Eddie Curlin, 29 (pictured), a former Eastern Michigan University student, was arraigned Monday on charges that he placed racist graffiti around the campus on three separate occasions
A 29-year-old former Eastern Michigan University student was arraigned Monday on charges that he placed racist graffiti around the Ypsilanti campus on three separate occasions.
Eddie Curlin, who was an EMU student from 2014 to early 2016, has been charged with three counts of malicious destruction of property, four counts of identity theft and one count of using computers to commit a crime.
According to the university’s Chief of Police, Robert Heighes, the acts were not racially or politically motivated.
‘It was totally self-serving,’ he said at a news conference. ‘It was not driven by politics. It was not driven by race.’
The first incident took place in September 2016 when the letters ‘KKK’ – seemingly referencing the Ku Klux Klan – and underneath in bold black ‘leave n*****s’ was spray-painted on an exterior wall. The letters ‘KKK’ were painted in red, white and blue (pictured)
The first incident took place in September 2016 when the letters ‘KKK’ – seemingly referencing the Ku Klux Klan – and underneath in bold black ‘leave n*****s was spray-painted on an exterior wall, reported the Eastern Echo. The letters ‘KKK’ were painted in red, white and blue.
An October 2016 incident had the message ‘leave n*****s’ again scrawled outside of a building, this one right next to the campus’s monument to Martin Luther King.
The third incident took place last spring in which a racist message was found in a men’s restroom stall in Sherzer Hall, according to EMU.
According to the university’s Chief of Police, Robert Heighes, the acts were not racially or politically motivated. He said at a news conference: ‘It was totally self-serving. It was not driven by politics. It was not driven by race’ (Pictured, Eastern Michigan University)
‘Our officers have worked on this case extensively since day one. We appreciate that people wanted a fast arrest but, in many cases, that is not the way police work happens,’ said Heighes.
‘I recognize the anger, fear and frustration that these incidents caused for many of our students, faculty and staff, and I thank them for their patience and understanding as we conducted a thorough investigation.’
Curlin is currently serving a prison term of 18 months to five years on a conviction for receiving stolen property in December 2015, according to a state corrections database.
Nobody received the $10,000 reward the university was offering for information on the graffiti incidents.
Jaiquae Rodwell, an EMU student, told the Eastern Echo he was disappointed that the racial graffiti stemmed from an African-American.
‘As a black student, to know that another black person is using the N-word in a negative way is embarrassing,’ Rodwell said.