What CMU police officers have noticed over the past week...

Taken from The Tartan, 28.4.97

MEDICAL, 4/22 12:51 pm -- A faculty memeber, while using the first floor Porter Hall men's room near the elevator discovered that the paper in the towel dispenser was not feeding. When the man attempted to remedy the situation, the dispenser cut his left index finger just below the knuckle. He drove himself to the hospital where he received stiches for a suspected severed tendon.

MEDICAL, 4/22 12:29 pm -- An employee in Baker hall, while working on computer connections which run from the ceiling down the wall, struck her head on the window handles. She got dizzy and requested transportation to Shadyside Hospital. She was given the tranportation.

IMPROPER ADVERTISING, 4/25 9:13pm -- A female student had distributed flyers throughout campus earlier in the week informing the community of a voice recital that she was to take a part in that weekend. She then found four posters that had been altered by unknown persons in such a way that they became offensive and damaging to her.
The defaced posters made references to the hot girls in the Females of CMU calender mentioned in a previous brief despite the fact that the girls featured on the voice recital posters were not involved in the calendars thus constituting false advertising. [sic] Campus Police agreed to take down any further altered posters that they came across.

Taken from The Tartan, 21.4.97

CRIMINAL MISCHIEF, 4/18 1:23pm -- An officer was dispatched to the hill dorms to visit Hamershlag House for a report of vandalism. Some of the residents were drawn to mischief as they decided to destroy the soda machine.
The machine, according to the repairman, had been pulled away from the wall and rolled in a futile attempt to steal soda [sic]. There was extensive damage to both the inside and outside of the machine, and the man deemed it totaled and irreparable. The value of the machine was $2500.

NAKEDNESS, 4/12 4:54 am -- A security guard radioed Campus Police, informing them of a male running naked up Margaret Morrison Street. The nude man then turned toward the football field. Another security guard saw the male running on the field and then turning and running up the stairs between Resnik and West Wing and down the Resnik walkway. An officer saw the man later running across Margaret Morrison Street and up the stairs toward Roselawn Terrace. The officer pursued on foot. He saw the man enter an apartment, and the officer entered the apartment. He found the naked actor hiding in a closet. The man was identified and issued a citation for disorderly conduct. Fortunately, no one appears to have unduly suffered from this potentially traumatizing sight.

Taken from The Tartan, 14.4.97

USED CONDOMS, 3/19 12:10pm -- An officer was dispatched to the Pittsburgh Technology Center due to reports of used condoms sitting on the floor of the first floor men's room. The night custodian noticed them there originally and turned them over to her supervisor, who subsequently turned them over to the officer who arrived on the scene. After some discussion it was decided that the condoms be placed in the trash can. The plan was then implemented.

Taken from The Tartan, 10.3.97

THEFT/RECOVERY, 3/6 3:10 am -- While investigating a noise complaint in Mudge House B-tower, Campus Police found a fire hydrant inside of the building.
Police could not determine who had brought the hydrant inside.
Physical Plant was notified to remove and transport the hydrant to a storage area since it was extremely heavy.

DISORDERLY CONDUCT, 3/3 9:01 pm -- A complaintant of Scobell Hall called Campus Police to report a water fight. Upon arriving, police found five soaking wet individuals engaged in a water battle, one of whom was the floor's RA.
The floors, walls, and steps of two floors were soaking wet and Camppus [sic] Police also saw a quart of water being thrown over the stair railings on one of the participants. The students were instructed to mop up the floors and to stop throwing the water.

Taken from The Tartan, 24.2.97

DISORDERLY CONDUCT 2/20, 12:07am -- A CMU student called Campus Police to his dorm room reporting an assault.
The student had been sitting in his room with the door opened when another student from the floor entered the room and started flipping pennies at him.
The room occupant flipped the pennies back, telling the visitor to stop and get out. The two began to tussle, and the visitor butted the room occupant with his head.
Then, the visitor started dribbling a basketball. The room occupant tried to knock the ball away, and the visitor punched the occupant. The occupant returned the punch and then, after another struggle, the visitor butted the occupant in the face, leaving a visible mark.
Police learned from the occupant's roomate that the three were friends and often horseplayed.

Taken from The Tartan, 17.2.97

EXPLOSIVE DEVICE 2/11, 8:22pm -- A complaintant notified CMU police that she had seen several males playing around with some type of fire or explosive, stating that she heard an explosion in the vicinity of Donner Hall. Police discovered three males walking towards Margaret Morrison Street, whom they stopped. One of the males was carrying an insulated thermal jug that contained liquid nitrogen and an empty plastic soda bottle. Another was carrying a plasitc garbage can that contained a rubber hose and a funnel. He stated that they blew up a plastic bottle for fun in the intramural field and also admitted blowing one up next to Donner. One of the males obtained the liquid nitrogen, which was leftover from an experiment in the Physics department.
The three were warned that their actions were dangerous and were released with a verbal warning.

Taken from The Tartan, 2/10/97

SUSPICIOUS PERSON 2/3, 1:14 pm -- An employee of the University Shoppe once again noticed the man who, two weeks ago, stole siz books from the Shoppe and reappeared in the store last week. The man, described the man as a black male, approximately 42 years old, 5'11" with salt-and-pepper hair and a chipped front tooth, entered the Shoppe and asked for change for a $5 bil. The employee, recognizing the man, pressed the store's panic button and tried to stall as she waited for Campus Police to arrive. However, the man left before the Police could arrive and could not be located. The man is believed to be the same person who committed a theft last year.

Taken from The Tartan, 2/3/97

1/28 INSTITUTIONAL VANDALISM, 1:20 pm
An electrician making repairs at Mudge House reported to CMU police that the fire door at the rear end of Mudge C-Tower had been vandalized and could not be secured. The wires running from the left side of the door to the panic bar had been cut. A note was attached to the door, which read, "To whom it may concern: We will continue to use this door until A) A card reader is put outside of it. B) The gate is re-opened or re-mounted to use our key. We are tired of our time being wasted. Thank you for you time and understanding."

Taken from The Tartan, 1/21/97

12/17 CRIMINAL MISCHIEF, 2:02 am.
CMU police discovered a discarded condom dispenser outside of a Margaret Morrison apartment. The dispenser's cover was pried off and there was no product or money found inside. Police do not know where the dispenser belongs.

1/14 THEFT, 12:53 pm.
A CMU student reported to campus police that between January 11 and 14, someone had removed $1,590.00 from her backpack.
The student said that the backpack had been left unattended several times during that period and as a result there was no way to determine when the money had been removed. The student had withdrawn the money from the bank in order to purchase a car.
On January 15, the student contacted CMU police again. The student found the money she had hiden. She had forgotten the location of the money.

Taken from The Tartan, 10/7/96

10/2 ARREST WARRANT, 2:29 pm.
A campus officer met with a city detective and U.S. Marshal, who were on campus to serve an arrest warrant for an employee of Highlander Cafe. The warrant was served at 11:50 am at the Highlander basement kitchen. The suspect was arrested peacefully and taken away. The campus officer indicated that the suspect's apartment revealed food service items that may belong to CMU.

10/3 SUSPICIOUS PERSON, 2:03 pm.
A student contacted campus police and reported that there was a male masturbating in the Doherty Hall showering room. Two officers and a security guard reported to the hall. A single male was in the stall. Upon leaving the stall, he was stopped and identified as a CMU student.
Upon being told why he was stopped, the actor denied that he was masturbating. The actor stated that he feels uncomfortable because the showers are so public, and that he sometimes showers with his shorts on.
The student who reported the incident stated entering the bathroom and seeing the male there with his clothes on the hook, and said that he never heard water running. The actor said he had taken a shower. A check of the stall found that it was wet, as was the actor's towel.

Taken from The Tartan, 9/30/96

9/20 INCIDENT, 9:52 pm.
A caller, who would not be identified, phoned campus police to complain about a 15" Steve Urkle doll hanging by a rope from a fraternity balcony. A second caller made a similar complaint and a third unidentified caller stated that it would be necessary to get "the boys together and come down here to take care of business," if the doll was not removed.
An officer responded by traveling to the fraternity and speaking to its president. The officer advised the president that phone calls indicated that the callers found the hung doll to be racially offensive, and requested its immediate removal. The fraternity brother told the officer that the previous week an Alf doll had been hung off the balcony.

9/22 HINDERING APPREHENSION, 4:23 am. Officers were patrolling the fraternity area in uniform. The officers had determined to arrest a student for repeated disorderly and thereatening conduct towards members of another fraternity. The student had previously been talking to members of another fraternit house.
As the officers approached, members of the house began to shout "five-o, five-o, look out, the cops are coming," and other warnings in an attempt to alert the student of the officers' intentions. Officers implored the fraternity brothers to stop, but were ignored.
The behaviour constitues the crime of "hindering apprehension or prosecution," and is classed as a grade three felony under PA law. The officers issued the house a citation through student life, since the behaviour possibly jeopardized the safety of the police officers

9/23 UNAUTHORIZED USE, 10:50 am. A victim reported to an officer that around 5 am someone tried to enter the victim's computer. The victim produced a printout that showed a CMU student had logged into the PC, but no materials were deleted from the system.

Taken from The Tartan, 9/16/96

9/8 MEDICAL, 12:46 pm.
While taking a shower in Resnik, a student fell in the stall. The student complained of sharp pains to the abdomen.
CMU EMS assessed the student and recommended a trip to Presbyterian University Hospital for further evaluation. The student reported blacking out upon falling, but regained consciousness later.
The student was transported to Presby (sic) by campus police.

9/11 MEDICAL, 10:38 am.
An employee of Highlander reported an injury to police. The previous day, at 11:45 am, the employee had injured his right big toe by accidentally rolling a powerlift cart over it.
The victim stated that at the time, it was not necessary to have the toe checked out, but overnight it began to thump and was painful to walk on. The employee was transported to Shadyside Hospital for a checkup.

Taken from The Tartan, 9/9/96

9/4 MEDICAL, 3:58 am.
An officer was dispatched to check on a student who had fallen out of an upper bunk in Morewood Gardens.
The victim awoke on the floor with a cut and swollen upper lip. The victim also complained of a pain in the neck. EMS placed a cervical collar around the victim's neck and requested city medics for transport.
City medics arrived and took the victim to Presbyterian Hospital for treatment.

8/31 DISORDERLY CONDUCT, 3:59 am.
While on routine patrol of the fraternities, officers observed approximately six males throwing oranges at a fraternity house. Upon their order to stop this action, the actors all fled in different directions. One actor was caught and issued a CMU citation for disorderly conduct. He also identified two other actors as fraternity brothers, but refused to give any other names.

Taken from The Tartan, 4/15/96

4/8 SUSPICIOUS PACKAGE, 8:59 pm.
An office received a package that appeared to have a book or box with smaller items. It was wrapped in newspaper with an envelope addressed to "Canegie" (sic) Mellon University.
The sender's local telephone company had no information on him. Pittsburgh Police Special operations and SWAT teams were called in. The package was x-rayed and found to contain two books and a letter of reference request.

4/6 CRIMINAL MISCHIEF, 4:53 am.
A car was damaged when two 10-speed bicycles were thrown off a patio.
One bicycle was missing the rear tire and the second bicycle had both wheels bent. Campus police who had been in the area observed that the bicycle's wheels had been damaged before the incident.

Taken from The Tartan, 3/18/96

3/7 SMOKING VIOLATION, 2:10 am.
An officer was on patrol in one of the academic buildings when he came upon a student who was smoking a cigarette. The student tried to put the cigarette out before the officer saw him. The officer asked the student for his Carnegie Mellon ID, but the student responded with, "an ID is only a state of mind."
The student then gave teh officer a very hard time about smoking in the building saying that he pays $19,000 to be able to smoke in the building.
The officer issued the student an internal citation for refusing to produce his CMU ID when requested to do so by a security officer and for violation of the CMU smoking policy.

Taken from The Tartan, 3/11/96

3/7 BURGLARY, 10:10 am.
An officer responding to a triggered door alarm in one of the hill dorms noticed a group of students driving away with a large flat-topped item in the back seat.
When the officer arrived at the dorm, he found that a television that had been purchased collectively by a group of residents had been stolen.
The next day, the officers spotted the car believed to be used in the burglary and questioned the students inside.
Two days later, Campus Police spoke with the driver of the car who after a little while spontaneously admitted to stealing the television. He also named the other students involved in the burglary and told the police who had the television.
Police retrieved the television, and the others involved in the incident admitted to the crime. Apparently, they stole the television believing it belonged to CMU.
The students who owned the television chose not to press criminal charges, but CMU citations were isssued to the three students involved in the crime.

NOT taken from The Tartan

3/6 CRUELTY TO MARINARA SAUCE, 6:23 pm.
The following was a comment card found in Highlander:

The viscosity of the spaghetti sauce (marinara) was utterly unacceptable. The fact that the sauce had no homogenous quality further decreased its palatibility. I beseech you to investigate this unfortunate occurance.

3/4 MALICIOUS DESTRUCTION OF PUBLIC PROPERTY, 9:47 pm.
Two unknown students were seen in the hallway connecting the 5th floor of Wean Hall with the basement of Doherty Hall. The observer saw these students destroying and removing various pop bottles which had been used to decorate the hallway. When the observer entered the area, the two suspects ran away, avoiding any possible identification.

Taken from The Tartan, 2/26/96

2/21 MEDICAL, 10:30 pm.
Campus police and student EMS were dispatched to Morewood Gardens after a student got dust in her eye. EMS washed out her eye with an eye solution.

2/20 TERRORISTIC THREATS, 9:31 am.
An employee had threatedned to bring a gun to campus, so campus police were called in on standby while she was released from her position.
The employee entered the building and was confronted by two officers. They explained that since she had threatened to bring a weapon onto campus, her employment was terminated. Although she reportedly had been joking, a campus police said that such a threat must be assumed to be serious in order to maintain a safe workplace. She took her things and agreed not to return to CMU.

Taken from The Tartan, 2/19/96

2/11 PERSONAL ACCIDENT, 2:52 pm.
While patrolling the College of Fine Arts, an officer observed students entering the freight elevator. The officer felt that it would be dangerous for the students to ride in the elevator, so he tried to warn them. However, while warning them, his hand was injured by the closing elevator doors. Officers and student EMS responded and transported the officer to West Penn hospital.

2/10 OPEN LEWDNESS, 3:18 am.
Campus police officers patrolling the fraternity quad observed a male urinating on a tree. He was issued a citation.

Taken from The Tartan, 2/12/96

2/9 DRUG USAGE, 12:38 am.
Two officers passing through Hamerschlag House happened to smell marijuana emanating from a room. They knocked on the door, and were told to come in. The officers found three CMU students. The officers asked the students if they had any marijuana. One of the students said "yeah," and gave them some. The student was issued a citation.


jr6b+@andrew.cmu.edu / Last major revision 20.2.96 / Last updated 11.3.97