UCF professor claims racial profiling, says police called her 'drug user, crack head and liar'
UCF philosophy professor Jennifer Lisa Vest wants her record cleared, cops re-trained and a public apology.

By Walter Pacheco, Orlando Sentinel
4:59 p.m. EDT, August 31, 2010

An investigation into allegations that several UCF police officers racially profiled a mixed-race professor has expanded to include a review by the Orlando Police Department, the ACLU and the NAACP.

University of Central Florida spokesman Grant Heston said school officials asked OPD's Professional Standards Division to conduct a probe into claims that four white campus officers stopped philosophy professor Jennifer Lisa Vest on Aug. 9 based on her race and not a traffic infraction.

She alleges the UCF officers pulled her over on Alafaya Trail near campus around 9 p.m. purportedly for a broken tail light. Vest said her light was not broken.

She alleges the officers called her a "drug user, crack head and liar" in front of passing students.

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The professor also claims the officers searched her car without probable cause and kept her from taking her chest pain medication during the alleged incident.

"[UCF police] made statements to the effect that there were no limits to their authority," Vest wrote in an e-mail she sent to faculty and students. She asked the Police Department to clear her record, train the officers on civil rights; disability, medical, race, and gender issues, as well as issue her a public apology.

Heston said the university considers this an "urgent matter and will use whatever resources are needed to proceed with these reviews."

UCF officials would not release the police report about the traffic stop because it is under investigation. Court records show she received a $114 fine for an Aug. 9 traffic infraction described as having "no or improper tag or tailights."

Vest said she filed a grievance with the university's Faculty Union, as well as complaints with UCF police, the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, her e-mail shows.

The university hired Vest, of Chicago, as an assistant professor in 2004, UCF records show. Her salary is $54,913. She has a doctorate in philosophy from the University of California at Berkeley.

She could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

According to Vest's MySpace profile, she considers herself a "mixed blood" poet of Native American heritage, a philosopher and human-rights activist. She often reads her poems on racism, discrimination and mixed-race issues across the country and at local coffee shops.

In a 2008 interview about racial issues on the university's televised program UCF Expressions, the soft-spoken professor said she considered her mixed-race background "a gift, but there's a lot of challenges that come with it … everywhere I go, there's somebody who's got a problem with me racially or culturally."

A video on her YouTube page shows her reading a poem titled The Picnic in 2007 at Natura Coffee and Tea near UCF. The poem recounts the story of her and a friend being racially profiled by a police officer.

The buzz generated by the allegations spawned the Facebook page, Stop UCF Police. Readers can post comments about alleged harassment by UCF officers or their thoughts on Vest's allegations.

Some UCF students interviewed Tuesday said the allegations were disturbing.

"I am not familiar with professor Vest, but I don't find the allegations hard to believe," junior Sandra Fellisha said. "There's a sense among some students that campus police are not very fair."

Freshman Mikell Urino called the allegations "worrisome."

"If they [campus police] treated a professor like that, I can imagine how one of us could be treated," Urino said. "It's just a shame."

Walter Pacheco can be reached at wpacheco@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-6262.

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Jennifer Lisa Vest: Students plan rally for UCF professor; school's president releases statement
Rally will include spoken word performances, guest speakers, the students said; Hitt promises 'objective review'

By Jeff Weiner, Orlando Sentinel
9:45 p.m. EDT, September 2, 2010

Students at the University of Central Florida have planned a rally in support of Jennifer Lisa Vest, the UCF professor who has accused officers on the school's police force of racial profiling.

According to students Isis Miller and Nicole Gumbs, the demonstration will be held in front of Millican Hall at 1 p.m. on Friday. The rally will include "spoken word performances, guest speakers, and a united front of students and faculty allied with the professor," the students said.

"Our main goal is to raise awareness," Miller said.

UCF philosophy professor Jennifer Lisa Vest was pulled over about 9 p.m. Aug. 9 by UCF police. Vest has since accused the officers who pulled her over of calling her a "drug user, crack head and liar" in front of students.

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Police said they stopped Vest because a tail light and her tag light were out, and, in a report released Wednesday, said that Vest was "confrontational" and "agitated" during the incident.

In a release sent to local media outlets, the students outlined a "list of demands" – among them a public apology, disciplinary action against the officers and "sensitivity and diversity training" for officers on civil rights and other issues.

Miller called the demands "reasonable" and said that the students are "hoping for a resolution to the issue."

Miller said there had been a groundswell of support for Vest once her accusations became public, and the students expect a good showing at the rally.

"We'd like to get at least 100 people to show up," Miller said. A Facebook group called "Stop UCF Police Harassment," started by Miller and others in reaction to the August incident, has attracted 280 members.

The group invites students to contact UCF President John C. Hitt. "This group has been created," its description says, "to inform you, the student body of UCF, of this display of racism and injustice."

Hitt released a statement on the controversy on Thursday.

"Let me assure you that I consider this an urgent matter and have directed the university to use whatever resources are necessary to achieve an objective review," Hitt said.

In his statement, Hitt said that the Orlando Police Department's Professional Standards Division along with "other university parties that Dr. Vest has contacted" are conducting reviews of the incident.

"Once the off-campus investigation is complete," Hitt said, "we will share its results and take whatever action is called for."

Hitt concluded his statement: "But let me be clear: I am committed to a thorough investigation of the incident that also protects the rights of the parties involved. Nothing less is acceptable at our university, two of whose core values are integrity and community."

Jeff Weiner can be reached at 407-420-5171 or jeweiner@orlandosentinel.com.

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Jennifer Lisa Vest: UCF professor 'confrontational,' police report says
Report shows police searched her car, found prescription pills later identified as blood pressure medication

By Jeff Weiner, Orlando Sentinel
8:51 p.m. EDT, September 1, 2010

The University of Central Florida on Wednesday released a report from an August traffic stop of a mixed-race professor who has since accused the officers involved of profiling.

UCF philosophy professor Jennifer Lisa Vest was pulled over about 9 p.m. Aug. 9 by UCF police.

Police said they stopped Vest because a tail light and her tag light were out. Vest has since accused the officers of pulling her over because of her race.

Vest said the officers berated her, calling her a "drug user, crack head and liar" in front of students.

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According to the report, police stopped Vest on Alafaya Trail near the University Commons shopping center.

In the report, police said Vest had a "confrontational" attitude, calling Vest "agitated." According to the report, when a UCF officer approached Vest, she rolled her window down "about an inch," and when the officer asked her to roll it down further, she opened it "approximately three inches."

According to the report, police asked Vest why she was upset, and she said she "felt she was being harassed." Vest told police that her car had recently been worked on and she "could not believe" that she had not been told about any issues with her lights.

While she was providing her information, police said they spotted a prescription pill bottle in Vest's glove box. The label on the bottle indicated that the pills were prescribed to Vest, and police later confirmed that the bottle's contents matched the label.

After refusing initially, the report says Vest agreed to leave her vehicle when police told her she could be charged with resisting. The officer who pulled Vest over wrote a ticket for the broken tag light and a warning for the tail light, which the report says Vest signed.

The officer called for backup, including a police dog. During a sweep, the dog smelled something in the car that led police to search the vehicle, according to the report.

Police said Vest did not agree to the search of her car. Police also searched Vest herself. UCF spokesman Grant Heston said a female officer conducted the search.

According to the report, police found a silver container attached to her keys and another container in her backpack containing pills later identified as various blood-pressure medications.

Police also found a green leafy substance, which tested negative for marijuana, and a white power, which tested negative for meth and cocaine, the report says.

According to the report, emergency medical workers were called to the scene briefly when Vest reported chest pains. She declined to be hospitalized, and was treated at the scene and later released.

Vest has accused police of preventing her from taking chest-pain medication during the investigation. Police allowed Vest to leave, the report says, about 10:15 p.m.

As police were leaving the scene, they realized they hadn't examined the pills contained in Vest's silver container or returned the container to vest.

According to the report, the pills in the silver container also were blood-pressure medications. Police considered charging Vest with unlawful possession of prescription pills, but decided not to press charges as the drugs found "are not known to be abused," documents show.

Documents show that a pharmacist at the UCF Health Center Pharmacy helped officers identify the pills.

According to her MySpace profile, Vest considers herself a "mixed blood" poet of Native American heritage, a philosopher and human-rights activist.

In an e-mail sent to faculty and students, Vest wrote that campus police "made statements to the effect that there were no limits to their authority," during the incident. She has demanded a public apology and that her record be cleared.

In a statement, UCF police Chief Richard Beary welcomed a review of his officers' actions. Three UCF police officers are identified in the incident report.

Walter Pacheco of the Sentinel staff contributed to this report. Jeff Weiner can be reached at 407-420-5171 or jeweiner@orlandosentinel.com.