Last week, the UW-Eau Claire Police Department had cases involving a person slumped over a bench, a traffic complaint, an activated fire alarm and an animal nuisance, which are all featured in this week’s Police Blotter.

Slumped Over 

At 4 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 23, an officer observed a male subject sitting up, slumped over on a bench outside on the east side of the Haas Fine Arts Center. The officer went to check on the subject and found him sleeping with a lit cigar in his hand.

The officer woke the subject up and asked the subject if he was okay. The subject said he was okay and identified himself.

The subject is a registered sex offender who is on probation for a sex offence and drugs. The subject is also homeless and normally stays with a friend or at the Sojourner House.

The subject said he was sitting for around 15 minutes and accidentally fell asleep. The officer did not believe the man intended to camp on the bench. The man also did not appear intoxicated.

The officer told the subject that he wanted to make sure he was okay and explained the university ordinance against camping to him. The subject said he was fine and that he understood the ordinance.

The subject left the area on foot and told the officer he was going to get some coffee.

Traffic Complaint

While on active patrol around 9:42 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 24, a campus police officer overheard units dispatched to the intersection of West MacArthur Avenue and Stein Boulevard for a male subject who had hit a female’s car and then proceeded to yell at her. 

The officer decided to go to the nearby scene until other officers arrived.

When the officer arrived on the scene, a male subject was standing on the boulevard with another officer. The officer approached a white SUV and met a visibly upset female subject who had been crying and was shaking. The female gave the officer her driver’s license to identify herself.

The female explained she owns the house on the corner of Stein Boulevard and West MacArthur Avenue. The female said she backed out of her driveway and saw the male subject’s car to the left of hers in the lane of traffic. 

The female attempted to get in the right turn lane, but the male subject got out of his vehicle and began yelling at her. The female also reported that the male began hitting her car with a green water bottle. She indicated that he had struck her vehicle on the back driver’s side liftgate area. 

The female said that she had not struck the male subject’s vehicle nor had she noticed it prior to entering the roadway.

She said that the male subject kept walking around her vehicle and touching it. She said this scared her and she called 911.

The female provided proof of insurance to the officer before the officer left the scene.

Animal Nuisance; Fox on 100 Garfield Avenue Front Patio

At around 3:20 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 24, an officer was dispatched to the area near Vicki Lord Larson Hall in reference to an animal nuisance.

The officer made contact with the person that called it in who stated he had left the area, but thought that the animal, a fox, should be checked on as people were getting close to it and videotaping it.

When the officer arrived, contact was made with two subjects who had been sitting on the patio and filming the fox. The subjects reported the fox seemed scared but healthy.

The officer watched the video the subjects had taken of the fox walking around the patio appearing to be in good health. Based on the video, the officer did not think the fox was sick or of any harm to people.

The subjects directed the officer to the side of the patio near the water where they said the fox ran down the hillside. 

The officer walked the fence line around the area but did not see the fox.

Activated Fire Alarm

An officer was dispatched to The Priory residence hall at around 7:39 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 26 to assist the fire department with an activated fire alarm.

When the officer arrived on scene, the building was evacuated already. The officer located the fire panel and saw the activated fire was located on the second floor of the building in room 205 and indicated that there was smoke being detected.

The officer reached the location of the detector which was next to the kitchen. The officer noticed slightly charred food on the stove despite there being no active smoke or fire in the building.

Township Fire Department said that the food on the stove caused the fire alarm to go off. The officer reset the fire panel and made sure it was working normally.

Students were then told they could re-enter the building.

Fanetti can be reached at [email protected].