'Not our mission to police Paramore' - UCF cops

Did you hear the one about the car that got stopped by University of Central Florida police on Parramore Avenue?

Some social media links were buzzing about that vehicle stop on Monday.

Many people were not aware that UCF police are on duty in the Parramore area. Others questioned whether UCF cops are “real” police.

UCF police have been on duty in downtown since the end of June. In fact, we wrote about them, click here for that story. The campus police are state-certified law-enforcement officers with full arrest powers and they are armed.

As for the car stop, University of Central Florida Police Major Scott Freeman said the motorist was speeding on Livingston and turned on to Parramore before the campus officer could stop the driver. The officer issued a warning and the driver continued to her destination.

The UCF police have a signed memo of understanding that specifies they will be the first responders to incidents on the campus. In addition, state law gives campus police jurisdiction up to 1,000 feet from the campus.

Freeman, who heads the unit assigned to the downtown campus, “We know we’re the new kids on the block and we want to be a good neighbor.”

He said his officers, who wear body cameras, are focused on safety and security on campus. “It’s not our mission to police Parramore,” he said.

That’s good news because in 2015, a University of Cincinnati police officer stopped a car for a minor traffic violation on an off-campus street. During that encounter the driver, who was a black man, was shot to death by the white officer.

Freeman said if his officers see something suspicious off campus, they will pass that information on to Orlando police to address. However, if someone committed a violent crime on campus university police are authorized to go off campus to arrest the suspect.

Some area residents have been concerned that they might be stopped by police or get trespass warnings if they walk on or next to the downtown campus.

“We’re not looking to trespass people off campus,” Freeman said. “If someone calls about a suspicious person, we will check into it.” But he added that officers are trained to approach people in a non-confrontational manner to make sure the person doesn’t pose a threat.

He said UCF police receive numerous suspicious person calls at the main campus in east Orange County and most of them don’t amount to anything.

Longtime residents remain wary of the downtown campus because it is accelerating the gentrification of Parramore and the university has done little to reach out to the community. Unlike the Orange County School District, which holds open-house events, when it opens a new school, UCF did not do that.

Freeman said he hopes his officers will have an opportunity to build good relations with the community during a UCF community service day that is tentatively planned for Oct. 26.