Wait, this isn’t Uber?

On Oct. 18 at 2:15 a.m., an officer was conducting active patrol near the intersection of Second Ave. and Water St. While conducting patrol, the officer was flagged down by a male subject. The male subject walked around the officer’s squad car and attempted to open the front passenger door. 

The officer rolled down their window and said to the male subject that their squad car was not his Uber or Lyft. The male subject apologized. 

The officer immediately detected a strong odor of intoxicants coming from the male subject’s breath. The officer also observed that his eyes were glossy and his speech was slurred. 

The officer asked the male subject if he was waiting for an Uber or Lyft. He said he was but it was taking a long time. He later said he never ordered an Uber or Lyft. 

The officer asked him if he would like them to call a taxi for him so he didn’t have to wait, and he said he would like a taxi. The officer requested the communication center to send a no-preference taxi to their location. 

The communication center said the taxi would take at least 20 minutes to arrive. The officer determined based off of the male subject’s intoxication level that he would not stay in the area waiting for a taxi for 20 minutes. The officer said to the communication center they could cancel the taxi. 

The officer asked the male subject if he had Uber or Lyft on his phone, he said he did. They told him to order an Uber or Lyft. The male subject asked if the officer could help him with this, so the officer took his phone and helped him order an Uber. However, the Uber app said the request wouldn’t go through due to issues with his card on file, the officer said. 

The male subject asked if the officer could give him a ride. They told him they don’t give rides unless the person is unable to take care of themselves. The officer told the male subject they believed he was OK to walk, and told him he would have to walk back to his residence at Horan Hall. The officer observed the subject walk away. 

While the male subject was walking away, the officer observed he was having a difficult time walking and keeping his balance. They saw the male subject walk towards the Humanities building rather than towards the footbridge. 

The officer got out of their squad car and said to the male subject if he was unable to walk back on his own safely, they would transport him to Horan Hall. 

The officer requested the male subject to complete a Preliminary Breath Test, and his results were a .213 BAC.

The officer completed a pat down of the male subject to ensure he wasn’t carrying any weapons prior to placing him in the rear passenger seat of their squad car. 

They then transported him back to Horan Hall. On the way there, the male subject became agitated as to why the officer was taking him back to his room, and said once they got to Horan Hall, he wasn’t going to leave the squad car. 

Upon arrival, the officer ordered him to get out of the squad car, but the male subject wouldn’t do so. The officer and a second officer walked him back to his room and cleared the scene. 

The new cool

On Oct. 20 at 12:04 a.m., an officer was contacted by student patrol regarding several light flicks that were seen at Putnam Rock, as well as a large group of males standing on the rock smoking something. 

Upon arrival, the officer observed the group of males leaving Putnam Rock. The officer illuminated the group with their flashlight and announced their presence as police. They requested the males come towards the officer’s location, and they did so. 

The officer said to the group they were stopping them because their behavior was consistent with smoking marijuana. The group said they were not smoking marijuana, but rather smoking hemp cigarettes. 

One male said the cigarettes do not have any THC in them. The same male showed the officer a box in which the cigarettes came from. The officer observed the box and indicated the cigarettes inside were indeed hemp cigarettes and did not have any concentration of THC. 

The officer detected a faint odor of burnt marijuana coming from the group and asked the individuals if they had been smoking marijuana. They denied doing so. 

The officer also said several lighter flicks were observed coming from their group, something that is consistent with smoking marijuana. The group said it was because they were all smoking a cigarette and each had to light their own. 

The officer asked again if anyone had any marijuana on them or if they had smoked marijuana at some point earlier in the night. Again, they denied doing so. 

The officer then told the group they were free to leave and cleared the scene. 

Dirks can be reached at [email protected]