ne hundred five years of editorGal freedom 4v v ------------- Wednesday May 15, 1996 Committee postones DPS officers' hearing Sam T. Dudek Daily Staff Reporter The University's Department of Public Safety Oversight Committee was scheduled to begin private hearings yes- terday to question the two DPS officers involved in- the Feb. 17 arrest of John Matlock, the director of the Office of Academic and Multicultural Initiatives. However, the officers never showed up. DPS officers Pete Pressly and tchael Kelley were scheduled to appear before the committee, but at the recommendation of their attorney, they did not attend. After a private meeting, the oversight committee released a statement yester- day saying they would postpone their hearing. The committee cited many rea- Uriese pleads to P* u starge; By Jennifer Harvey Managing News Editor Suspended Michigan quarterback Brian Griese pled guilty to a reduced misdemeanor charge of malicious destruction of property last week, at what was supposed to be a preliminary hearing for a felony charge. *Griese, who will be an LSA senior in the fall, had previously been charged with a.felony for breaking the main front window of Scorekeepers on April 7, after he had been thrown out of the Ann Arbor bar. A bouncer who worked at the bar on the night of the incident said Griese was visibly intoxicated. "I damaged property that did not belong to me," Griese told 15th District Court Judge Ann Mattson. "I broke a endow." "It was not an accident," he said. "I was just angry." With the felony charge, Griese faced a possible sentence of four years in prison and a $2,000 fine. Griese's attorney, Paul Gallagher, said the prosecutor independently reduced the charge and the decision sons for the delay, including advice Building after he allegedly pushed from the University's general counsel, Kelley, who prevented him from enter- requests from the officers' attorney and ing the building. Matlock was sched- the director of DPS, and growing public uled to officiate a basketball contest for attention. the Black Volunteer Network. The statement University general counsel Elsa Cole said that the com- had advised the oversight committee in mittee was asked a letter to postpone its hearings for the by both Matlock two officers involved in the Feb. 17 and the Univer- arrest of Matlock. sity to investigate Vice President for University the incident and Relations Lisa Baker said Cole was ful- to look into the filling her duties of providing legal possibility of im- advice to the University community. proper conduct "What she was trying to convey was on the part of the that enough concern had been raised that arresting officers. Matlock the committee might want to delay inter- Pressly and viewing the two officers until the legal Kelly arrested Matlock in February at process had concluded," Baker said. the Central Campus Recreation Matlock's trial is scheduled to begin July 12. He has pled not guilty to mis- demeanor charges of resisting a police officer and simple assault. The DPS Oversight Committee was formed in 1990 and consists of two stu- dents, two faculty members and two University staff members. The commit- tee is not governed by the University and cannot discipline the officers but only recommend courses of action. The officers' attorney, Michael Vincent, said the grievance committee hearing was an intimidation device. "They are doing this to intimidate my officers," Vincent said. Vincent added that he believed the hearing was part of a continued effort to suspend Pressly and Kelley. Washtenaw County Prosecutor Brian Mackie, whose office is handling the Matlock case, said he was concerned about the timing of the hearing. "Getting the officers' side of the story possibly before the public, could be unfortunate," Mackie said. "I believe the constitutional rights of the defendant and of the people should be paramount," he said. Matlock's attorney, Dick Soble, said he believed the hearings would not pre- sent a problem. "We did not feel that the questioning of the officers would have a negative effect on the upcoming trial," Soble said. Leo Heatley, director of DPS, said he was concerned with the timing of the hearing. He said the committee had plenty of time to question the officers. "They've got all summer, even all fall," Heatley said. Nurses surveyed about giving up raises, benefits Daily News Editor Three weeks after the University's Medical Center first announced its plans to downsize and remove 1,121 hospital employees, the University's Professional Nurses Council, a nurses union, asked its members in a survey to consider making concessions in exchange for job security. "We're asking membership if they're willing to ie're make monetary concessions; but members we're not going to give up some- they're H thing for noth- ing," said Union make mo Chairperson Cheryl Johnson. jon cesi$ The survey asked nurses if - they would be, Un willing to make concessions such as salary slashes, salary freezes and cuts in weekend bonuses. Union mem- bership is estimated to be 2,300 nurses. "Certainly we do not wish to make concessions," said Barbara Hensick, a registered nurse who has worked at the hospital for 10 years. "Some conces- sions are easier to make than others; it may be a reality we may have to face." Michael Harrison, a spokesperson for the hospital, would not speculate if 1 I 11 the concessions would secure jobs. "(Concessions) certainly will have an impact on the bottom line, but it is too hard to say whether it will impact posi- tions" Harrison said. Johnson said the union will not decide to ask for monetary concessions unless survey results indicate that its members approve of such a measure. She said she expects the results to arrive next week. Medical Center officials plans ihi p Ifmonth to m $39 msllion 4illing to from a 1996-97 budget of $1 netary billion. Today, each depart- f$s ment is expect- ed to submit its Cheryl Johnson plans for inter- ion Chairperson nal cuts to meet the overall $39 million target cut. The plans will be reviewed by a redesign coordinating group headed by Lloyd Jacobs, associate medical school dean. Nurses hold about two hundred of the more than 1,100 hospital jobs expected to be cut this year. "It's distressing to us when cuts are made like this because we normally are See NURSES, Page 2 Michigan football quaterback Brian Griese leaves Judge Ann Mattson's courtrrom last week. Griese pled guilty to a misdeamnor charge of destruction of property. was not the result of a plea agree- ment. Mattson ordered Griese to pay resti- tution for the window, valued at $889. Griese said he had already paid the amount to Scorekeepers. Mattson also ordered Griese to sub- mit to a substance-abuse evaluation at University Health Services and to fol- low the recommendations of the evalu- ation. Griese was suspended indefinitely from the football team April 9, in accordance with the athletic depart- ment's policies. In an official statement released the same day, Michigan football coach Lloyd Carr said, "You have to realize an incident such as this one has an effect on the entire program and not just an individual." As of Monday, Griese had not returned to practice. "He has not been reinstated," Carr said. 4N THIS WEEK'S flai-g 2 INSIDE NEWS 10 ARTSu 13 PORTS I Fraternity's insurance com- Van Cliburn performs at Hill The Michigan softball team pany sues University. Auditorium. wins Big Ten tournament.