FAMU Appoints Task Force to Look Into Band Hazing Incident

On Wednesday, James Ammons, the president of Florida A&M University, announced that he had appointed a task force led by former Attorney General Bob Butterworth and Quincy Police Chief Walt McNeil to investigate the death of Robert Champion, a student who died in Orlando in Saturday after an alleged hazing incident involving the famous Marching 100 band.

I am grateful that General Butterworth and Chief McNeil have agreed to serve this important role during a great hour of need for our university community, said Ammons in a statement released on Wednesday night. Their integrity and independence will guide this process to find the truth and to recommend any appropriate disciplinary action, policies and procedures to put FAMU on a stronger path to its future.

Other members include former state Senate Democratic Leader Al Lawson; Derek Daniel who was with the Florida Commission on Human Relations; Joe Ogelsby, a Pulitzer Prize-winning editor for the Miami Herald; John Charles Thomas from the Florida League of Cities and a former staffer for Lawton Chiles; Freddie Groomes-McLendon from Florida State; and National Bar Association President Daryl Parks.

In this difficult time for the Champion family and for our FAMU family, we are committed to making right anything that may be wrong within any element of our university community, said Ammons. The important work of this task force will be applied to creating a better, safer and more unified FAMU.