ELPD still searching for Cedar Fest information

Matthew Kirvan won’t give up his Cedar Fest video footage to the police for any price.

Kirvan, a marketing junior and co-creator of the YouTube.com video “Cedar Fest 2008: Michigan State 101,” said he was e-mailed by a detective inquiring about the video but is avoiding contact with the police.

“Everybody has a right to videotape any type of public gathering,” Kirvan said. “In order to get the videos they’d have to get a court order.”

The East Lansing Police Department is still encouraging students to play detective when it comes to Cedar Fest. Joining forces with the MSU police and students, the ELPD has been working since April to identify those who were involved in last month’s Cedar Fest.

Since the Cedar Fest portion of the ELPD’s Web site launched just days after the incident, they have received 42 tips on possible suspects, including eight photographs submitted to the police and one video.

“It’s a quick way to get more resources to work on a problem,” East Lansing Police Capt. Kim Johnson said.

The “Cedar Fest Suspects” and “I Got Arrested at Cedar Fest” pages on the ELPD site have received 94,676 hits and 11 suspects have been positively identified as a result of the Web site, according to the ELPD.

Some students, such as French senior David Ramp, are turned off by the idea because it’s been too long since Cedar Fest occurred.

“I have to wonder what is the goal of the ELPD right now because it’s been so long and there haven’t really been any repercussions for not arresting these people,” Ramp said. “I would just question their motives and question the motives of the students who are turning in their fellow students.”

Tipsters can either submit their identifications through the Web site or by e-mailing the ELPD, and people have been utilizing both methods, Johnson said. Police then go out and try to track down the suspect.

“We do follow-up work to see if it’s the right person,” Johnson said. “We locate them, interview them, look at photos and gather evidence to put a case together on a particular person.”

Kirvan said he does not approve of the police encouraging students to turn in other students, as he feels it could have a negative affect on the community.

“We’ve got such a sense of family that students turning in students isn’t a good idea at all,” he said.

The site mentions a $20,000 reward for identifying suspects, a number Johnson assures will not go ignored. Both the university and the police contributed to make the sum of available award money, an amount that will be given out based on relevancy, Johnson said.

“Depends on the tip and the magnitude of the crime,” he said.

A tip concerning a minor who was drinking alcohol compared to a tip about someone who started a fire will be assessed in different measures. The ELPD will weigh the seriousness of the crime and how valuable the tip is to determine how much money the reward will be for that individual, Johnson said.

Source anonymity is maintained by giving each tipster an identification number and file. When it comes to student loyalty, English senior Tristan Johnson believes money is no object.

“Regardless of the sum I can’t imagine enough incentive for anyone,” Tristan Johnson said. “Maybe the ELPD think they’ll find a few people who want to make some money, but that hardly seems respectable.”

Kirvan said even with the reward money as a possibility for turning in his video to the police, he would not want to because of the affect it could have on other students.

“That would just weigh on my conscience,” he said.

“I know it’s not worth money to hurt someone’s educational career.”

The reward amounts are yet to be determined and may not be decided until late into the fall semester.

“We are expecting more tips to come in after summer break, when more students have come back,” Kim Johnson said.

“We’ll get in touch and make sure we get that money to them.”

While tipsters may be gaining money from the Cedar Fest aftermath, many students involved will be losing out. The ELPD is requesting that those convicted of Cedar Fest-related crimes pay up, planning to divide up the costs of damages and officer overtime — more than $50,000 — to the convicted students.

The ELPD is still accepting tips on anyone involved in Cedar Fest.

Published on Sunday, May 11, 2008