By Sherry Sokolowski
Police Respond to a Report of a Man with Dried Blood Under his Nose Acting Curiously Outside GRCC’s Sneden Hall
At 10:58 a.m. on Feb. 19, Officer Martin Ruiz was dispatched to Grand Rapids Community College DeVos campus parking lot near Fountain Street to make contact with a man who had allegedly arrived on campus after being asked to leave Central High School. Once Ruiz arrived, he saw the man fitting the suspect description sitting near the entrance to the Sneden lot. The officer noticed the man had dried blood underneath his nose. The officer asked the man if he had been asked to leave at Central High School. The man stated that he was waiting for his Maserati to be delivered to him.
After obtaining identification from the man, GRCC Police dispatch ran a search and found that the man had a history of mental illness. Ruiz informed the man that he could not be on campus and the man stated that all he wanted was something to eat and help. Ruiz explained that there are several homeless shelters on Division Street that could help him to which the man stated he had been arrested before and had a court order.
Officers Paul Coulson and Bo Peters then arrived to assist. The subject grew enraged and jumped at Officer Ruiz who stepped away. As the man grew more upset, his nose started bleeding. Coulson and Ruiz tried to calm the man down and he asked if they could take him to a homeless shelter. Peters said no and the man became enraged again, pacing back and forth and stating that his whole body ached. Dispatch then contacted American Medical Response and shortly an ambulance showed up on scene along with the Grand Rapids Fire Department. Once the subject saw AMR and GRFD arrive, he immediately calmed down and acted like nothing happened. He was then transported to Saint Mary’s Hospital by AMR.
Possible Abandoned Vehicle in M-TEC Parking Lot
At 9 a.m. on Feb. 25, Officer Coulson was requested by a GRCC staff member to investigate the possibility of an abandoned vehicle in GRCC’s Leslie M. Tassell M-TEC parking lot. The vehicle had been left in the lot for a week. While he was investigating, Officer Paul Coulson found the registered owner. He was able to contact her and she stated that she had recently sold the vehicle to a friend of a friend. She stated she would contact the person and tell them to remove the vehicle from the lot.
Space Heater Stolen from the Ford Fieldhouse
At 9:06 a.m. on March 12, a GRCC Ford Fieldhouse employee went to the GRCC Police Department to report a co-worker’s stolen space heater from one of the Gerald R. Ford Fieldhouse offices. They explained that it was last seen there on Feb. 19 and was confirmed to be missing on March 3. It was also confirmed that no one in the facilities moved or utilized the heater. The estimated value of the heater is $100 and no additional indicators pertaining to the heater could be found.
Man Trespassing in the Student Center
At 5:12 p.m. on March 15, Officers Zack Penniman and Kam Robles were dispatched to a trespassing complaint on the third floor of the Student Center. The caller, a GRCC employee, said there was a person taking food and drinks from the food pantry and stated the subject appeared to be homeless. They also stated that the subject was taking magazines from the cashier’s office too. The officers made contact with the subject on the third floor who stated that he was trying to enroll in classes and hadn’t realized the computer area of the building was closed at 5 p.m. The subject also mentioned that he thought the food pantry was for everyone, not just GRCC students. The officers explained that unless he was enrolled in classes, he could not be on GRCC property. After a search, the subject’s record came back clear, he said he understood and left GRCC property.
