On July 29, a plain clothed police officer flashed a holstered firearm at a student and staff member in Fisher Library.
The staff member had been directing a student to a study room they had booked, and requested the two occupants vacate the room. The man inside stood up and pulled back his jacket to reveal a holstered gun to the staff member and student.
The armed man had placed his ID on the table when University security came to question him. He allegedly stated that it would have been an inconvenience to retrieve his ID from his bag earlier.
The man had not explicitly identified himself as police to the staff member until security spoke with him. He told the staff member that he had been conducting an interview with sensitive recording equipment and had not wanted to interrupt the interview by rummaging through his bag to retrieve his ID.
The man apologised to the staff member but before leaving stated that “it may not be common in your world, but in my world a gun isn’t that unusual.”
It remains unclear how the officer was able to enter the Library with a firearm without being detected.
The same day, the staff member lodged the incident in Riskware and sent an email to Protective Services asking the team to follow up a University complaint to the police and make a broader response regarding police presence on campus. They also sought to confirm whether the affected student was provided appropriate support.
The staff member told Honi that Protective Services had not responded to them regarding the wellbeing of the affected student. At the suggestion of a Library manager, the staff member put in a Wellness report for the student to Student Wellbeing for follow-up. In a comment to Honi, the staff member stated they were shocked by University Management leaving the lowest paid staff in the University to follow-up on student wellbeing.
On July 31, Protective Services responded, stating that “appropriate line managers” had offered support to the staff member. They indicated that the “police officer’s handling of the situation may not have met expectations” but a “reasonable apology was given at the time.”
Protective Services also noted that “the library is open to the general public during business hours, and it is possible for students or staff to meet with police officers for personal matters.” They went on to direct the staff member involved in the incident to lodge a complaint with NSW Police.
After a post was made on the staff message board detailing the incident and inaction by Protective Services, an HR manager responded in another post, stating that “police are required to wear firearms as part of their duties and the officer was, without the knowledge of the University, invited to the library by a student to speak about a private matter.”
The manager added that the police officer was under no obligation to reveal their identity to the University.
They also told staff that while “the University does not endorse the Officer’s conduct it is important to note that we also have no jurisdiction over Police in the conduct of their duties, especially when they are attending to a private matter”.
Upon pressure from the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) as well as staff voicing their concerns on the staff message board, University Management made a formal complaint to NSW Police regarding the officer’s conduct on campus on August 6. No actions were taken by Management prior to this.
In a comment to Honi, a university spokesperson stated that the University is in agreement with staff that the incident “should have been handled more appropriately” and that they have written to the “relevant NSW Police Professional Standards Inspector and expressed our concerns on how the officer identified himself using his firearm.”
The spokesperson said the University has also “requested assurances” from NSW Police that “officers attending the University will use their police identification to identify themselves when required, as the unexpected flashing of a firearm by someone not otherwise identifiable as a police officer is likely to cause significant anxiety.”
They also stated that “these concerns” were also communicated to Inner West Police “who we regularly liaise with as part of our safety, event and emergency response planning.”
Jason Todd, a member of the USyd NTEU Branch committee, told Honi that the NTEU is “appalled” at the University’s “completely inadequate handling” of the incident.
Todd continued, “An incident such as this could easily have escalated, and a hooligan with a badge who thinks it’s okay to flash a gun at library staff to “identify” himself is a safety risk to everyone on campus – particularly those from vulnerable groups who are regularly targets of police discrimination, harassment, and violence.”
Todd also noted the incident in the context of the Campus Access Policy which“restricts such supposed dangers as posters, megaphones, and students in tents opposing a genocide” but “a loaded firearm in the library is of so little safety concern to management that they need to be dragged kicking and screaming to make even the bare minimum response.”
“The University needs to focus on actual threats to staff and student wellbeing, and make it unambiguously clear that armed police are not welcome on campus.”
The NTEU will meet with upper Management about the incident on Tuesday.
Update 19/08:
The NTEU met with senior Management to discuss the incident on Tuesday 13 August. Management apologised to the staff member on their late response and handling of the incident, including the time it took to contact NSW Police.
Management committed to speaking to Protective Services and clarify expectations about firearms on campus. They made clear that the University’s response to staff concerns was inadequate, and would convey the request for the Vice-Chancellor Mark Scott to make a public apology.
Management recognised the University response as the failure of a large organisation that is occasionally too used to responding in a bureaucratic, rather than people-focussed manner.
