GVSU Protesters: 'Marijuana Or Not, Unjust Shot!'

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Allendale, MI - Two days after being shot in the chest by an Ottawa County deputy, Derek Copp's voice rang out on the Grand Valley State University campus, Friday, March 13.

Copp's friends and supporters used a bullhorn to project his voice via cell phone during a campus anti-shooting protest on Friday.

"I love you all, I appreciate everything you have done for me," said Copp, who remains in stable condition at Spectrum Hospital. "We have to give peace a chance."

Police said Thursday that a GVSU student, whom they would not name, was not armed when a deputy shot him in the chest at his off-campus apartment Wednesday night, March 11.

Five deputies entered the residence at Campus View Apartments through a sliding glass door on a search warrant for drugs, Lt. Cam Henke of the West Michigan Enforcement Team said.

WEMET is a drug investigation unit comprised of officers from several law enforcement agencies, including the Michigan State Police, Ottawa County Sheriff's Office and Holland Police Department.

Police provided no details on why the deputy -- a 12-year veteran of the Ottawa County Sheriff's Office -- shot Copp. They did say the 20-year-old student did not threaten or confront police when they entered the residence.

Police have also not said what drug they were searching for or if they recovered any narcotics in the apartment.

Whether drugs existed in the apartment -- or what kind they were -- is "irrelevant," one GVSU professor said.

"One of our students was denied their due rights," sociology professor James Vaughn said. "That search warrant could've been served without violence."

The only drug Copp was known to use was marijuana, his friend Ben Shachter said.

"They used the term ; narcotics' but it's just a plant and probably a misdemeanor charge," Shachter said. "( Copp ) has nothing to do with anything else ( besides marijuana )."

Around Shachter, students chanted, "Marijuana or not, unjust shot!" and "Our campus is not a war zone!"

Others toted signs with messages such as "Ann Arbor = $25, Allendale = Shot in the Chest," referencing laws that decriminalize possessing small amounts of marijuana in Ann Arbor.

Some bystanders said they didn't understand staging a protest with so little official information available about the incident.

"It was an off-campus event, so I think some of this is too much," student Jake Glick, 21, said.

Several students who were not taking part in Friday's protest said they were unaware of the shooting until they saw and heard the rally. Students said they did not receive any e-mail messages to alert them to the incident, although a short message was posted on the university's Web site.

"They probably don't want hysteria and a bunch of kids freaking out," student Bret Cocke, 21, said.

The shooting remains under investigation by the Michigan State Police.

The results of that investigation will be reviewed by the Ottawa County prosecutor, and the sheriff's office will also conduct an internal review of the shooting, Undersheriff Greg Steigenga said.

"We understand the sentiments being brought forward by some of the students, and we respect their opinions," Steigenga said. "We are trying to be transparent, and we are trying to get to the truth as much as they are."


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Source: Holland Sentinel (MI)
Copyright: 2009 GateHouse Media, Inc.
Contact: Opinion - Holland, MI - The Holland Sentinel
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Author: Megan Schmidt