Just trying to win

In Centennial Hall last Tuesday, there was a campaign event for Ron Kind, where a suspicious male was reported to be video recording the event.

The officer paired with this case contacted the complainant and requested they explain what had been going on.

The complainant said they were the Political Director for the “Kind for Congress” campaign. They said Kind was on campus for an open forum for students. The event is open to the public as well, and is sponsored by the UW-Eau Claire College Democrats, they said.

The complainant said they were familiar with this male subject as he is a Republican “tracker.” They said a tracker’s job is to videotape the opposing party candidates and ask them questions. They said they were worried the male subject would attempt to enter the room and videotape Kind.

The complainant said they don’t allow people to videotape Kind at events. They said the subject was not disorderly and that they knew the subject’s name, but couldn’t think of it off hand.

The officer observed the male subject standing in the hallway holding a video camera that appeared not to be active. The subject was dressed in jeans and a sweater with a backpack. The officer approached the subject and introduced themselves.

The male confirmed he was employed by the Republican super pac called “America Rising” as a tracker. He said his job is to follow Kind around at political events and tape him. He said he had been doing this for a few months and they knew him.

The officer educated the male on the UWS ordinances pertaining to the event, and he said there would be no issues. Both subjects were cordial and cooperative, the officer said. They then cleared the scene.

Higher than the Empire State in Hibbard Hall bathroom

A custodian had contacted the UW-Eau Claire Police regarding marijuana being found behind a men’s bathroom toilet located in Hibbard Hall.

An officer arrived to Hibbard Hall where the custodian told the officer they had been cleaning the men’s bathroom at which point she located marijuana. They said the marijuana had been tucked behind a toilet and was contained within a “game” brand cigarillo package.

The officer opened the package and observed marijuana inside. The custodian said they didn’t know who the marijuana or package belonged to.

After answering any questions the custodian had, the officer thanked them for calling them and cleared the scene.

Inappropriate actions on Water Street

Last Sunday, an officer was on Water St. near the intersection of 3rd Avenue when they observed a male urinating along 3rd Avenue

The officer then turned north onto 3rd Avenue. While doing so, the male zipped up his pants and took off running north. The officer activated their emergency lights and the male immediately stopped running in the alleyway.

The officer got out of their squad car and made contact with the male. They told them they observed them urinating in the snowbank and asked why they had taken off running.

The male said he was running to get out of the road,     but the officer said he wasn’t running on the road and it appeared he was running because he observed the officer’s squad car.

The male said again that he was running to get out of the road and denied he ran because he saw the squad car.

While speaking with the male, the officer observed his speech to be heavily slurred, glossy eyes and the odor of intoxicants coming from his breath.

The officer asked the male for identification and asked if he was 21, to which he responded he was. The officer then asked if the male would submit to a preliminary breath test. He agreed to, but was unable to successfully complete his breath test because he began spitting into the tube instead of breathing into it.

The officer told the male he was free to leave and left him with a warning about urinating in public and running from an officer.

No further information was given at the time.

Dirks can be reached at [email protected].