Police Blotter

Police respond to intoxicated student on campus hill, later brought to detox

Police+Blotter

Story by Trent Tetzlaff, Copy Editor

Detox

A university student received a first offense underage alcohol consumption citation on the UW-Eau Claire campus hill, and was brought to detox Friday night after he couldn’t stand up.

UW-Eau Claire Police responded to a call from a student patrol officer at 10:35 p.m. regarding what appeared to be an intoxicated student stumbling down the hill, swaying side to side and holding onto the railings.

The responding officer parked her car and followed the student who slowed down at the bottom of the hill, and walked into the intersection as he checked his phone.

As the officer approached the male subject, he didn’t notice her presence until she stopped in front of him.

Upon noticing the officer, the subject said “I’m so sorry,” and let the officer walk with him to the sidewalk. During the walk with the student, the officer could smell a strong odor of intoxicants and noticed the subjects red, bloodshot eyes.

The student began to get emotional with the officer and broke down crying as she questioned him. The subject said he was a campus student, but didn’t know what dorm he lived in, or how much he drank that night.

The subject also let the officer know he had smoked K2 two years ago, and “he was never the same person again.” The student then begged the officer to make the drug illegal because of it’s effects, prompting the officer to ask the subject if he had smoked K2 that night.

The student declined, but said he had taken two types of prescription anti-depressants that morning.

The student consented to a breathalyzer test blowing a .18. The officer wrote him a first offense underage alcohol consumption citation and allowed the student to walk back to his dorm, because he said his roommate was sober.

However, as the student took his first steps away from the officer, he dramatically fell to the ground and rolled around in the grass.

The officer asked him if he would like to go to detox, and the student concurred.

The subject was then taken by ambulance to detox at Sacred heart Hospital to recover overnight.

Questionable Scents

A Towers North Resident Assistant called campus police to report the smell of “burnt marijuana” in a stairwell just after 9 p.m. Sunday night.

The RA told officers she could smell the scent between two floors, and the officers arrived to check the scene around 9:15 p.m.

The officers checked the area in the stairwell and also checked up and down both floors, but couldn’t find any paraphernalia.

The officers left the scene after they believed whoever had smoked in the area had left the scene for good.

A Mysterious Call

Late Saturday evening, officers were dispatched to the intersection of Garfield Avenue and University Drive for a 911 hang up call.

The dispatcher said the call appeared to be from a cell phone in a pocket, however the phone had no connections locally.

The officers tried calling the number back, but no one answered and the voice mail wasn’t set up, prompting the officers to search the area.

A Badger coach bus was leaving the area when the officers arrived, leaving multiple vehicles  parked after dropping off and picking up individuals.

The officers chatted with occupants and questioned them for their numbers, but, none of the individuals’ numbers matched with the callers.

The officers left the scene, and believed no one in the area was in need of assistance.