A Northeastern University Police Department, or NUPD, mechanic struck a homeless pedestrian in an NUPD vehicle July 5, while the pedestrian was crossing a crosswalk at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard, according to a police report The News recently obtained through a public records request.
Following the incident, Boston emergency services took the pedestrian, a 37-year-old woman who was not identified in the report, to the emergency room at Boston Medical Center without any visible injuries. She told reporting Boston police officer Erin Feeney, who met with Boston EMS and the pedestrian in the emergency room, that she felt pain on the left and right sides of her body, according to the report.
A supplemental document issued July 20 reports Boston Police Department Officer Carl Shorter was contacted by NUPD to inquire about potential video footage of the incident. According to the report, a video was located from a traffic camera and sent to NUPD.
The video footage, also obtained by The News, shows a group of onlookers approach the woman as the vehicle immediately pulls over and the operator exits to join the individual helping the pedestrian up.
There is no Massachusetts policy that requires campus police departments to notify the public in the event of an automobile accident involving a pedestrian. There is, however, an NUPD Public Police Log which documents daily crime, fires and arrests. The log is required by the Clery Act, which is followed by every university granted federal financial aid in an effort to promote safety awareness on college campuses.
Northeastern’s Public Police Log includes “NUPD responses to valid calls for services within NUPD jurisdiction,” but excludes “calls for service related to medical or well-being checks, alarms, escorts, and maintenance,” according to its website.
Since the driver of the NUPD vehicle was an NUPD mechanic, public reporting of the incident is not required under the log’s exclusion of maintenance calls. The university did not mention the incident on its website or any of its social media platforms, despite recent efforts to increase department transparency.
“A pedestrian walked into the Massachusetts Ave. Connector at the intersection of Massachusetts Ave. and Melnea Cass Blvd. despite the ‘Do Not Walk’ signal and made contact with a lawfully moving NUPD vehicle. No charges have been filed,” a Northeastern spokesperson said in an email statement to The News.
The university did not comment on whether the mechanic received disciplinary action or is still employed by the university.
