Students have growing concerns about Saint Louis University’s Department of Public Safety in light of a recent shooting and a number of miscommunicated issues between the department and the SLU community.
DPS hosted an informational panel in collaboration with the Student Government Association on Nov. 11. Fewer than a dozen students attended, and all were members of SGA.
The panel addressed concerns arising from the Oct. 6 shooting behind Jimmy John’s on Laclede Avenue just off campus. Some topics also arose from an external review conducted by the Riesling Group in 2021 following the killing of Omar Zulueta by a DPS officer.
This study identified several goals for DPS, including a review of their field training program, the hiring of additional supervisors and dispatchers and a discussion on improving salaries and employee retention.
Some directives have been met, such as revising the use-of-force policy to include de-escalation. Other directives, such as the implementation of body cameras on DPS personnel, have not.
Panelist Melinda Heikkenin, chief of DPS, said that body cameras were “in stock.” Director of Special Operations, Major Joshua Johnson, expanded on this topic.
“From a procedural standpoint, the policy has to be in place before we can implement or begin utilizing the body cams,” Johnson said. “We also have to make sure that the infrastructure is in place to use the body cameras … We then also have to train everyone.”
The external review also pointed out the lack of cameras within DPS vehicles. The department has not addressed this concern.
Senior aviation management student Jack walked past the site of the Oct. 6 shooting after shots were fired but before police arrived at the scene.
“We kept seeing people playing soccer,” Jack said, referencing a group of students at Vandeventer Field, which is directly across the street from Jimmy John’s. “If there was a gunshot, wouldn’t you think that field would be [cleared out]? They were just playing soccer. They were having the time of their lives.”
Students received email alerts of a heavy police presence near the Village Apartments and were advised to stay away from the area. The alert did not mention the gunfire or the injuries that the victim sustained.
At the panel, Chief Melinda Heikkinen reassured students that they were not in any danger at that time.
“I can look you all in the eye and tell you there was no danger to the campus that night, none whatsoever,” Heikkinen said.
Some students, however, felt that DPS did not communicate the situation clearly.
“I don’t think it was super sufficient information,” Jack said. “I feel like DPS and SLU could maybe be a little faster at notifying us … Everything’s electronic these days, and it’s not that hard to get out the word.”
Panelists stated that their urgent alerts are limited to 200 characters and cannot be personalized to different groups of students.
One method of quick communication that DPS promotes is the Rave Guardian app, which provides a mobile emergency button and delivers emergency notifications. This app, however, is currently being replaced with SLU Safe, a new collection of resources that includes a newsfeed feature for general, non-emergency communication. DPS hopes to launch SLU Safe before the spring 2026 semester.
Panelists also highlighted the DPS Advisory Board as a through-line between the department and the student body. The board contains representatives from the law school, SGA, Graduate Student Association and the faculty senate who review upcoming projects or topics within DPS. Johnson encouraged students to join.
“We would love to have the perspectives and input from those groups in even forming some things like procedures and policies,” Johnson said.
The board is not yet fully staffed, and some elections are still pending. Until the board is codified, it will not be advertised on the SLU website or around campus.
Some students said that they felt like the panel was an informative experience on DPS’ operations.
“I mainly learned how much goes on behind the scenes that we don’t usually see, like how dispatch works [and] the whole process that goes into answering a call,” said freshman mechanical engineering student Yassin Elhadidi.
Elhadidi also said that he feels that DPS has an overall positive impact on students.
“Personally, I think DPS is one of the most supportive departments at SLU,” he said. “From what I usually see, students are comfortable around DPS. They talk and laugh with [students], and they’re very approachable.”
Heikkinen assured panel attendees that she and her department want to form meaningful relationships with those they serve.
“I want to see them as a whole person, and I want to respect them for that, and interact with them as best I can,” Heikkinen said. “I think in some cases, there’s some more commonalities between us that we just haven’t identified yet.”
