Lawn sweeper on fire

At 11:52 a.m. on Nov. 3, an officer was notified by the Communication Center of a possible university vehicle on fire in the Water St. parking lot. 

The officer then began to travel to the area when the Center confirmed the vehicle was on fire on the sidewalk at the intersection of 1st Ave and Water St. 

When the officer arrived on scene, the officer observed the Smithco Turf Sweeper with UWEC number GE0018 was fully engulfed with flames. The officer approached the operator of the vehicle, who was standing near the fire and preventing people from approaching. 

The officer then blocked off some of Water St. located right next to the fire. 

The Eau Claire Fire Department arrived on scene and began to extinguish the fire. Two officers then continued to provide traffic control until ECFD put out the fire. 

The officer had contacted Facilities Management for the removal of the sweeper and then cleared the scene. 

Smoke investigation

At 8:53 p.m. on Nov. 5, an officer was dispatched near Centennial Hall in regards to a concern of large amounts of smoke on lower campus. 

The Center told the officer that a large amount of thick smoke had been observed near the area of Centennial and the caller was unsure what the smoke smelled like or where it had been coming from. 

As the officer made their way to lower campus, the ECFD was enroute to also investigate. 

Upon arrival, the officer observed a moderate amount of smoke within the general vicinity of Centennial. Once ECFD arrived on scene, they said the smoke was most likely from someone burning yard waste or leaves within the neighborhood adjacent to lower campus. 

ECFD and the officer continued searching the surrounding area, where they found the smoke was strongest along the 200 and 300 blocks of Roosevelt Ave. However, no fire was located.

The officer then traveled eastbound along the 800 and 700 block of Putnam Dr. and once again was unable to locate the source of the smoke. 

The Center informed the officer that ECFD had cleared from the scene as they were unable to locate the source of the smoke. 

The officer then also cleared from the scene.

Traffic stop with a suspended license 

At 9:44 a.m. on Nov. 5, an officer was performing active patrol when they observed a red SUV with registration stickers that had expired in April 2020. 

When the officer checked the vehicle’s registration, they found the registration was suspended due to $75 in unpaid parking tickets from Chippewa Valley Technical College.

The officer then pulled the vehicle over and informed the driver of the reason for the stop. The driver said he had forgotten to pay a parking ticket. He also stated he had no proof of insurance, but said the vehicle was insured by American Family.

The driver also was valid to drive with no warrants and was not on probation.

The officer began writing up a citation that gave the driver a non-mandatory court appearance of 2:00 p.m. on Dec. 16, 2020 and a bond amount of $175.30.

The driver was given a written warning for no proof of insurance and a cracked windshield that the officer noticed blocked the driver’s direct sight. 

After returning to the vehicle and issuing the driver with a copy of the citation and warning, the officer then cleared the scene. 

Huettner can be reached at [email protected].