Notify police before social media posting, police chief urges

Students should have notified Claflin police rather than taking to social media in a Feb. 6 incident that resulted in a campus lockdown, Chief of Police Melvin Williams said.

Williams met with student journalists on Feb. 15 to discuss safety concerns after a shooting incident at neighboring South Carolina State University. A male student came onto the Claflin campus after a shot was reportedly fired at him.

"A young man ran from State's campus to Claflin's campus, which resulted in us going into our safety protocols” said Williams, who is also executive director public safety and emergency preparedness.

The S.C. State student had been injured (not from the gunshot) and as soon as he was seen on the Claflin campus by public safety officers, police responded and questioned him before a safety alert/lockdown was issued.

“When the young man was asked why he ran here to Claflin's campus, his response was because 'I know it’s safe here,'" Williams said.

“There have been some questions about the timeliness of the notification to our campus community,” Williams said. He responded that the alert was issued according to established guidelines.

"One of the issues I had is where students went straight to their chats and no one called public safety," Williams said.

“So as he ran in, once again, he appeared to be conversing with students. You can immediately see students start to text,” Williams said regarding a review of security camera footage. “Now the interesting part about it, and the part that is truly concerning to me, is that it was put out on social media.

"It was put out on chat groups but no one called public safety.”

Williams said the official report was made by an officer already on the scene, but misinformation had already spread. He encouraged students to wait for information from official sources.

“One of the things that I think is important is we have to be very, very careful as individuals not to embrace someone else's hysteria,” Williams said. “Everything that comes over chat groups is not true.”

Williams pushed for student involvement in keeping the campus community safe. He said the additional support would benefit the existing security measures.

“We want everyone to embrace the thought that safety is everyone’s responsibility and not just the small group of individuals who are assigned to the police department here,” Williams said. “That help, I believe, will help them to enhance and increase the level of safety on campus.”

Students can report emergencies to public safety by calling 803-535-5444 but Williams suspects many do not take note of the number.

“I believe that a lot of students don’t know the number,” Williams said, “because despite the fact that the number's put out, it’s not important to know the number until you need it, in some people's mind.”

Williams delivers safety information to all incoming freshmen during orientation. He said he will continue to do so for every incoming class.

“The time to look for the number is not when something is happening," Williams said. "Put it in your phone now so that if, in fact, something ever comes up or you ever need it, you don't have to look for it.”

Communication is important for timely and accurate alerts, he said, noting that students can also call 911 in emergencies.

Another form of emergency contact is the emergency phones located across campus. Williams described the call boxes as working similarly to a ring doorbell.

“It goes directly into our dispatch center, which again is 24 hours. The officer is able to see and the officers able to talk with you to get whatever information you need,” Williams said. "The emergency call boxes are like our 911 lines.”

He urged all students to sign up for alerts that come directly to their phones.

"Go to Claflin website, type in Panther Alert and sign up because that is where we send out all of our information, and that is where you can get the ongoing information about what’s occurring."

As general advice on safety, Williams urged all to be aware. "If it doesn't seem right, report it. You see something, say something.”

Williams said enforcing identification rules could lead to a safer campus. Signs advise administration, faculty and students to wear their IDs but many people do not do so.

“I believe that compliance with that rule would allow our officers who are out – and even allow our campus community – to know who is who,” Williams said. “This campus never sleeps.”

The police chief also addressed auto break-ins.

“About three weeks ago, we had a series of cars broken into. I believe it was 12 that were broken into and two that were attempted,” Williams said.

“It is something that is not unique to Claflin. It is something that is happening all over the city and all over the county,” Williams said.

"That’s just one of those things that law enforcement throughout the state is having to deal with,” Williams said.

“It just so happened that they caught us on a day that we didn’t have extra patrol out there,” Williams said. “It was just a timing issue; we are investigating them.”

SC State Feb. 7 statement on shooting incident

South Carolina State University Campus Police on Wednesday charged 19-year-old Rolando J. Ifill Jr., Charleston, South Carolina, with assault/attempted murder in relation to a shooting that occurred in an academic building the day before.

Police said Ifill and the victim – both are SC State students -- were involved in a physical altercation Tuesday morning on the second floor of Hodge Hall when Ifill pointed a 9mm handgun in the victim’s direction. Police said Ifill fired a shot toward the victim as the victim fled. The shot shattered the glass above an exit door to the corridor between Hodge and Davis Halls.

Police said the victim later identified Ifill as the shooter.

Orangeburg Department of Public Safety officers apprehended and arrested Ifill off campus, charging him with carrying a firearm on school property.

Along with the assault/attempted murder charge, Campus Police also charged Ifill on Wednesday with possession of a weapon during a violent crime.

The SC State investigation continues with assistance from the State Law Enforcement Agency.