Getting the facts straight

Two University of Arizona Police Department officers were training new officers on Highland Avenue when a resident of Likins Hall reported an assault on Saturday night. Officers spoke to the resident, who said another man had assaulted him. Officers found him sitting in a white Suburban with two other students and asked them to step out of the vehicle.

When officers explained why they had been stopped, the students told them their facts were mixed up. The man who was accused of the assault told officers that the resident had tried to get into the car with alcohol, but the man made him get out. The driver also told the resident, “Get the fuck out of here, get out.” The driver told officers that the resident became angry. Soon a second passenger took his seat in the car.

The driver said the resident walked over to the driver’s seat and punched him in the face while pushing the door against him. The driver then got out of the car and started pushing the resident back, and the man grabbed his head and head-butted him in the teeth. The driver punched the student a few times, got back in the car and drove away.

When officers returned to the resident, they told him what the other students said. The man said he never had any alcohol and that he called the police for help. He asked officers not to side with the other students.

Officers told the resident numerous times that they were not choosing anyone’s side, but just trying to hear the facts of the case. After talking to officers for a long time, the resident decided he had nothing more to say and wanted to speak with an attorney. Officers arrested him for minor in possession of alcohol in body and assault. They took him to Pima County Jail and referred him to the Dean of Students Office.

Not my pipe, still my problem

A UAPD officer was patrolling University Boulevard on Saturday at 12:03 a.m. in his car when he nearly hit a 2010 Mazda 3. The driver was a student who had turned into the opposite lane, forcing the officer to brake immediately.

The officer then pulled the Mazda over. The officer asked the driver if he was all right, and the driver said yes, he was fine. He asked for his driver’s license and registration. As the driver was speaking, the officer smelled marijuana coming from the car. The officer asked if the student had been smoking marijuana and he replied, “Yes, I have but it was earlier this evening.”

The officer asked the student to step out of the car so that he could conduct a search. He found a blue pipe in the center console. The student then told the officer that the pipe was not his. The student was cited for possession of narcotics paraphernalia and expired registration. The pipe was sent to UAPD Property and Evidence.