University of Oregon Police Department Chief Carolyn McDermed and Public Information Officer Kelly McIver did not receive the 24-page Eugene Police Department report detailing allegations of sexual assault against Oregon men’s basketball players Damyean Dotson, Dominic Artis and Brandon Austin until The Register-Guard published the report on May 5.
McIver said he could not confirm whether other UOPD officials saw or requested the case beforehand.
The UOPD’s knowledge and who was informed of the case complies with the university’s policy, McIver said.
“To my understanding, the appropriate protocol was followed,” McIver said.
It’s common for UOPD’s knowledge of a case to differ from EPD’s when the latter agency is investigating. Because the two are separate law enforcement agencies, they do not generally share investigative information.
UOPD officer John Loos originally responded to the incident when it was reported to EPD. However, Loos is currently in the university police’s field training program, which means he acts as an EPD officer and reports to that organization. Loos did not have contact with UOPD. Instead, he reports to an EPD supervisor, according to McIver and EPD spokesperson Melinda McLaughlin.
UOPD had no contact with the case until it was exposed by the media.
“It’s not something the UOPD would have or should have seen, because it was not a UOPD case,” McIver said. “It’s not appropriate for another law enforcement agency to be given investigative information unless they are asked to participate.”
The University of Oregon received the report on April 24, two days after it requested it from the Lane County district attorney, according to a timeline of events published by the UO.
UOPD officials first learned of the alleged incident on March 9 when the survivor’s father called to report the incident. The UOPD attempted to contact the survivor twice and she did not return the call. The survivor reported the incident to EPD on March 13 from which point they took the lead on the investigation.
According to the timeline, the UOPD contacted EPD to receive an update on the investigation on March 21 and received no information.