Is Batman fighting or committing crime?

An Oak Ridge Hall resident chose to enter a diversion program after UW-Eau Claire police found marijuana in his car, Feb. 28.

At about 9:24 p.m., campus police received a report of the odor of marijuana on the first floor of Oak Ridge Hall. The complainant described three suspicious male subjects entering the building, one of which was outfitted in a Batman costume. Upon arrival, the responding officers were able to determine which room the odor was emanating from. According to the police report, they heard several voices within the room.

Police knocked, and the resident answered the door and allowed them entry. Two other male subjects were inside the room. One subject was wearing a black stocking cap, a black Batman mask sitting beside him.

The officers asked each of the subjects if they had smoked marijuana in the room. The subject wearing the black stocking cap replied “not within the room,” according to the report. He later clarified that he had smoked a marijuana joint in his car alone approximately 20 minutes before their arrival. The other two subjects denied smoking.

The subject advised there were no illegal items within the room besides rolling papers on the desk. He denied police permission to search his belongings, stating he did not feel “comfortable,” according to police reports.

All his illegal items were inside his car in the Oak Ridge lot.

The resident gave consent for the officers to search the room. Police found only a small amount of alcohol, which was disposed of immediately. Nothing else of interest was found in the room.

The subject then showed the officers his car in the Oak Ridge lot. Campus police searched the vehicle, where they found a cone-shaped package of pre-rolled cigarette papers, two rolled marijuana joints, a plastic baggy with “green leafy material”, determined by the officer as marijuana, and a silver grinder resembling a flashlight, according to the report.

The subject agreed to the diversion program, and after confiscating all illegal items, police cleared the scene.

Apologetic

A campus visitor received a first offense underage alcohol consumption citation near Towers South, Feb. 27.

While “foot monitoring” a large group of people waiting for The Right Way shuttle bus to arrive at the 600 block of University Drive, a campus police officer observed a male subject exiting Towers South at approximately 10:33 p.m. The subject was walking “unusually,” and “in a manner suggesting he may have been hurt,” according to a campus police report.

As the officer continued observing the subject, it became clear he was walking strange from intoxication, not injury. Suddenly, the subject fell to the ground. He got up quickly and jogged toward a second bus that arrived.

After making eye contact with the officer, the subject attempted to remove the jersey he was wearing and hide himself from the officer.

The officer approached the subject, stating he needed to talk to the subject. The subject did not immediately respond. The officer took hold of the subjects left arm. A second subject grabbed the male’s right arm and stated the officer had no right to touch or contact him. The officer stated he had reason, and continued escorting the subject away.

After making sure the subject was alright, the officer asked him for identification. As the subject did this, the officer noticed a clear plastic bottle with dark liquid inside. The subject stated it was a mixed drink with vodka, and dumped it out upon the officer’s request. According to the police report, the subject told the officer “he was drunk” and apologized.

The officer noticed the subject’s speech was extremely slurred, and his eyes were “bloodshot and glassy,” and would “sway continuously,” according the report. The subject explained he was visiting “from out of town,” and he was staying with a resident of Sutherland Hall.

A preliminary breath test of the subject registered a .17 blood alcohol content.

The officer helped the subject into Sutherland after issuing him a first offense underage alcohol consumption citation.

Hibbard smokers

University police responded to a report of several males smoking what appeared to be marijuana outside of Hibbard Humanities Hall, Mar. 2.

University mechanic Mark Davenport was exiting a mechanical room at the corner of the building when he saw the subjects smoking at about 12:50 p.m. They appeared “nervous” when he came outside, according to the police report.

Davenport described the pipes they were smoking out of as “longer tubes probably made from glass,” according to the report.

Upon arriving on the scene, the responding officer did not find anyone, and could only smell “a faint odor of cigarettes,” usual for the designated smoking area. The officer checked the ground, ashtrays, and garbage cans nearby.

After finding nothing suspicious, the officer cleared the scene.