College Responds to Police Impersonation Incident and Campus Anxieties
Campus Safety, located at 51 W Stevens Street. (William Oehler/The Gettysburgian)
This article originally appeared on pages 5 and 6 of the No. 1 February 2025 edition of The Gettysburgian magazine.
By Vincent DiFonzo, Editor-in-Chief, and Katie Lauriello, Managing Editor
Shortly after 8 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 1, a student was walking near West Stevens and Mummansburg Streets, close to the center of campus, when a dark SUV pulled up alongside them. The driver, described as a white male wearing dark-colored clothes, reportedly demanded the student’s “papers.”
When the student handed over their driver’s license, the man questioned the validity of the document before asking for additional documentation. After telling the student that it is unsafe to walk alone at night, the man reportedly drove off.
The student reported the incident, and after investigating, Campus Safety and the Gettysburg Police Department concluded that the man was not a law enforcement officer in any capacity.
The incident is under investigation by Gettysburg police who opened an investigation on Feb. 5, according to Chief of Police Robert W. Glenny. On Feb. 11, Glenny stated that police are having trouble investigating the incident because the involved student was not cooperating with them.
This was not an isolated incident. Also on the night of Feb. 1, two people impersonated Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officers at Temple University in Philadelphia and attempted to enter a residential hall, leading to the arrest of a Temple student. The other suspects remain at large as of mid-February.
During the first week of classes this semester, rumors of ICE agents being spotted in the town of Gettysburg circled social media. While it is unclear whether or not ICE has operated in Gettysburg this past month, the rumors have added to anxieties as the amount of deportations nationwide rises.
At a borough meeting held on Tuesday, Feb. 11, Gettysburg Borough Council member Patricia Lawson questioned Chief Glenny about the role of GPD in assisting ICE agents and reporting undocumented immigrants to federal authorities.
Glenny explained that while GPD would not serve ICE warrants, they are legally obligated to provide a supporting role to any federal agency that may operate in Gettysburg.
“It’s not within my purview to allow someone to break the law,” Glenny said.
Gettysburg Police Department Policy 414 was brought up by Lawson. This policy, found in the GPD policy manual, outlines how local police are meant to interact with undocumented immigrants.
“To encourage crime reporting and cooperation in the investigation of criminal activity, all individuals, regardless of their immigration status, must feel secure that contacting or being addressed by members of law enforcement will not automatically lead to immigration inquiry and/or deportation,” reads the policy. “While it may be necessary to determine the identity of a victim or witness, members shall treat all individuals equally and not in any way that would violate the United States or Pennsylvania constitutions.”
GPD policy states they do not automatically notify federal immigration officials while booking arrestees.
“Any required notification [of federal immigration officials] will be handled according to jail operation procedures. A booked individual will be subject to the release procedures of the jail,” states the policy.
Requests by federal immigration officials for assistance from GPD are required to go through a supervisor, and GPD “may provide available support services, such as traffic control or peacekeeping efforts” to assist federal agencies such as ICE operating in Gettysburg.
Regarding police impersonation, Chief Glenny recommended that anyone stopped by someone claiming to be a police officer should ask for a name and badge number, look for emergency lights and a police laptop inside their vehicle, and if still in doubt, call 911 to verify that the officer is legitimate.
Dean of Students and Vice President for College Life Anne Ehrlich sat down for an interview with The Gettysburgian discussing College Life’s response to anxieties on campus and how changing policies in Washington could affect Gettysburg College students.
“It’s natural that people are going to assume that if you’re stalked by someone acting like law enforcement, that they are actually law enforcement. But this example, and other examples that I read about around other colleges around the country, indicate that that’s not necessarily the case. And unfortunately, this wasn’t an isolated incident nationally,” said Ehrlich.
Amid growing anxieties on campus, several campus departments have been handing out informational pamphlets that inform students of their rights if stopped by police.
Campus Safety has been giving students a “know your rights” pamphlet adopted from the American Civil Liberties Union regarding an individual’s rights when they are stopped by police. The pamphlet also includes a guide to filing a complaint with the Gettysburg Police Department.
The public policy department, in conjunction with the public policy student council, recently began collecting student experiences with local police.
“It is so important to us that our students’ voices are heard. This semester we will be launching a new initiative to make sure all students on campus know their rights. As this begins, please share any feedback, good/bad you have had with GDP,” wrote the department in an Instagram post.
According to Ehrlich, College Life has also been quietly reaching out to undocumented students to make sure they feel supported and are aware of their rights. For students who are related to an undocumented person or are concerned about someone’s safety, College Life will assist them as much as they can if they reach out.
“I think sometimes we assume that vulnerable populations know they’re supported on campus, and silence can be interpreted in a variety of ways. If you support the rights of immigrants to be in our country, be loud about it,” said Ehrlich. “This is a time where I know at least part of the population of our campus feels demoralized and like there’s just so much happening at once. So it’s hard sometimes to not lose hope. But there’s lots of resources out there on campus and actions that individuals can take in order to stand up for what they believe in.”
College Life and Campus Safety continually communicate with GPD to determine their reach on campus. However, she clarified that because the campus is considered private property, law enforcement officers are not permitted to enter and question people without a judicial or criminal warrant. In the event of such a warrant being presented, the College is legally obligated to assist law enforcement.
The Gettysburgian has also reached out to Director of International Student Services Brad Lancaster and Assistant Director Rebekah Hurwitz to discuss how their department is addressing student anxieties. For the time being, their focus has been to inform international students of what is happening with the current administration and how it directly affects them.
“Responding to what’s going on, getting information out to students quickly and having them understand what changes may be happening that affect them, is the most important thing we could do,” said Lancaster.
Currently, there are no policy directives by the current administration that affect the F1 visa, which grants international students authorization to study at an accredited institution in the United States without immigrating. International Student Services have hosted private informational sessions for international students to answer questions regarding the rights of students in these situations.
“We try and strike a good balance of giving them a safe space that they can come to to talk about these fears, but also being realistic with them in terms of the kind of fear that’s being struck in the community versus the facts that we have in terms of what’s being implemented and when,” said Hurwitz.
Hurwitz described their goals as “channeling our worry into a more productive action.” This ranges from doing research on executive orders and making contingency plans to getting students to let off stress through entertaining events.
