911 hang-up

On Tuesday, Oct. 20 at approximately ‪3:34 p.m.,‬ an officer was dispatched to Chancellors Hall Lot to investigate an unresponsive line that recently dialed 911. 

The Communication Center said they had received one call, but did not reach anyone when they called the number back. Therefore, an officer headed toward the area to check the lot where the call came from.

Upon arrival, the officer could not locate anyone in need of assistance. 

Calling the number back once again, the officer made contact with a UW-Eau Claire student who had informed the officer that due to a broken phone screen, the 911 call must have been an accident. 

The student confirmed he lived in Chancellors and was not in need of any emergency services. 

Traffic stop: 32 offenses 

On Tuesday, Oct. 23 at approximately 10:35 p.m., an officer was driving on Water St. when they noticed a vehicle without a license plate. After getting a closer look, the officer was unable to see any temporary plates and pulled the vehicle over. 

The officer informed the driver that they were pulled over because of their missing plates. Then the driver provided the officer with identification and had said he was aware he did not have valid plates. 

The officer asked to see another passenger’s identification. She then expressed it was not a legal requirement, but because the officer was respectful, she would give her state-issued ID. The passenger had a suspended license. 

Being a few blocks away from the driver’s home, the officer informed the suspects once the paperwork was done, they would be allowed to drive to the house while being followed. 

However, they were told by the officer that once the car was taken home, the car could not be driven again until a valid license plate was put on the car. The driver understood and began explaining the issues they were having in getting the car registered. 

The officer responded by saying it was a Wisconsin law that a vehicle must be insured and registered in order to legally operate it on a roadway. 

Based on the level of cooperation, the officer had only cited him for suspended license and gave a warning: next time, they would be cited for all offenses not fixed. 

The officer found the driver had 32 previous offenses, yet, was not on probation. 

Once the citation was complete, the officer again reminded the suspects how important it was to get the car registered and answered any questions they had before ending the interaction and following the car back to their home.

911 hang-up: part two 

An officer was sent to investigate an unresponsive line which had recently dialed 911 on Sunday, Oct. 25 at approximately 2:37 a.m.

The Communication Center said they received the call, but did not hear anything or anyone on the line. It appeared the phone call had been disconnected during communication. 

The officer then went to the location of the call, Bollinger Fields, where the 911 caller was unable to be located. 

The officer looked around the scene, then drove around the area of Bollinger Fields to make sure there weren’t any subjects in an emergency situation. 

Unable to find anyone, the officer left the area and reported no emergency was taking place at this time. 

Huettner can be reached at [email protected].