Last week, UW-Eau Claire police officers responded to an intoxicated subject passed out behind Aspen Mogensen Hall and a drug case. 

What about your phone?

At 2:20 a.m. on April 30, one officer was on vehicle patrol behind Aspenson Mogensen Hall when they observed a male subject passed out near the north, center doors of the building. 

The officer exited their squad car to check on the subject. The male was identified by the ID card he had with him. He lay in a pool of vomit where his phone also lay discarded. 

The officer asked if he was okay, and the male awoke. He was covered in what appeared to be his vomit and was heavily intoxicated. 

“I think I’m going to throw up,” the male said and proceeded to do so.

After vomiting some more, the male identified himself and told the officer where he lived. The male was able to stand on his own accord. 

Though intoxicated, the male was able to hold a conversation with the officer and answer all the questions asked of him. The officer discovered he was suspended to drive with no wants and no probation. 

The officer and male discussed making arrangements for a taxi to take him home. The officer urged the male to get his phone from the vomit. 

The male didn’t want to touch it, despite the officer’s suggestions. The male left his phone at the scene. 

The officer called for a taxi and upon its arrival, they obtained some garbage bags from inside Aspenson Mogensen Hall and put them over the seats in the taxi to keep them clean. The male got in and left the scene. 

The officer didn’t collect the phone –– due to biohazard contamination –– in addition to the male choosing not to take it with him. 

It’s not marijuana, it’s essential oils 

At 12:03 a.m. on May 2, two officers were dispatched to Towers Hall South to look into a drug case. The officers met with the resident assistant in the main lobby, where she claimed she had detected the odor of marijuana while conducting her rounds. 

The RA said she’d smelled it coming from under one of the doorframes on the seventh floor. After informing the officers of which rooms she suspected it came from, the officers traveled to the seventh floor to investigate. 

Officer 1 detected a faint odor of burnt marijuana within the west hallway. They smelled around several door frames in the immediate area but were unable to detect the odor. 

Officer 1 inspected the two rooms the RA had suspected but was still unable to detect the marijuana smell. Officer 1 was, however, able to detect what they believed to be incense coming from one of the suspected rooms. 

The officers knocked on the door and were greeted by two female subjects. Both identified themselves verbally. Both females had valid driver’s licenses, had no wants, nor were on probation. 

After the officers introduced themselves, they asked for consent to enter Female 1’s room. She consented. 

Once inside the room, Officer 1 was unable to detect the odor of marijuana. The officers were unable to observe any physical signs from Female 1 or Female 2 hinting at their consumption of marijuana. 

Female 1 advised that she had been utilizing an essential oil diffuser within her room.

Due to both Female 1 and Female 2 not exhibiting any traits related to marijuana consumption, Officer 1 didn’t ask for consent to search the room. 

The officers thanked both females for their cooperation, answered their questions and cleared them from the scene. 

They made contact with the RA in the lobby and provided her with an update regarding the case. After answering her questions, both officers cleared from Towers. 

Schutte can be reached at [email protected].