Ice fight
Snowball fights are a classic winter art form. But I guess when you live in Tucson, petty criminals have to settle for chucking ice at people.
A University of Arizona Police Department officer met with a UA employee in the lobby of the police station on Nov. 27 at around 3:45 p.m. He was there to report an assault he had experienced an hour earlier.
The employee told the officer he had been walking near Sixth Street Garage when he was hit on the left side of his face and mouth by a chunk of ice. He looked up to see a dark colored car quickly drive away.
He chased the car for a while and found a similar-looking vehicle near Seventh Street. When two men got out of the car, the employee confronted them, though he was not certain they were the ones behind the ice attack, according to the report.
The employee told the men that he did not want trouble, but that he had been hit with ice. The men reportedly told him that they had no idea why he was telling them that. The employee continued, saying that he was angry and would continue looking for the assailant. The men told him, “Good luck with that.”
He remembered that the driver had a soda cup with him, though the ice had definitely been thrown by the person in the passenger seat.
The employee showed the officer a picture he had taken of the men’s car. He also told him that he was not hurt and the officer found no marks on his face. He wanted to press charges if a suspect was found, according to the report.
The officer went to the area near the ice attack and found a car matching the one in the employee’s photo. He spoke with the UA student in the car, who asked if this was about the guy who spoke with them about getting hit by ice. The student said he didn’t know anything more about the incident.
Snapped chat
When it comes to Snapchat, stick to dog filters, not threats against the entire school.
A UAPD officer began his search for a student on the night of Dec. 1 after the student posted a concerning photo to his Snapchat.
In the Snapchat photo, the student is holding what appeared to be a long black gun. He captioned the image, “guys do yourself a favor and don’t go back to school Monday,” according to the report.
Law enforcement were first alerted to the possible threat via the LiveSafe app and a friend of the student who was worried after seeing the photo and noticing that the student did not respond to him online.
A UAPD officer went to the address of what he believed was the student’s home. When he arrived, he met with the student’s mother and told her why he was there. She told him that he does not live there and does not have any weapons. She also told him her son had never made any threats or suicidal remarks to her.
When the officer asked where her son lives now, she could not remember but said his grandmother might know. The officer spoke with the grandmother, who said she also did not know the actual address but that the student’s mother knows how to get there in a car.
The mother agreed to take the officer to her son’s home as long as the grandmother was allowed to go with them. She also asked several times to confirm that he was really a police officer.
Once the grandmother arrived, the group headed to the student’s home. When they got there, the officer told the women to remain in the car.
The officer, along with other UAPD officers who joined him, knocked on the door and announced that they were police officers. The student’s roommate opened the door and agreed to go get him.
The student came to the door and spoke with the officers. He reportedly knew immediately that the officers were there about the Snapchat post. He allowed them inside.
The student told the officers that the photo was a joke and that he does not own any actual guns or weapons. The “gun” in the picture was actually two sticks tied together with bike tubing. He showed the “gun” to the officers who confirmed it was not a real weapon. No other weapons were found during a search of his room.
The student also said that he had been feeling down lately, but was not suicidal and had not harmed himself or anybody else.
The officers provided the student with information on how to contact Counseling & Psychological Services and the number for a crisis hotline. The student was also referred to the Dean of Students Office.
Gone in a flash
Police Beat’s Christmas wish would be to end the year without another entry about a woman experiencing sexual harassment on campus.
But that’s not what this column is about, now is it?
A UAPD officer spoke with a UA professor on the phone who said he was calling on behalf of a UA student who had spoken to an indecent man on Nov. 26 at around 3 p.m.
The officer asked if the student was still in the office with the professor and if she would speak with him. The student was still there but wished to remain anonymous. The professor relayed the student’s story to the officer.
The student had been walking near the Eller College at around 2 p.m. when a car pulled up next to her, according to the report. The driver asked her for directions to the Campus Recreation Center.
The student took out her phone to look up directions. That’s when she noticed that the man had his penis exposed.
The student ran off and went to the professor’s office.
The officer asked the professor to assess the student’s current state. He told the officer that the student had initially seemed shocked and upset but was calmer now. The officer had the professor ask if the student wanted to speak to a counselor. She declined, saying she just wanted her sister to pick her up so she could go home. She was given the case number in case she wanted to speak to an officer in the future.
After the phone call, the officer went to the area near Helen Street and Fremont Avenue. There were no cars in the area that matched the description provided by the student. The officer was also able to review security footage of the area from a nearby parking garage but found no matching car.
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