Ohio State administrators told OSU Police not to pursue charges against a Lantern photographer who was arrested April 21, the president of the local police union says.

“The real story here should by why and how university officials (civilians) are weighing in on a police investigation,” said Jim Gilbert, president of the local Fraternal Order of Police, in a letter to The Lantern.

On April 21, OSU Police Officer William Linton arrested Lantern photographer Alex Kotran at Vivian Hall, where Kotran was trying to take photographs of an escaped cow.

Police conducted an extensive investigation of Kotran until May 4, when Vernon Baisden, assistant vice president of the Department of Public Safety, issued a statement saying OSU would not pursue charges against the photographer.

Gilbert praised Linton in his letter and said there should be no outside influences when it comes to police investigations.

Gilbert said he was told by a source that after stories were published about the arrest, the decision to drop the charges was made higher than OSU Police Chief Paul Denton. Linton was ordered to complete his report with no charges filed, Gilbert said in a May 13 e-mail to The Lantern.

OSU, however, contends the investigation was untainted.

“The investigation was conducted professionally and objectively by Officer Linton without interference. I participated in the decision and I support how this case was resolved,” Denton said in a May 12 e-mail.

However, Linton’s narrative in the incident report from May 4 says he thinks Kotran committed a crime when he was trying to take photos of the cows on the field outside Lincoln Tower and near Vivian Hall.

“In my opinion, he should be charged with one count of trespass, for his trespass at Vivian (Hall) and one count of (Misconduct at an Emergency) for his actions at both locations,” Linton said in the report.

Baisden also said the decision-making process was contained within the Department of Public Safety.

Once police decided the appropriate action, “I conveyed that decision to the university community on behalf of the DPS (Department of Public Safety), the University Police Division and the university,” Baisden said in a May 16 e-mail to The Lantern.

Gilbert said he felt that politics played a part in the investigation.

“If the chief of police is being influenced by his bosses not to file charges and no charges are filed, then that is outside interference in a police investigation,” Gilbert said in a phone interview.

In a May 11 e-mail, Linton wrote, “In response to the issue that you are looking for comment on, I am going to let President Gilbert respond as he thinks appropriate for now.”

On May 16, Kotran sent a letter of apology to Linton after consulting with his attorney and Martha Garland, the vice president for Student Life. In the letter, Kotran said he had been “belligerent” but he did not admit that he committed a crime.

Gilbert also wrote a letter to The Columbus Dispatch that was published on May 14 in response to Dispatch columnist Mike Harden’s May 5 column “OSU backtracks in arrest of Lantern photographer.”

Gilbert contended that Kotran did not have valid press credentials and all other journalists did their work without interfering with the officers.

“While there can be a desire to come to the defense of an individual who purportedly is a fellow journalist, it is unfortunate that neither Harden nor The Dispatch took the time to research all of the facts before disparaging the actions of the police,” Gilbert said in his letter to The Dispatch.

“Kotran indisputably was a Lantern staff member at the time of his arrest, and I would have told police that if they had asked me,” said Collin Binkley, editor-in-chief for The Lantern. “Instead, the police report states that Kotran was a freelance photographer, which is not true.”

Though Gilbert said he actively supports OSU and its police, the unsettling fact is that it might never be revealed who influenced the police in this investigation.

“Police are out of sight, out of mind until you need us,” Gilbert said. “I understand that the OSU Police work for the university, but a line needs to be drawn to where police will enforce the law and oversee prosecution of suspects.”