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ECU student arrested in case of alleged 'mistaken identity'
Elise Phillips, Assistant Pulse Editor
Issue date: 10/7/08 Section: News
Last Sunday, ECU junior Jarmichael Harris' life changed.
Around 3 p.m. on Sept. 28, Harris was approached by two ECU police officers who said that he fit the description of a suspect in an assault case that had taken place near Fletcher Hall just 12 hours earlier. The description? Allegedly, the attacker was a black male with glasses, roughly 5 feet 6 inches tall.
Harris was subsequently arrested on Thursday, Oct. 2 in front of Fletcher Hall on campus. He was released on an unsecured bond, with the understanding that he will show up to his Oct. 22 court date.
The ECU police department was unavailable for comment.
Harris claims that he was in his dorm room in White Hall at the time of the attack, which occurred at approximately 3 a.m. The victim's name has not been released, but Harris claims that neither he nor the victim know each other.
"I don't know him [and] he doesn't know me at all," said Harris, a rehab studies major. "Clearly he wants to know who did it, but I'm not the guy."
Harris, who is also the chief of staff for ECU's Black Student Union, is outraged at the vague description that landed him in handcuffs.
According to Kyndall Peele, vice president of BSU, the organization has been campaigning to have the "race" factor of the ECU alert system removed, although this incident involving Harris did not appear on the alert system at the university.
"I feel that if they're going to include race, then they need to include other races besides the African-American community," said Peele. "If you notice, a majority of students of color are identified while the majority [of other races] are not. I think that this just adds to the stereotype that minorities are criminals."
"How often do you receive an alert, whether it's off-campus or on-campus of a black male wearing a black shirt? That could be any person at any time," Harris said.
Harris says a description other than race should be used to describe victims and/or suspects on the ECU alert system.
Around 3 p.m. on Sept. 28, Harris was approached by two ECU police officers who said that he fit the description of a suspect in an assault case that had taken place near Fletcher Hall just 12 hours earlier. The description? Allegedly, the attacker was a black male with glasses, roughly 5 feet 6 inches tall.
Harris was subsequently arrested on Thursday, Oct. 2 in front of Fletcher Hall on campus. He was released on an unsecured bond, with the understanding that he will show up to his Oct. 22 court date.
The ECU police department was unavailable for comment.
Harris claims that he was in his dorm room in White Hall at the time of the attack, which occurred at approximately 3 a.m. The victim's name has not been released, but Harris claims that neither he nor the victim know each other.
"I don't know him [and] he doesn't know me at all," said Harris, a rehab studies major. "Clearly he wants to know who did it, but I'm not the guy."
Harris, who is also the chief of staff for ECU's Black Student Union, is outraged at the vague description that landed him in handcuffs.
According to Kyndall Peele, vice president of BSU, the organization has been campaigning to have the "race" factor of the ECU alert system removed, although this incident involving Harris did not appear on the alert system at the university.
"I feel that if they're going to include race, then they need to include other races besides the African-American community," said Peele. "If you notice, a majority of students of color are identified while the majority [of other races] are not. I think that this just adds to the stereotype that minorities are criminals."
"How often do you receive an alert, whether it's off-campus or on-campus of a black male wearing a black shirt? That could be any person at any time," Harris said.
Harris says a description other than race should be used to describe victims and/or suspects on the ECU alert system.
Viewing Comments 1 - 10 of 19
concerned student
posted 10/07/08 @ 10:23 AM EST
Perhaps the East Carolinian did not have access to the information, but ECU Police Dept did not issue a warrant to arrest Harris. The warrant was taken out by the "victim," who then "identifies" the person they accuse. (Continued…)
Tad
posted 10/08/08 @ 9:39 AM EST
"How often do you receive an alert, whether it's off-campus or on-campus of a black male wearing a black shirt? That could be any person at any time," Harris said. (Continued…)
Concerned Citizen
posted 10/08/08 @ 9:40 AM EST
Now we have a few new stereotypes. People of Tattoos, People of Birthmarks, People of Scars, and People of Moles. I got one for you, People of Always looking a Reason. (Continued…)
TJ Hooker
posted 10/08/08 @ 10:55 AM EST
Race is only indicated in an Alert when there are other identifying factors. Last year the TV stations issued an alert for a person who was wanted for murder. (Continued…)
Brandon
posted 10/08/08 @ 3:02 PM EST
Oh Lord here we go again the BSU has nothing better to do than keep everyone held back. Black describes someone's skin color just because most of the people doing the crimes are black they want to take that description away. (Continued…)
Brandon is an Idiot
posted 10/08/08 @ 10:25 PM EST
The name says it all
Tarik McCall
posted 10/08/08 @ 11:20 PM EST
This was the dumbest "rally" i have ever attended, I can not believe that I wasted 30 mins of my time for this crap! The BSU president needs a nice big slice of humble pie. (Continued…)
Allen Thomas, Jr.
posted 10/09/08 @ 10:28 AM EST
Tarik,
I'm sorry you feel that way. This rally was not about me, and I spoke about us as a student body building character that could withstand such allegations. (Continued…)
als1019@ecu.edu
posted 10/09/08 @ 7:07 PM EST
Uh, most of the people robbing and shooting people in Greenville are black. Any idiot knows that. Stop trying to make this out to be bigger than it is. (Continued…)
Student
posted 10/09/08 @ 9:19 PM EST
Can The East Carolinian please remove the comment that displays my friend's e-mail address? It's against policy.
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