Professor Patton clarifies story on September arrest

Erin O. Patton, the former adjunct SMU professor who was arrested on Sept. 22, contacted The Daily Campus Tuesday to provide further information on the incident.

Patton, who was charged with evasion of arrest in a vehicle, attempted to flee from police and crashed into three cars in the process.

Upon arrest, Highland Park Police found a crack pipe in the vehicle he was driving.

Marty Neville, a public information officer for Highland Park, said that police originally approached the vehicle because Patton was “acting suspiciously,” though she would not elaborate.

In a statement to The Daily Campus, Patton said that Highland Park Police approached him while he was not operating the vehicle, and that the officers came toward him in a “slow moving SUV with its lights out,” and he did not realize that it was the police.

“I instinctively feared for my personal safety, and acted in haste to avoid a potentially harmful situation but did not intend to avoid law enforcement officers,” Patton said.

Neville said that because Patton subsequently struck three vehicles and continued to flee without stopping to report the accident, officers had legal cause to stop him.

Patton clarified to The Daily Campus that “the other cars involved in this accident were … parked at the time, so no one was hurt or placed in immediate danger. I received citations and paid a fine for these offenses.”

He also said that the vehicle he was driving at the time of the accident did not belong to him, nor did the contents of the vehicle, which included the crack pipe.

Neville confirmed that the vehicle was rented through Hertz Rent-a-Car.

Patton was charged with four offenses through the city of Highland Park: three for reckless damage for the cars he struck and one for possession of drug paraphernalia.

He took deferred adjudication for all offenses, which Neville said is “basically a plea of no contest.”

Patton will serve probation for the offenses and compensate the owners of the three vehicles for damages. Upon successful completion of probation, the charges will be removed from his record.

Patton will stand trial with Dallas County for the charge of evading arrest on Dec. 8.

Patton expressed “deep, heartfelt remorse and apology” to the SMU administration, faculty and students for the incident and thanked everyone who “has expressed their support and prayers” for him and his family.

“I am embracing this moment of adversity as a teachable moment for this instructor to further refine my character and deepen both my faith and spiritual conviction,” Patton said.

“It is also my hope that this serves as an instructive opportunity for all students to examine their choices, peer associations and broader impact our individual decisions have on others,” he said.

Patton’s full statement here:

While I sincerely regret the unfortunate set of circumstances surrounding this incident and am a proponent of personal accountability, as a former journalist and as a matter of principle, I am obliged to clarify some of the information reported in the Daily Campus article on 11/15/2010.

First, I would never knowingly disregard law enforcement to the grossly negligent extent characterized in the article which is counter to my character, values and respect for their service to our communities and position as vanguards of public safety.

In this case, I was initially unaware of their presence. I was not operating the vehicle at the time and was approached by a slow moving SUV vehicle with its lights out. I instinctively feared for my personal safety and acted in haste to avoid a potentially harmful situation but did not intend to avoid law enforcement officers.

I also want to clarify that the other cars involved in this accident were also parked at the time so no one was hurt or placed in immediate danger. I received citations and paid a fine for these offenses.

While I’m not at liberty to discuss specifics, I do also wish to clarify that neither the vehicle nor its contents belonged to me.

Finally, allegations that family health issues played no role in the decision to take personal leave this semester are not true.

While certainly fallible, those that know me on a personal level know that I am a man of spiritual principle and devoted father and husband who is active in supporting community causes and empowering youth with a successful career largely based on both personal and professional integrity.

I am proud of the innovative results and experiences we have created in the classroom the past four years and positive ways we have impacted the next generation of business and sports industry leaders.

That said, I realize that decisions, not intentions, determine our fate and, while not intentional, I demonstrated a lack of sound judgment.

I want to express my deep, heartfelt remorse and apology to the administration, my faculty peers, the talented and insightful SMU students I have come to admire and entire SMU and Park Cities community for this untimely incident. I also want to thank everyone who has expressed their support and prayers for me and my family.

Finally, I am embracing this moment of adversity as a teachable moment for this instructor to further refine my character and deepen both my faith and spiritual conviction. It is also my hope that this serves as an instructive opportunity for all students to examine their choices, peer associations and broader impact our individual decisions have on others.

Respectfully,

Erin Patton