One foggy night

At approximately 10:33 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 14 campus police were vehicle patrolling the Bollinger Field area when the officer noticed a vehicle parked with fogged up windows.

According to the report, the officer was not able to see inside due to heavily fogged windows.

The officer parked his unmarked squad car in the 800 block of W. Hamilton Ave. and walked to the parking lot. According to the report, this parking lot has been known for drug use and sexual encounters late at night.

As the officer approached the car he noticed the vehicle’s engine was off and could hear male voices inside. He was still unable to see inside but could smell the strong odor of burnt marijuana even with the windows rolled up and all the doors shut.

The officer made contact on the passenger side of the vehicle and shined his flashlight inside, discovering three or four male subjects inside the car.

The vehicle’s engine started and as the passenger side window opened, a cloud of marijuana smoke exited from inside. He asked the subjects if they had been smoking to which he received a collective “yes” from the subjects.

The officer confirmed there were four male subjects present and asked them each to step out of the vehicle individually.

When the subject on the passenger side stepped out, the officer saw a plastic bag in the interior door handle with small leafy green material inside.

According to the report, the subjects informed the officer they smoked a blunt in the vehicle and rolled the marijuana inside of a flavored cigar wrapper, which matched what the officer had smelled earlier.

All four subjects told the officer they had two or three hits each of the blunt until it was gone.

The officer asked the subject in the driver’s seat if he had been driving or if he had any plans to drive after smoking. The subject told the officer they had walked to the parking lot where the vehicle had been parked but had no intentions to drive.

The officer decided to conduct a probable cause search of the vehicle after already finding the bag of raw marijuana on the passenger side.

During his search, the officer found a metal grinder in the shape of a revolver cylinder with green leafy “shake” inside, a small end of a rolled blunt with marijuana material rolled inside, a blue duct tape pouch with small plastic bags inside that contained marijuana flakes, a plastic Tupperware container filled with more marijuana and a glass pipe with burn residue in the bowl and a box of Franzia.

The subjects told the officer they had not drank any of the alcohol, and the officer found no indication it was being consumed in the car.

The officer checked the subjects’ records and found all four had been in the system for previous drug cases although no enforcement action had been taken during those previous contacts.

According to the report, all four subjects were cooperative and agreed to participate in the Eau Claire County Diversion program.

The officer took possession of all the evidence located in the car and advised the four subjects they were free to leave but not before he educated them on Wisconsin’s operating a motor vehicle with a restricted controlled substance in your system law.

A broken sign

At approximately 12:36 p.m., on Feb. 18 an on-campus officer was conducting a random vehicle patrol eastbound along the 200 block of Water Street.

According to the report, as the officer approached the intersection of Second Avenue and Water Street, he observed the glass on the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire sign had been broken.

Upon further investigation, it appeared somebody had kicked or thrown something at the sign, which resulted in the damage.

The fluorescent light bulbs contained behind the glass of the sign also had been broken.

The officer conducted a search around the sign in attempt to locate any shoe prints or other identifying features that could have provided a possible subject.

According to the report, the officer was unable to locate anything of interest at that time. The damage to the sign appeared to be contained to the west portion of the glass as the east side of the sign was untouched.

The officer contacted the Communication Center to see if any cases of vandalism/criminal damage had been reported within the past week along the 100 block of Water Street. The Communication Center advised the officer the only recent vandalism cases reported were along the 400 block.

The officer conducted a report search within RMS but was unable to locate any records in regard to the damaged sign.
The officer then cleared the scene with no further information.