Police Blotter
Kittens, destruction and duo mishaps
You’ve cat to be kitten me
On Sept 26, an officer was called to the south end of the footbridge for a female that has found a kitten. The Eau Claire Police Department animal control was also dispatched to assist.
Upon arrival, the officer met with the complainant, Subject 1, as well as two other females. They were near a black and white kitten they had found about an hour previously.
The kitten would stay near them, but would move away if anyone attempted to pick it up.
CSO Siverling arrived and was able to take custody of the kitten and transport it to the Eau Claire County Human Association.
One day it’s here, and then it’s gone
On the morning of Sept 27, at approximately 11:12 a.m., an officer was dispatched to the Bollinger parking lot regarding theft from a vehicle. The communication center said the victim’s license plates had been stolen off his SUV.
The officer met with the complainant, Subject 1, in the Bollinger lot on the southside near the middle row of vehicles. The officer observed Subject 1 to be standing next to a maroon Ford Explorer, missing both its front and rear license plates.
Subject 1 said he parked his vehicle in the lot at about 2:00 p.m. on Sept 22. He said he came back to his SUV around 11:00 a.m. on Sept 27 and observed his license plates were missing.
Subject 1 said he did not give anyone consent to remove the plates. He read back the plate number to the officer, and it came back registered to a 2006 Ford Explorer. The registered owner was Subject 1’s father.
The officer did not observe any excess bolts or screws on the ground or in the area. They observed the other vehicles currently parked in the lot were not missing their license plates.
The officer requested that Subject 1 fill out a written statement. Subject 1 also showed the officer a group of scratches near the right side of the plate area on the rear of the vehicle. Subject 1 said he did not remember those scratches being there previously.
The officer photographed the scratches. Subject 1 said his vehicle had been locked and that nothing was missing from the inside.
The officer provided Subject 1 with their business card and an Eau Claire County Victim Rights information form.
A copy of the report was forwarded to the Eau Claire Communication Center, so the license plates can be entered into NCIC/CIB as stolen. The officer then cleared the scene.
Ope, there it is
On Sept 29, at about 4:52 p.m., the stolen license plates from the previous case were used during a gas drive off at the River County Coop gas station, 101 Ferry St. in Eau Claire.
The Eau Claire Police Department report said in the security video at the store, there was not much of a suspect description to help ID them. The suspect appeared to be a white male, wearing a red and black plaid shirt, ball cap and a dark colored hoodie under the plaid shirt.
At the time the suspect was pumping gas, the hoodie was pulled over his head. The vehicle that had stolen license plates displayed was a white 1997-2003 Ford F-150 pickup with a regular cap, long box with a white topper.
ECPD was getting a copy of the stores security footage the next day. This is all the information released at the moment.
Death to the infamous footbridge pots
On Sept 28, at approximately 10:42 a.m., an officer was contacted by the UW-Eau Claire duty phone in regards to this case.
Haas Fine Arts custodian, Subject 1, called to report vandalism to the two large flower pots on both sides of the UW-Eau Claire footbridge.
Subject 1 said the flower pot on the northside had all the succulent plants taken out along with a significant amount of dirt. He said he was not able to locate the plants that were taken from the pot.
The planter on the southside of the bridge had sustained damage to the tree spire planted in the middle. Subject 1 said it looked like someone had tried to rip out the tree.
The officer responded to the area and took pictures of both damaged flower pots. The damage was confirmed. They observed no other damage in the immediate area. The officer then cleared the scene.
Dirks can be reached at [email protected]
McKenna Dirks is a fourth-year journalism student and this is her seventh semester on The Spectator staff. She thrives under chaotic environments, loves plants and often gives off "granola girl" vibes with her Blundstone boots.