Police Blotter

Lea Kopke

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The following information was obtained from UW-Eau Claire Police Department records.

No cause for alarm

At 7:47 a.m. on Sept. 2, a campus officer was dispatched by the communication center to an unknown alarm activation on the corner of Karlgaard Towers Hall North by Towers Circle. A university employee reported hearing the alarm coming from somewhere near the construction zone.

Upon arrival, the officer met with the employee on the east side of the building, where both were able to hear the alarm, but neither could pinpoint its exact location. The employee then left to check the basement of Karlgaard Towers Hall North, while the officer continued to check the construction site and around the exterior of the building.

The officer located the alarm within a dumpster near Towers Circle, on the northwest corner of Towers Hall North. The dumpster contained construction debris that had been thrown away during the ongoing renovation of Towers North. Upon further investigation, he determined the sound to be coming from a partially disabled fire alarm pull station that had been broken into two pieces.

Upon retrieval of the pull station, the officer disabled the alarm and alerted the employee. The officer then cleared the area and disposed of the pull station in a covered dumpster within the Facilities Planning and Management Parking lot.

Underages on Garfield

At 1:37 a.m. on Sept. 10, a campus officer was conducting an active patrol along Garfield Ave. when she noticed two individuals inside the fenced-off construction zone.

She watched as the individuals walked through and exited the construction zone. The officer then approached the subjects and asked why they had been walking within the construction zone. The two responded that one of them had to go to the bathroom, so they were hurrying back to their residence hall by taking a shortcut through the construction.

The officer explained that going through the construction zone is prohibited, and it would take approximately the same amount of time to walk around the fence. The two stated that they understood.

During her conversation with the subjects, the officer noticed an odor of alcoholic beverages coming from their persons. After stating this, the subjects revealed they had been at a friend’s house and had had a couple drinks.

Upon conducting a records check, the officer found that neither subject had any warrants or were on probation. She asked if the individuals would consent to a preliminary breath test and both consented. The first returned with a 0.13 reading and the other with a 0.06 reading on a good breath sample.

The two were each issued citations for underage drinking and fined $263.50. The officer explained the citation and gave each a payment envelope and an alcohol offenders pamphlet.

The officer then allowed the two to leave and cleared the scene.

Kopke can be reached at [email protected]