The following information was obtained from UW-Eau Claire Police Department records.

Tickle fight goes too far

On Nov. 18, campus officers received a call from a resident assistant with a report of a fight that occurred inside a room in Marilyn Karlgaard Tower Hall. The RA was not present inside the room, but overheard a worrying conversation take place from the hallway.

The RA said he overheard a female voice say, “Yes you did punch me,” in a tone that sounded angrier and louder than a normal voice. He then heard a male voice say, “Calm down.” After this, he did not hear any more shouting, but watched the room until he saw a male subject exit.

The officer then arrived at Towers and met with the RA on the floor where he witnessed the exchange. The officer could not hear any movement from inside the room, and he received no response after knocking on the door several times and announcing himself as “police.”

After failing to get in contact with the resident of the room, the officer contacted a possible female associated with the male subject. After finding her room to be empty upon knocking, the officer was able to make contact with her via a phone number.

The female subject told the officer she was at the Riverview Cafe, but would come to the campus police station to meet with him.

Once the female subject arrived at the station, the officer asked her if she had been inside Towers that day. The subject stated she had. The officer then asked her to recount what had happened in the room.

The subject said she was trying to help the male subject pick out a shirt and they were playing around. She said she was tickling him and trying to be affectionate. As they were playing, the male subject swatted her hands away and at one point hit her nose. She said it did not hurt a lot, but was enough to make her eyes water.

The subject told the officer she did not think the male subject intended to hit her in the nose, and confirmed she said something along the lines of, “You punched me.”

The officer asked her if the two had been arguing about anything, and she said they had not. She again stated that she was just tickling him and, in his attempt to stop her, she accidentally got hit in the nose.

The officer could see no injuries to the female subject’s face, and she too confirmed she had no injuries. He then asked where the male subject was. In finding he was not far from the station, the officer had her call him and ask him to come to the office.

The officer went outside and greeted the male subject. He asked the female subject to wait in the hallway while he spoke to him alone.

After telling the male subject he had gotten a call regarding someone getting hit in his room, the officer asked him to recount what happened.

The male subject said the female subject was tickling him and as he tried to fend her off, he accidentally flicked her nose. He said he apologized immediately. He said they were not fighting over anything and it was an accident.

The officer then went inside and spoke with the two together. He said their story explained what the complainant had heard in the hallway. After thanking the two for their time, the officer called the RA and left a message explaining the findings of his investigation.

Kopke can be reached at [email protected].