Police Blotter

This week, student suspiciously carries large monitor through campus at late hours and religious group abruptly approaches students

More stories from Stephanie Smith

Police+Blotter

Photo by Submitted

Student carries large computer monitor through campus late at night

At around 10:56 p.m. on Saturday Oct. 28, a campus police officer was performing active foot patrol on lower campus near the base of the Garfield Avenue Hill where she observed a male subject in a red sweatshirt walking toward her carrying a large black computer monitor.

The male subject was wearing two backpacks and had his hood up. According to the report, once the subject saw the officer, he quickened his pace as he walked up the hill.

Due to the odd behavior and the fact the subject was carrying a large computer monitor similar to the ones placed around campus, the officer decided to walk after him in an effort to make contact.

The officer was able to catch up to the subject in the middle of the hill on the sidewalk. She illuminated him with her flashlight and introduced herself.

According to the report, the subject initially would not look the officer in the eyes and appeared to be very nervous.

The subject told the officer he was part of a computer club on campus that plays games every other Saturday from 10 a.m.-10 p.m. in the library. He said it was his personal monitor and that he brought the monitor down for the computer club.

He told the officer he attempted to call Campus Cab three times but no one would answer so he decided to walk back to his room at the Clarion Hotel.

The officer asked the subject if she could check the serial number of the monitor.  After checking the serial number, it was confirmed there were no warrants on either the monitor or the subject.

The subject told the officer when he saw her, he thought she was a student so he had ignored her and kept walking. According to the report, the officer thanked him for stopping to speak with her.

Another campus officer transported the subject back to the Clarion Hotel so he would not have to walk carrying the monitor.

 

‘Aggressive’ religious group

At around 9:38 p.m. on Wednesday Oct. 25, a campus police officer was contacted regarding an unwanted contact with a religious organization in the Schneider Social Science parking lot on Monday Oct. 23 around 11 p.m.

The female complainant said she wanted to report the incident to the police after seeing similar contacts on Facebook that had occurred in Eau Claire within the past few days.

The officer met the female at her house on South Farwell Street and talked to both the complainant and her roommate, who were together when the incident occurred.

According to the report, the complainant said she and her roommate were walking to her car in the Schneider Hall parking lot on Monday when an approximately 20-year-old African American female approached them.

The subject had exited from a black Cadillac Escalade that had stopped in the roadway on Park Avenue. The complainant said the unknown female subject ran towards them and asked if they were scared.  The subject then began talking to them about God and the religious organization she belonged to.

The two female complainants said a second African American female around the same age approached them and also started talking about the religion.

The complainant told the officer they felt the women were aggressive and attempted to position their bodies to keep them from entering her car.

The complainants continued to tell the officer a silver Chevrolet car entered the parking lot with two African American males inside and stopped near their vehicle.

According to the report, the black Cadillac Escalade then entered the parking lot. This made the complainants feel uncomfortable and scared so they abruptly ended the contact and quickly got into their car and drove away from the area.

According to the report, the incident lasted about three to four minutes.

The officer told the complainants about similar contacts that had occurred in Eau Claire in the previous days and told them police believe these subjects may have been part of a religious organization called World Mission Society Church of God.

The officer explained to them that members of the organization had told Eau Claire Police during contacts with them that they were in town for three days. They are believed to have left on Tuesday, Oct. 24.