Several OU students say they have filed official complaints against the Norman Police Department this week after an incident early Sunday morning.

The students said their constitutional rights were taken away by Norman police officers when the officers forcibly entered an apartment with guns drawn and handcuffed the occupants.

Norman Police Lt. Leonard Judy said complaints are not open records and, thus, he could neither confirm nor deny that complaints had been filed.

"Internal affairs complaints are considered confidential personnel issues and are not releasable under the Oklahoma Open Records Act," Judy said, adding that filed complaints are documented, sent to Chief Phil Cotten and assigned an investigator who interviews all involved parties.

Party Over

o Norman police responded to a loud party complaint around 2 a.m. Sunday.

o Six students in an apartment refused to open the door for police officers.

o After over an hour, the door was opened when police began attempting to force it open.

Source: police reports

Leah N. Maxwell, University College freshman, said she was shocked by what happened.

"We feel like from the second [the police] started, none of what they did was legal," Maxwell said.

The evening's events began to unfold when three OU students invited some friends over to their University Greens apartment Sunday morning around midnight, Maxwell said. Brandon Hayes, 20, Daniel W. Bayless, 21, and David T. Bayless, 24, had about 15 people over for about 30 minutes shortly after midnight, she said.

Early Sunday morning, police responded to a complaint of a loud party at the apartment, according to police reports. According to the report, upon arriving, officers standing 15 feet away from the front door could hear loud voices and banging from inside the apartment. The report also said police officers heard a male voice yelling, "'Stop, stop, stop, it hurts!'"

Maxwell said by the time police showed up at around 2 a.m., everyone had left except the three residents and Sara Howe, 18, Lyndsay M. Rose, 19, and Maxwell, 19, all University College freshmen.

Maxwell said those inside the apartment were talking and listening to music. No one called for help, she said.

The police report said officers knocked on the door and announced, "Norman Police, open the door." Maxwell said she and the others in the apartment thought the officers would leave if no one answered the door.

Police kept knocking and calling to the residents for 65 minutes, according to police reports. They even attempted to use a master key to get into the residence, but a security lock prevented them from entering, the report said.

"Looking back, we could have avoided everything by opening the door, but we had that right (to privacy)," she said.

Daniel Bayless, psychology sophomore, opened the door when he heard officers trying to break it down, Maxwell said.

When the officers entered the apartment, Rose said they forced Bayless to the ground at gunpoint and then yelled for the rest of them to get down. She said everyone in the apartment was handcuffed and held at gunpoint.

"We really felt like our lives were threatened," Maxwell said. "We weren't doing anything but sitting in a house ... Shouldn't these cops be out truly protecting people?"

Officers took their information and surveyed the room, she said.

"You could tell after a while that they weren't after justice," Maxwell said. "They weren't after keeping us safe. They were just mad at us for not opening the door."

Judy said officers can use force upon entering a residence, but are supposed to use the least amount of force necessary. The officers were not available for interview.

Maxwell said one female officer remarked to another that she was "just hanging out, watching the freak show."

Maxwell said that, when one of the residents questioned the legality of what the officers were doing, "The officer just snapped back at him, 'Who said that?'... Give the mouthy one more tickets."

Maxwell said she and the other people in the apartment didn't think they were required to open the door. Rose said she felt her rights were violated when the police tried to force entry.

Judy said officers have the right to force entry "if there are exigent circumstances that make it necessary for the safety and welfare for individuals inside the residence or the needs of the public override the residents' right to privacy."

He said such cases could include fire or individuals being hurt.

The three women were charged with interference with official process and released, Maxwell said.

Owing to alcohol and marijuana residue found in the apartment, the three men were charged with furnishing alcoholic beverages to minors and possession of a harmful substance in addition to disturbing the peace, nuisance party and interference with official process, police reports stated.

Maxwell and Rose met with an officer Wednesday.

"They're not brushing it under the table," Maxwell said. "They are taking our complaints seriously."

Some of the students involved have contacted lawyers in order to identify their rights and avoid the charges, she said.
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