Editors Seeking Police Files Arrested at B.U.

Five members of Boston University's Daily Free Press were arrested and charged with trespassing yesterday afternoon after they attempted to examine the B.U. police blotter.

The editor, news editor, photo editor and two staff reporters of the Free Press were arrested at the B.U. police station after attempting to get information about a rape, which allegedly took place Sunday night on campus, Christopher Callahan, one of the arrested reporters, said.

B.U. Police Chief Paul M. Bates refused to let the students see the blotter and told them he would "be willing to talk to us on Friday but that we would have to leave the building," Callahan said.

Callahan added that the students claimed they had the right to view the blotter, refused to leave, and were subsequently arrested.

The five were taken to a Boston Police station, where they were released on bail. They will be arraigned in Brighton District Court at 9 a.m. today.

The arrests yesterday marked the second time in a week that a Boston-area collegiate newspaper has attempted to gain access to campus police files.

Last Monday Boston College's daily student newspaper, The Heights, filed suit in Middlesex County Superior Court against the Boston College campus police--in an attempt to gain access to daily police logs and arrest reports.

The Heights and the Free Press have claimed that the records are a matter of public record under the state freedom of Information Act.