The IU Police Department executed search warrants Oct. 10 as part of its investigation into vandalism of the Herman B Wells statue near Dunn’s Woods. IUPD took an IU student’s phone and car as part of the investigation.
IUPD Public Information Officer Hannah Skibba said IUPD received a vandalism report about an overnight incident with the statue Oct. 7. Through its subsequent investigation, IUPD obtained search warrants and executed them Oct. 10. Skibba said four vehicles and six officers were involved in the seizure. She did not comment on any individual items seized. No charges have been filed, Skibba said.
IU student Luke Summers, who was the subject of the warrant and seizure, shared a copy of a warrant with the Indiana Daily Student. The warrant authorized IUPD to search for “a brown knit toboggan style hat, a white or off-white colored tote bag with two straps, a black long-sleeve shirt, white Adidas athletic shoes with three black stripes, red spray paint and a mobile phone” belonging to the student. Summers redacted parts of the warrant to not include their personal information.
The Herman B Wells statue was vandalized with red paint on the face and hands of the statue. “Free Gaza” was also painted onto the brick paving in front of the statue. Two pictures of the vandalized statue were published in a now-deleted Instagram post from Oct. 7 by the page @pal_actionindiana, Fox 59 reporter Angela Ganote said in an email to the IDS. The statue has since been cleaned and didn’t sustain visible damage.
Summers released a statement through the Palestine Solidarity Committee’s Instagram on Monday.
The PSC post states, by contrast, that five IUPD cars and eight officers pulled Summers over off campus and seized Summers’ phone and vehicle for an indefinite period of time as part of the search warrant.
Summers was arrested and banned from campus during April’s pro-Palestine encampment, though all criminal trespass charges were dropped.
In an email to the IDS on Tuesday, Summers alleged a variety of claims against IUPD’s handling of the incident. Summers claimed several items have not been returned from their vehicle and that IUPD has refused to release a list of items seized, as well as the police report.
“Details about the individual items that were seized cannot be released at this time,” Skibba said in an email to the IDS.
In an email, Summers was adamant that the number of cars and officers was extreme for the situation.
When asked about their involvement in the vandalism, Summers said they cannot confirm or deny any level of involvement in the case.
“What is clear is that the university has identified me as a pro-Palestinian student that must be intimated and harassed to the fullest extent possible,” they said.
In an email to the IDS, Skibba directly refuted the accuracy of all of Summers’ claims.
“At IUPD, we thoroughly investigate all crimes reported to us, regardless of their severity,” Skibba wrote.
Summers told the IDS in that email that their phone has not been returned as of Tuesday, and they have not been given a timetable for its return.
The investigation is still ongoing, and anyone with information can call IUPD at 812-855-4111, Skibba said.
