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

Cooking Catastrophe

An officer was dispatched to Governors Hall on March 16 at about 7:05 p.m. concerning the activation of a general fire alarm in the building. The officer responded in emergency mode from W. Hamilton Avenue and State Street.

When the officer arrived on scene, the fire department was already there and had finished their assessment.

The fire department said there was burnt food in the oven in the basement kitchen, which caused the smoke. The fire department asked the officer to silence the alarm.

A fan was placed in the basement in an attempt to mitigate the smoke in the building. Due to the amount of smoke inside the building, the fire department said the alarm should be reset after the building had time to ventilate.

The officer cleared the scene, but returned to Governors at 8:56 p.m. and checked the area for smoke. After seeing the area was clear, the officer reset the fire alarm system, which showed all systems were normal.

Tree Climbing

An officer was dispatched to Schneider Hall on March 18 at 7:35 a.m. due to a complaint about a homeless man up in a tree.

The complainant, a female student, reported it. The officer called the complainant while en route. She described the subject as a homeless male to the officer, who managed to identify the subject based on description.

The complainant said the subject was on the mall side of Schneider and was at the top of a pine tree, just as high as the roof.

The complainant said she recognized the subject from a visit to the McIntyre Library. The officer said he had seen him sleeping in the library in the past. The complainant said she did not see him sleeping, she just knew the subject was always in the library.

The officer thanked the complainant, who did not have any additional information, for the call.

The officer arrived on scene and located the subject in a pine tree at the southwest side of Schneider. The officer knew the subject from previous contacts. The subject had no warrants and was not on probation.

The subject was reportedly about 45 feet up in the tree and on his way down when the officer asked him what he was doing in the tree. The subject responded said it was a good way to get exercise.

The officer asked the subject to climb down, which he complied to. The subject spoke about his climbing abilities, saying he was an expert tree climber, as he had climbed much taller trees in Washington State before.

The officer told the subject he was not allowed to climb any trees on campus because of safety concerns and potential damage to the trees. The officer spoke with the subject about his actions and explained how, by doing things like this, he would draw attention to himself and the police would be contacted.

The subject said he would climb trees off campus and away from people in the future. The officer said he couldn’t prevent the subject from doing so off campus, but recommended he did not so that the subject would not hurt himself.

The subject then said he was going to the library, and the officer cleared.

Mary Kay Delay

An officer was performing a stationary patrol in a squad car in the Towers Lot on March 16 at 10:06 a.m. when she observed a vehicle traveling southbound along the 700 block of University Drive.

The officer observed the vehicle fail to stop at the stop sign located at the intersection of 600 University and 700 University Drive. The officer visually estimated the vehicle to travel through the intersection at about 10 mph.

The vehicle performed a left-hand turn and continued eastbound along the 600 block of University Drive

Due to traffic and road conditions, the officer was not able to catch up to the vehicle until she reached the intersection of W. Clairemont Avenue and University Drive.

The vehicle performed a left-hand turn and accelerated onto Clairemont Avenue. The officer immediately noticed the vehicle creating significant distance between itself and the patrol car.

The officer activated her radar and gained a reading of about 60 mph. The officer observed the vehicle pass multiple vehicles traveling in the right lane.

The officer activated her emergency lights and performed a traffic stop on the vehicle at the intersection of Keith Street and Clairemont Avenue.

The officer made contact with the female driver, who said she was in a hurry to get to a Mary Kay party. The subject said she knew she had been speeding and said she had been traveling at 60 mph.

The subject apologized for speeding and not stopping at the stop sign. She said she was aware she had to stop at the indicated stop sign. The subject then provided the officer with current proof of insurance, and was found to be valid to drive with no warrants, and was not on probation.

The officer prepared a citation and written warning for speed, then returned to the vehicle and issued the subject with her copies of the citation and warning.

After answering the subject’s questions, the officer cleared the scene.

Spierings can be reached at [email protected]