Last week, the UW-Eau Claire Police Department had cases involving drug paraphernalia, traffic stops, underage drinking and a man on the run in this edition of the police blotter.

What’s that Smell?

Officers responded on Thursday, Sept. 10 at mid-morning to a complaint called in about the smell of marijuana in one of the residence halls. The officers arrived on the scene and were met by the complainant, who could not identify exactly which room the smell was coming from. 

The officers walked the hall and said they could not smell marijuana, but they could smell air freshener. When checking the door frames of some of the rooms for any smells, officer 1 could hear air freshener being sprayed in the room. Officer 1 knocked and the door opened.

The subject, who was confirmed to be a UW-Eau Claire student, allowed the officers inside after they requested permission. The officers noticed the strong odor of air freshener, a towel on the floor by the door and a fan blowing out an open window. 

The subject said they smoked marijuana earlier in the day, and when asked permission for a search of the room for marijuana or paraphernalia, the subject accepted. 

The officers searched the room and found two metal grinders with green flakes on them, a glass mouthpiece with burnt residue, and another glass mouthpiece with brown residue.

The officers confiscated all paraphernalia. Because this was the subject’s first offense, she was asked to join the Diversion Program, to which the subject agreed.

License and Registration

Two traffic stops went back to back just past noon on Tuesday, Sept. 8.

In the first traffic stop, an officer noticed a Blue SUV in front of them with suspended registration due to an outstanding fee of parking tickets. The officer initiated a traffic stop.

The driver of the vehicle, a male, said he did not know his registration was suspended but was aware that he had unpaid parking tickets. The subject was also unable to provide proof of insurance. He was cited for invalid registration and given a written warning for no proof of insurance.

The second traffic stop happened just minutes later, when the officer observed a vehicle with registration stickers that were expired as of May 2020. The officer made contact with the vehicle owner.

The driver, also male, was aware that his registration was expired and the officer suspended the subject from driving. The subject was also given a citation and a written warning. 

Man on the Run

After midnight on Sunday, Sept. 13, an officer was driving and observed a group of four people walking down the street. The officer noticed one of the subjects with a beer can in his hand. The officer pulled over and approached them on foot. The officer saw the male subject try to hide the can behind his back. 

When the officer asked Subject 1 to show his hands, he took off running. The officer shouted for him to stop several times before calling another officer nearby. The second officer then pursued the male with the emergency lights on. He handcuffed the male with no struggle and identified him as a UW-Eau Claire student. 

The subject was underage, but had not received any prior underage violations. The subject cooperated and said he admitted his mistakes. The officers issued him an underage drinking citation as well as referred him to the Diversion Program.

Plueger can be reached at [email protected].