Reason for Nipe's demotion comes out at Marketos trial

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by Kathleen Fisher

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The circumstances surrounding the December 1994 demotion of Officer Kenneth Nipe of the Campus Police were revealed recently in a civil trial against the university.

Nipe has received much publicity due to a trial that occurred in November last year, in which Brown College senior Peter Marketos sued the university. During the trial the university defense team questioned Nipe about an unrelated, improper criminal history check which he conducted.

The action in question is considered a breach of the Campus Police departmental policy. The departmental policy is given to each officer during the early days of training.

According to the official court transcript, Nipe was a committee chairman of a Cub Scout pack and was reviewing applications for prospective adult leaders.

According to Nipe's testimony at the trial, one of the parents said to Nipe that she "wouldn't be comfortable having her son in [one of the applicant's] den as a leader, and based on that I did a criminal history check on him and found that he did have a criminal history."

Nipe disclosed this information to the Cub Scout master and the pack master.

At the trial Nipe said, "I was wrong. When the person found out a criminal history check had been made, he complained to the university ... I made a statement that, `Yes, I did in fact do a criminal history check,' and the reason I did it and I would take all blame and responsibility thereof."

Instead of resigning, Nipe chose to be demoted from sergeant to patrol person. He relinquished all supervisory authority in the department. In addition, his hours were changed from the daytime to the night shift.

Nipe's court testimony also revealed that he continues to work for Rice primarily because of the potential future benefits that the university can offer his children, such as tuition breaks and money for books.

"In staying [at Rice], I did so under the knowledge from my chief and other people that the students would find out about my demotion, I would have to take whatever heat came up with the Thresher , whatever heat came up by anyone that made mention ... and I accepted all that because I was -- wrong."

Both Nipe and Campus Police Chief Mary Voswinkel refused to comment to the Thresher staff.

This item appeared in the News section of the January 26, 1996 issue.

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