Cops at Frat Hazing Make a Wild Discovery

Two leaders of an Alpha Epsilon Pi chapter near the University of Wisconsin-Madison were arrested Wednesday night after Madison police said officers broke up a hazing event and found about 30 partially clothed young men in the basement, covered in food, condiments and other liquids.

Officers were sent to the house in the 100 block of Langdon Street around 8:20 p.m. after an anonymous tip about a possible hazing event, according to the Madison Police Department. Most of the men in the basement were 18 years old. Several had visible injuries that police said were consistent with being physically assaulted.

Brayden Klein and Samuel Vane, both 20, were arrested on suspicion of hazing and disorderly conduct and booked into the Dane County Jail. Local news outlets identified Klein as the chapter president and Vane as the vice president. MPD Captain Kipp Hartman said both allegations are misdemeanors, and the Dane County District Attorney's Office will review the case before deciding whether to file formal charges.

What officers walked into

Hartman described the scene at a press conference Thursday afternoon. "Inside the basement of the residence, officers found around 30 partially clothed males covered in food, condiments and other liquids," he said.

"The thermostat was also set to 81 degrees, creating a hot and humid environment," Hartman said.

A photo released by the department, with the men's faces redacted, shows the group in a dirty room with black walls. The Alpha Epsilon Pi letters are painted on a piece of furniture.

Officers declared the event unlawful and escorted everyone outside, where the pledges were checked for injuries and incapacitation. No one was taken for medical treatment, police said.

Fresh marks, not old ones

"Several of these men had visible injuries, consistent with being physically assaulted," Hartman said. He said the marks looked recent based on what officers saw at the scene.

Asked to describe them, Hartman said: "Something fresh, potentially like a strike to the body, not an old injury."

The fraternity's president and vice president were both at the house and spoke with responding officers before they were taken into custody. Police have not announced any other arrests. The investigation is active and ongoing.

Police say the stories did not match

Investigators took statements from everyone inside the house. Some of those accounts contradicted each other, Hartman said.

"Some statements also did not align with what everybody else's statements were, so there were some concerns with what was being said," he said. "I would say we had limited cooperation."

Hartman held out an incentive for anyone still weighing whether to talk. "I think anybody that came forward with additional information may not be prosecuted given the level of cooperation that they could provide," he said.

The rumors police knocked down

Within a day, student-run Instagram pages and other platforms were circulating claims about the raid, including that an undercover officer was involved and that feces were found at the scene. Hartman denied both. He said there was no undercover officer tied to the arrests, and no feces were found on members of the fraternity.

"We have already observed there's a lot of misinformation out there," Hartman said, adding that pledges and others coming forward with real accounts would help the investigation.

Police also have not said where the tip came from.

A chapter the university cut loose in 2015

Alpha Epsilon Pi is not a recognized or accredited student organization at UW-Madison. The university terminated the chapter's status in 2015 following violations of Student Organization Code of Conduct policies, according to a university statement.

That termination did not close the house or end the chapter. "Since this chapter continues to be recognized by its national organization, it is legally allowed to operate as a fraternity chapter unaffiliated with the university," UW-Madison said.

Hartman said the fraternity still controls the Langdon Street house.

UW-Madison said it shares information about unrecognized and terminated student organizations with students, parents and families at the start of every academic year. Wisconsin's hazing law, statute 948.51, covers acts that endanger a student regardless of whether the student agreed to them.

The national fraternity's answer

A spokesperson for Alpha Epsilon Pi Headquarters said the organization takes the allegations involving the Madison chapter "extremely seriously" and will "cooperate fully" with the investigation. Any member found responsible for criminal conduct in the matter will be expelled from the fraternity, the spokesperson said.

"Hazing is a betrayal of everything our fraternity stands for," the statement reads. "There is no place for it in AEPi. No exceptions. No excuses." The spokesperson said members are taught they are responsible for being their brothers' keeper, and that anyone who hazes "forfeits the privilege of being an AEPi brother."

University officials met with national Alpha Epsilon Pi leaders Thursday to go over the incident and talk about possible next steps. UW-Madison said the national organization is cooperating.

What the university can still do to the students

Even though the chapter itself has no standing on campus, Hartman said he believed most of the men in the basement are UW-Madison students. The Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards will investigate any UW-Madison students implicated, through the school's nonacademic misconduct process.

Students found to have violated the law, university regulations or university policy could face a written reprimand, disciplinary probation, suspension, expulsion or educational sanctions, the university said.

UW-Madison said its Office of Student Assistance and Support and University Health Services are providing support as needed.

Rush week on Langdon Street

The raid landed in the middle of rush week at UW-Madison, when fraternities and sororities are recruiting new members.

"With it being rush week right now, we know that there are various ways that fraternities and sororities conduct these things," Hartman said. "Our thing is always going to be on student safety." He said Madison police regularly work with Greek organizations to keep their events safe and legal.

"Our concern is when things are going too far and people's either life and/or physical harm is at stake," Hartman said. "That is definitely when we are going to be stepping in."

Police also asked that anyone whose safety is put at risk during Greek life recruitment contact authorities.

Students on the block are not talking

Dozens of students near the house were approached Thursday by a local television crew. Many declined to say anything. A few who would talk only off camera said they were afraid of retaliation.

Felix Quiros-Keller, the chapter's head recruitment chair, declined to comment on the incident to the Badger Herald, the student newspaper that covered Hartman's press conference.

Madison police are asking anyone with information about the incident, including people who were directly involved, to call Madison Area Crime Stoppers at 608-266-6014 or submit a tip at p3tips.com. Tips can be left anonymously, and Hartman said they may be eligible for a monetary reward.

Klein and Vane have not been formally charged. The Dane County District Attorney's Office will decide whether the case moves forward.