University of Arizona police twice asked the Pima County Attorney’s Office to file criminal charges against Murad Dervish, an expelled student accused of making repeated violent threats against faculty, before he allegedly shot and killed a professor, UA President Robert C. Robbins said Monday.
The county prosecuting office declined to pursue charges against Dervish the first time, this spring, for threatening the UA Hydrology & Atmospheric Sciences Department, Robbins said.
The UA Police Department tried a second time, referring the case to county prosecutors one month before police say Dervish killed UA Professor Thomas Meixner on campus on Oct. 5, Robbins said in a memo outlining actions the university took over the past year to address the suspect’s behavior.
“As of this date,” Robbins wrote in Monday’s memo, “the PCAO has not notified UAPD of its determination on those charges.”
“I understand that, ultimately, the actions of university personnel and of others in the months leading up to last week’s tragedy did not prevent this tragic loss of life,” Robbins said in his memo. Despite that, he said, the university did take seriously the numerous concerns faculty and staff brought forward before Meixner’s slaying.
“We took prudent measures available to us under the law to keep our faculty, staff, and students safe; and we pursued criminal charges against the student,” Robbins said.
The office of Pima County Attorney Laura Conover said in response late Monday that UAPD did bring two proposed misdemeanor complaints about Dervish involving employees other than Meixner.
"Both times those concerns were given our full attention. However, in neither instance did the facts of the complaint meet the evidentiary requirements for charging him with the crime of Threats and Intimidation at that time under A.R.S. 13-1202," the PCAO said in a written statement.
"Our office bases criminal charges on the evidence presented, which must rise to the Constitutional standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt. The complaints brought by UA police in April and again in September did not have sufficient proof to meet that standard, and therefore no charges were filed."
Actions listed
According to Robbins’ memo, this is the timeline of actions the UA and UAPD took to protect the campus from Dervish:
In January 2022, Dervish initially was prohibited from university property.
In February 2022, the dean of students determined he had violated the Student Code of Conduct and recommended expulsion for his behavior directed at university personnel.
The university assisted the Department of Hydrology & Atmospheric Sciences in moving faculty.
Department leadership was provided with pictures of Dervish to distribute to members of the department with instructions on how and when to call police.
The university changed the entry passwords for rooms to which Dervish had access as a graduate student.
The university contacted Dervish’s previous educational institution to ascertain additional information about his history, but to no avail.
The university educated affected faculty on the legal options available to them — including the filing of harassment charges and injunctions — as well as the opportunity to pursue criminal charges against the former student with the Pima County Attorney’s Office.
In the spring of 2022, UAPD brought information to the PCAO in an attempt to charge Dervish based on his communications directed toward a university staff member. The PCAO declined to move forward with charges.
University of Arizona Police Department officers made at least two visits to Dervish’s home to follow up on threats he had made against university personnel. Officers spoke with him on one of those occasions in April.
In June 2022, at the conclusion of the disciplinary proceedings following his appeal, Dervish was formally expelled. Upon expulsion from the university, he was permanently banned from campus and university activities.
In August 2022, the university diverted incoming emails from the former student to university email accounts into a separate email account that could be reviewed by UAPD and certain other parties.
In mid-September 2022, UAPD again sought charges against the former student by bringing information to PCAO regarding the former student’s harassment of faculty. The PCAO has not notified UAPD of its determination on those charges.
Outside review coming
The university is in the process of hiring outside security experts to review the details of the case, and determine what, if anything, the university could have done to prevent Meixner’s death.
The results of that investigation are due to the school in a little more than two months, and will also include recommendations for improvement to campus safety policy.
In the coming weeks, administration will also meet with faculty and staff across campus to address concerns, answer questions and take suggestions. Additionally, members of the campus community can leave comments and suggestions for the university online through an electronic survey, http://tucne.ws/1lmr.
“Each comment will be read, and every suggestion will be considered. Everything is on the table for consideration, including the examination of how the university can enhance its approach to violent threats while balancing civil liberty protections with the health and safety of our community; the implementation of more stringent physical security for our campus and buildings; and how we can support changes to external systems that respond to threats and acts of violence on campuses.”
