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The Daily Wildcat

The Daily Wildcat

 

    Police Beat

    A University of Arizona Police Department patrol car nearly hit a 21-year-old man when he landed right in front of it after doing a trick with his bicycle July 29.

    At about 1:30 a.m., a UAPD officer had been patrolling when he saw a man on a bike in the parking lot near the Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering building, 1130 N. Mountain Ave. As the officer drove toward the man, 18, to investigate, he saw another man approaching on a bike.

    The man, 21, unable to see the patrol car from the angle of his approach, jumped off a brick retaining wall right out in front of the car, causing the officer to brake suddenly.

    When the officer began to get out of his patrol car, the trick rider, who was about 15 feet away, looked at him, smiled and said, “”Bye,”” according to reports. The man laughed and, with the younger man, began to ride away from the officer.

    The pair turned south on North Mountain Avenue and crossed East Speedway Boulevard, turning east, where another officer stopped them at the bus stop turnout.

    When asked why he had run, the older man said he knew he was not supposed to be doing bicycle tricks on campus.

    Because the older man had been previously warned for doing bicycle tricks on campus, the officer cited him for third-degree criminal trespassing and released him.

    Because the 18-year-old had been acting as a lookout for the other man and because he had run from UAPD, the officer told him that he “”was not allowed to be on any UA property in any capacity or he could be arrested for criminal trespass,”” according to reports.


    A homeless man was arrested for trespassing after he was found locked inside an outdoor vending machine area July 29.

    A passer-by alerted police at around 7 a.m. that a man was locked in the vending area next to the Education building, 1430 E. Second St. Upon arrival, the officer recognized the man from previous meetings.

    The man, 54, told the officer that he had been cutting through campus the day before at around 2 p.m. when it started to rain heavily, so he sought shelter in the covered vending area, where he later dozed off. He said he awoke later in the day to find the gate locked.

    When a vending machine company employee arrived to unlock it, he said he had looked inside the area at 4:30 p.m., saw no one inside and locked up.

    The homeless man said he had been squatting between the north wall and the last machine.

    When the vending employee said the gate makes a loud sound when shutting, the homeless man replied that he was a heavy sleeper.

    A records check showed that the man had been warned and arrested by UAPD for trespassing 28 times since 1997.

    He was arrested for third-degree criminal trespassing and a misdemeanor warrant, then was booked into Pima County Jail.


    Multiple fights involving UA football players broke out at a fraternity house during an unsanctioned party at around 1:30 a.m. July 22.

    As the police arrived at the Delta Chi house, 1701 E. First St., the football players and others at the party fled. One person was arrested for underage drinking.

    When an officer approached the person who threw the party, the man, 21, said he had rented the house from the “”house father”” for just that purpose, according to reports.

    The man said there had been around 150-200 people in attendance and that there had been alcohol, but that his 10-, 15-man “”security staff”” had been monitoring it, according to reports. Heexplained that the staff was not from a professional security company and was actually a bunch of his friends.

    The man said he was unaware that he was supposed to advise UAPD of parties before holding them.

    When questioned about the fight, the man said several members of the football team had an altercation among one another that spilled outside.

    The officer told the man that they could not identify any people involved because they fled when UAPD arrived.

    The man said there appeared to be no serious injuries and that while there were no weapons used, there had been the threat of weapons use.

    The officer tried without success to contact the “”house father”” but was able to leave a voicemail, according to reports. The officer then issued a Code of Conduct referral to the house for the multiple violations of its rental agreement, which includes underage drinking, extreme behavior and the lack of a professional security outfit to monitor the actions of partygoers.


    A woman was reported to be dangling her legs inside the Old Main fountain July 22.

    When officers arrived, the woman, 47, was “”sitting directly above a visible and securely posted sign”” reading “”Keep Out of Fountain,”” according to reports. The fountain had water in it and was operational.

    The officer indicated the sign to her, and she said, “”My feet aren’t in the water.””

    When the officer asked for the woman’s identification and began to request a records check, she muttered, “”Oh, this is going in my blog,”” as she removed her legs from inside the fountain area.

    The officer told her she could be at the fountain, but not in it.

    The woman argued that the sign was not specific enough and that the police could not tell her what to do.

    The officer told her the sign meant exactly that she could not be inside the fountain and added that she would be subject to arrest for criminal trespass if found inside the fountain again.

    She said that the officer “”should be solving rape cases instead of harassing her.”” She then pointed to different areas of the fountain, asking if she would be arrested for sitting “”there, or there or there.””

    Her actions led the officer to believe that she would not follow the posted signs if allowed to stay at that time, so the officer told her to leave the immediate area.

    She refused and said the officer could not tell her where to go, so the officer applied a wrist lock to her left wrist and escorted her to the street. She offered no resistance.

    As she walked away, she screamed that the officer had “”broken her arm,”” while wildly gesturing to the officer with her left arm, according to reports.

    The officer noted no indication that she was injured.

    Police Beat is compiled from official University of Arizona Police?Department reports. A complete list of UAPD activity can be found at http://uapd.arizona.edu.

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