployee deliberately altered a sen
tence, defaming the reporter who
wrote the story.
The sentence should have read
"Sgt. Gary Hoffman, supervisor of
the Youth Aid Bureau of the Lincoln
Police Department, said he doesn't
feel young offenders' names should
be used unless the crime is a serious
one, such as rape or murder."
The employee responsible for the
incident has been fired.
Audit recommendations given
by the union management staff
The Nebraska Union management staff
last week made some immediate recom
mendations in response to the Touche-Ross
Management Performance audit of union
operations submitted in October.
The Nebraska Union Implementation
Committee, a 10-person committee to in
vestigate recommendations made by the
Touche-Ross report met last Tuesday to
hear the written response made by Nebra
ska Union Director Al Bennett and his
staff.
"Our purpose at the meeting was to pre
sent in writing our response," Bennett said.
"We outlined and sectioned the recom
mendations as adoptable and accomplish
able." Bennett said that hours of thorough
study were put into the report before final
recommendations were made.
Bennett said that a new accounting
system, as recommended by the Touche-
Ross report would be too expensive,
adding that additional personnel would
have to be hired to maintain the system. In
the other parts of the report, he said, there
were many items inaccurate with his data
or where not enough data was presented to
work with.
"The bulk of the findings were valid and
accomplishable," Bennett said, adding that
he is not debating the report but trying to
deal with the recommendations made by
the Touche-Ross report.
Bennett said that his staff had reached a
consensus on a variety of items in the
report, including the central purchasing
store system, a management action
program and departmentalization in the
Nebraska unions.
Bennett said at the meeting that
additional study will be done on the unions
concerning material uncovered in the
Touche-Ross report.
Hansen added that the silence of the
administration contributed to the belief
that Lincoln Police and other agencies
acted irresponsibly, when, he said, nothing
could be further from the truth.
UNL Chancellor Roy Young said the de
cision made by university officials was to
provide minimum protection to the goal
posts, while providing maximum protec
tion to the fans who ran onto the field fol
lowing the game.
At least two persons were arrested fol
lowing the game, and one of those, a stu
dent, filed a complaint with the police
department over treatment he received
during the game.
Forycki remains
to be rechecked,
released by court
By Val Swinton
The parents of Debra Forycki are
expected to be granted custody of their
daughter's remains on Dec. 8.
Forycki's remains were discovered in an
abandoned water wagon near Elmwood
more than two months ago, four years
after she disappeared on her way to work
in downtown lincoln.
Authorities have retained custody of the
skeleton while tests were made to deter
mine the cause and time of death.
Although the Lancaster County
Attorney's office presented testimony
during a preliminary hearing last month
from several witnesses who examined the
skeleton, defense attorney John Stevens
Berry has called in an expert to examine
the remains. Berry is defending John Ellis,
a UNL graduate accused in the death of
Forycki.
During Friday's court hearing, Berry
suggested that the remains not be turned
over to the family until after Dec. 20, the
date that an additional court hearing has
been set to hear arguments of whether the
case should be bound over to the district
court.
Berry contested the finding of probable
cause, saying there was no evidence that
Ellis had committed the crime. He said if
District Court Judge Herbert Ronin agreed,
which would cause the charges against Ellis
to be dismissed, then Berry's expert would
not have to examine the remains, saving
the county money.
However, Ronin told Berry he had al
ready committed the county to paying the
cost of Berry's expert, and he was concern
ed "about the evidence of anxiety of the
family of the victim."
Berry said the expert, who is a lawyer
and forensic pathologist, should complete
his examination by Dec. 8. Berry refused
to identify him, but said the man was com
ing from either Maryland or Pennsylvania.
The defense attorney said he is primar
ily concerned with grooves found in a
finger and wrist bone of the skeleton,
which the county attorney said could have
been caused by a bullet wound. Berry
added that the pathologist wants to
examine all of the remains for additional
evidence, not just the two bones in
question.
inside monday
E Pluribus Unum: UNL classics stu
dents are doing well on their
Graduate Record Examinations
page 6
Thirsty for blood?: Movie reviewer
critiques two films that are filled
with it page 8
Off to a good start: Nebraska is 2-0
after its first two varsity basket
ball games page 10
