Wayne State University police accused of targeting Arab students

DETROIT (FOX 2) - Allegations of ethnic intimidation and racial profiling taking place on the campus of Wayne State University have prompted a formal investigation by the Michigan Department of Civil Rights.

What they're saying:

The target of the investigation is the Wayne State Police Department as it is an alleged issue on the campus of Wayne State University that has been happening for years. 

At least that’s the claim of the Council for Arab and Islamic Relations. Attorney Amy Doukoure says things on campus are only getting worse.

"It is very, very clear that they are targeting Muslim and Arab students on campus for religious and racial profiling. It dates back to 2023," said Doukoure. "It really started to come to kind of a boiling point in May last year when they arrested protestors at the encampment."

She says her office has fielded dozens of complaints from students, ranging from student protesters being told, "You are lucky I'm in uniform," to Arab students stopped just crossing campus.

"They are being approached by campus police asking for IDs and passports, trying to interrogate them," Doukoure said.

According to CAIR, they have attempted to speak with police and university officials.

"Most of the time it’s been completely useless," she said. "We’ve been met with no response at all. Just recently, they sent us a letter from them saying, 'Give us the names of everybody who has complained, and we will do our own investigation.'"

The other side:

Wayne State University sent a statement which reads in part:

"While we cannot comment on individual allegations of wrongdoing, we believe any allegations of a broad pattern of misconduct are without merit. We meet regularly with student, faculty, and community groups to discuss both successes and concerns. We take all allegations seriously and follow a well-established, standard procedure to evaluate and investigate." - Wayne State University

What's next:

CAIR has now filed an official complaint with the Michigan Department of Civil Rights, similar to someone filing a police report against another individual.

CAIR would like to see the officers on campus get retrained and wholesale policy changes when it comes to discrimination.