Police Blotter
Campus police handles cases of vaping, public urination and underage drinking
The following information was obtained from UW-Eau Claire Police Department records.
Mistaken marijuana smell
At 10:11 p.m. on April 25, a campus officer was called to a drug incident at Oak Ridge Hall. A Resident Assistant (RA) reported an odor of marijuana that was possibly coming from a room on the first floor.
When the officer arrived, she met with the RA. The RA wanted to move outside to discuss the situation because one of the male individuals who was in the suspected room was sitting in the lobby, and RA didn’t want him to overhear the conversation.
The RA said he was walking towards the suspected room because there was a lot of noise coming from it. When he got close to the door, someone inside opened it. The RA said a strong odor of marijuana came from the room.
As the officer and RA walked back inside, they watched as the male subject left the lobby with a box of pizza. The officer followed the subject to the room in question and made contact with him as he was closing the door.
The officer asked if he was a resident of the room, and he said he was. The subject then gave the officer permission to enter the room. Upon entrance, the officer observed three others in the room.
The room was hazy, but the resident denied that marijuana use was the cause of it. The subject said there was no marijuana in the room, but there was alcohol. He said the occupants had been vaping, and gave the officer permission to search the dorm. Nothing of interest was located.
The officer couldn’t smell an odor of marijuana in or near the room. The subject disposed of the alcohol, and the officer left the scene.
Double whammy
At 1:34 a.m. on April 28, a campus officer was parked on the 100th block of Garfield Avenue by the north entrance to the Old Library. He noticed two male subjects walk up to the exterior of the north side of the Old Library.
He watched as one of the subjects walked over to the east side entrance and urinated on the building, while the other male subject walked to an office window and urinated on it.
After urinating, he extended both of his middle fingers at the window. The subjects then headed toward the officer’s location.
The officer approached the subjects and stopped them. He said he’d seen them both urinate on a public building. He asked the subjects for identification, and they gave him their Blugold IDs. The officer noticed state identification in both of the subjects’ wallets and asked to see those.
One subject handed the officer a fake Michigan driver’s license. The other handed the officer his entire wallet. Inside, the officer found two fake California driver’s licenses. The officer took possession of the fake IDs, and the subjects verbally provided the officer with their correct information.
The officer could smell a strong odor of intoxicants coming from both subjects as they spoke. He asked the subjects how much alcohol they’d consumed. Both said they’d consumed around six alcoholic beverages.
The subjects agreed to breathalyzer tests. The first subject had a blood alcohol content of 0.26, while the other had one of 0.19.
Both subjects received a citation for public urination, with a fine amount of $263.50. They also received underage drinking citations, with another fine amount of $263.50.
The officer provided the subjects with Eau Claire County Alcohol Offenders brochures, and answered any questions they had. He then told the subjects they were free to leave, and left the scene.
Taylor Reisdorf is a graduate student in the English program who revels in both telling and engaging with compelling stories. This is her seventh semester with The Spectator. She prides herself in her adaptability and desire to continuously experience, learn, and appreciate new things.