Marvin Herrington, the son of a veteran Detroit cop, retires in May after 30 years as chief of police at Stanford--which, with a daytime population of 30,000, is bigger than many towns. He hung tough through the anti-war demonstrations of the '70s and charmed such visiting dignitaries as the Dalai Lama, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Presidents Carter, Ford, Reagan and Clinton. Capt. Marvin Moore, a 27-year member of the force, will replace him.
Stanford: What was the most challenging moment of your career?
Herrington: [Mikhail] Gorbachev's visit. The motorcade was close to 100 cars, and we had the kgb, the Secret Service and everybody in our department, plus 300 other officers from the sheriff's department and the Highway Patrol. Every place Gorbachev went had to be swept for explosives, and we put 11,000 people through metal detectors before we let them onto the Quad. We also welded manholes shut and sealed off buildings because we didn't want people popping out. The three kgb colonels we dealt with in the planning stage knew their job well and were far easier to work with than some we've had here, like the French who came with [François] MITterand and landed on Roble field in their helicopters.
How do students typically have contact with your officers?
Students would probably say it's when they get parking tickets. But we work with a lot of students on events and even give them advice about how to run a party. Then, if something goes wrong and they have a problem or a fight, uniformed officers will respond and say, "Okay, the party's over," which takes the onus off the students. In fact, we've had students call us and say, "Will you come over and shut us down? Because it's getting out of hand, and we don't know how to do it."
Is alcohol still a big problem on campus?
There was a time when any Friday night on Mayfield [Avenue], there were too many drunks to pick up. But what concerns me now is the number of students who come here with alcohol problems. They will tell you that they drink until they pass out. It's a very different attitude.
What were the toughest years for law enforcement?
1971 through '74. There was a tremendous amount of violence, with buildings being trashed almost daily. And in those days they would throw personalized rocks at us, with pigs painted on them. But demonstrations went on into the late '70s and early '80s on lots of different things, from divestiture in South Africa to animal rights.
You mentioned Gorbachev's visit in 1990. How did that compare with Chelsea Clinton's arrival in September 1997?
The Secret Service told me that was one of the most difficult details they'd ever had because the President was outdoors, wandering around, being a parent that day--all of which gives people in my business heartburn. The thing that startled me most was that the family showed up half an hour early, and we had to cover them for 15 hours until they left. I'm glad I won't be here for graduation this June.
