Second incident involving Campus Safety goes overlooked

Madalyn Amato

November 4, 2016

Last month, a video took the Internet by storm detailing an altercation between campus safety officer Dino Skokos and Fullerton College alumni Louis Munoz.

Over 10,000 people have viewed the video from Wisdom Juice’s channel alone, not including those who have seen it from ABC 7 and here at The Hornet.

Officer Skokos and Luis Munoz — Officer Dino Skokos can be seen in the video that took the Internet by storm handcuffing Luis Munoz. Photo credit: Wisdom Juice

Skokos initiated contact with Munoz for smoking a cigarette on campus. When Munoz refused to provide his I.D., that’s when the officer decided to proceed with putting him under citizen’s arrest. When Fullerton PD responded, he was issued a citation and released, according to Sgt. Rob James of the Fullerton Professional Standards Department.

That Monday, Oct. 17, President Greg Schulz held an open forum to answer the student’s and public’s questions regarding the situation.

However, that wasn’t the only altercation campus safety had with a student that day.

Approximately four hours after the Munoz incident, campus safety engaged in yet another altercation with Lorenzo Bennett, 30, after he had a verbal argument with his professor.

According to Joshua Quijonez, Umoja leader, Bennett had the disagreement in the 700 building, yet was approached in the 500 Bldg.

It is alleged that Bennett was intoxicated, yet witnesses say that he appeared completely sober; despite campus security saying otherwise.

Fullerton PD was unable to comment on whether or not he was in fact under the influence.

The president, nor anyone from the school, had recognized this event until brought up by Quijonez during the public comment portion of the forum.

Once it was brought to light, Schulz did then touch on the subject, but was unable to comment further due to legal restrictions as the incident is under investigation by a third-party legal group, Currier & Hudson.

One theory may be that he only knew about the Munoz incident, as Schulz admitted that he had not found out about the altercation until the video was posted to YouTube.

Lorenzo Bennett arrest — Campus Safety officers depicted in videos can be seen placing Lorenzo Bennett, 30, in handcuffs during their interaction. Photo credit: anonymous

However, The Hornet did publish the footage of the Bennett incident on Oct. 16, a day before the forum was held.

Another theory is that the school was hoping to avoid acknowledging the topic, as many students and community members have deemed the first incident as a “failure” of the administration.

Comments on YouTube videos include “disgust”, “anger” and confusion.

In an e-mail sent out by the president today, he assured the community that Skokos is still under investigation.

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