Tent set up near College Park Plaza
On Feb. 14 at 9:16 a.m., three Grand Rapids Community College Police officers responded to a complaint about a tent being set up near the south side of College Park Plaza.
When the officers arrived, they saw at least two people sleeping inside the tent. The officer woke them up, and informed them they were on GRCC property and needed to leave and they gathered their belongings. When asked for ID, one person did not have any but verbally provided his name and date of birth and the other produced a physical copy. The officers ran a Law Enforcement Information Network (LEIN) check, one of the people had a clear record, but the other had three warrants out of Kent County.
The man with the warrants was then arrested, handcuffed, searched and brought into the police department while the warrants were confirmed.
The man with the clean record was then told that he cannot be on GRCC property, and would be arrested upon any return. Another officer on the scene stayed with him while he packed his things and gave him another trespassing warning.
Dispatch confirmed the arrest warrants and the man was transported to and lodged at Kent County Correctional Facility. The officer completed the Intake and Inventory forms electronically and submitted them to the jail.
Trespassing in parking Ramp A
On Feb. 15, at 8:30 a.m., a police officer and a sargent responded to a man reportedly sleeping in elevator car #1 of Ramp A. The man verbally identified himself and had several blankets, along with a cart of his belongings with him.
The officers pointed out the GRCC signs and the man was informed that he could not be sleeping in this elevator or on the GRCC campus.
Dispatch checked his file and the man did not have any previous contacts with law enforcement. The man was escorted off campus.
Parking Ramp B gate damaged
On Feb. 16, at approximately 6:25 a.m. a GRCC police officer was dispatched to Parking Ramp B to investigate a report that the arm of the student entrance gate appeared to be broken.
Once arriving at the scene the officer did notice the damaged arm, it seemed to be functional but bent. The officer planned to wait until Feb. 19 to contact the Ellis Parking supervisor and review security camera footage with hopes of finding the suspect.
When the officer spoke to the supervisor, she stated she was already aware of the damages and informed the officer that they would not be fixing it. They will be keeping an eye on the gate arm and if the arm did fully break, they would put in a ticket to fix it. The cost of damage was estimated to be $400.
Stolen mountain bike and lock
On Feb. 20, at 9:55 a.m. an officer was dispatched on a report of larceny and met with the victim in the lobby of the police department. The victim told the officer his bike had been stolen and explained that he left it locked up on a bike rack near the south end of Olivarez Plaza last week. He told the officer that he last saw his bike there midday on Feb. 14 and noticed that it was missing the day of the report at approximately 8:50 a.m.
The victim told the officer that he has no idea who may have taken his bike and he also does not know its serial number. The responding officer attempted to review the surveillance cameras in the area, however the cameras were not functioning.
Losses total $525, with the missing mountain bike accounting for $500 and the lock totaling $25.
Unknown male taking photos of woman’s car registration
On Feb. 22, at approximately 4:25 p.m. an officer was informed that a student wished to make a complaint via telephone. The student reported that she was concerned about an unknown male taking photographs of her vehicle’s registration about a month prior to that phone call, and that her parents wanted her to make a police report due to something similar recently happening in a different county.
When the officer made contact with the student via phone call, she told the officer that on Jan. 30, between 2 p.m. and 2:45 p.m. that she was sitting in her car in the Sneden hall parking structure when she observed a man standing behind her vehicle taking photos of her registration.
The man was described as a white male in his early 20’s, wearing a yellow hat and a long sleeve shirt. After taking the photos, he went into Sneden Hall from the north main entrance.
The victim explained that at the time she was on the phone with a family member, but did eventually leave her car to go to class after the man had already left the area. She left campus that afternoon with no further issues.
The victim then told the officer about several other off-campus incidents where other unknown men have exhibited similar behavior or spent an extended amount of time around her car.
The officer instructed the woman to file reports with the appropriate agencies if she thought it was necessary. She was also informed that this report would be primarily for informational purposes, and the office said he would check the video surveillance in the area to try and locate the suspect from this incident.
When the officer checked the cameras, video footage from the day of the incident had already been removed. The officer did follow up with the victim advising her of the department’s escort/safe walk services that she could utilize getting to and from class.
Woman reportedly sleeping in a parking garage found smoking cigarette
On Feb. 23 at 5 p.m. two officers were dispatched to College Park Plaza Building on second hand information that someone was sleeping in the parking garage.
When the officers got to the scene, there was a woman smoking a cigarette in the southwest corner of the garage who claimed she had only been there for 20 minutes. The officers informed her that she was not allowed to sleep on GRCC property, and should not be on campus unless she is a current student or enrolling for classes. The officers pointed out that GRCC property was marked by yellow and blue placards.
The officer asked for identification and received a Michigan Identification card. Upon running a LEIN check, they found her record was clear. All parties left with no further incident.
Man stuck in Parking Ramp B elevator
On Feb. 24, at approximately 8:45 a.m. an officer was dispatched to Ramp B on an elevator emergency. The complainant said via phone call that he was in Elevator B on an unknown floor, and that the emergency call button was not working.
Two officers went to the scene and made an unsuccessful attempt to call the elevator down to the second floor. The officers checked each floor until they found the bottom of the elevator car on level six. The officers proceeded up to level seven, where most of the car could be seen through the crack of the exterior doors.
One of the officers was able to make contact with the complainant who was stuck inside. Dispatch called Elevator Services and reached someone through their after hours line. The on-call service technician informed dispatch that they would be on the scene in 25-30 minutes.
The service technician also advised they contact the fire department to help get the complainant out safely.
The Grand Rapids Fire Department arrived at the scene and turned the power to the elevator off and then on again, which did not fix the issue. The elevator was then placed in a mode that allowed the doors to manually be opened safely. After that, the elevator began working and they were able to bring the complainant down to the first floor and allow him to safely exit.
The fire department tested the elevator to make sure it was working safely. Elevator Services still came to the scene to check on the issue.
Broken ceiling tiles in the ATC
On Feb. 26 at approximately 9:51 p.m. an officer was dispatched on a report of Malicious Destruction of Property (MDOP) at the Applied Technology Center. Reportedly, ceiling tiles in the bathroom had been smashed in.
Upon arrival, the responding officer noticed one of the janitors on the second floor near the rotary doors.
The officer approached the janitor and asked him about what happened. He said that at 3:15 p.m. when he began cleaning the second floor he noticed a large fragment of ceiling tile on the floor by the stairwell. After that, he checked the second floor bathroom and did not notice any damages. He did however discover cans of disinfectant were sprayed in the men’s second floor bathroom, but there was no damage to the property.
A few hours later, around 8:30 p.m. the janitor began cleaning the third floor bathroom when he noticed multiple ceiling tiles had been damaged. A toilet plunger was also in the middle of the room, which was likely used to destroy the tiles. He pointed out to the officer where the metal ceiling raptor was damaged from the plunger.
The janitor told the officer that he did not notice anyone in the area around 3:15 p.m. or 8:30 p.m. No witnesses were present for the incident either. He then pointed out fragments of ceiling tiles that were still on the floor as of 9:30 p.m.
The janitor believes that the incident occurred between 2 and 3:15 p.m. because the first shift custodians did not notice any damages.
The officer told him a report would be written and advised him to contact GRCC PD if new information becomes available.
Major damage was done to three ceiling tiles as well as a metal rafter. The building manager estimates that damages would total $200.
Trespasser potentially harassing students in the Quiet Cafe
On March 4, at approximately 8:54 a.m. two officers were dispatched to the second floor of the Student Center near the Quiet Cafe on account of a disorderly individual. The officers were informed by dispatch that a male student with a pedal bike was asking another female student about pornography.
The officers on the scene received a name and a date of birth from the man, who was unresponsive when asked for his ID, and his LEIN check came back clean. The officers also found out the man was not a GRCC student.
The officers informed the man that since he was not a current GRCC student, or conducting official business with the college, he could not be on campus. He then asked why he needed to leave, to which the officer responded that they had received a complaint about him harassing female students. The man said all that he was doing was studying and continued to argue with the officers.
The officer gave him a verbal warning and said that he could not be on GRCC property, or he would be arrested for trespassing. The man then stated that he wanted his trespassing ticket, and he would not be going anywhere. The officer told him he would not be getting a ticket, but if he didnt leave he would be arrested. The man told the officer he would be taken to the Kent County Jail where he would be lodged. He then spilled a bottle of water, packed up his belongings and left the building with his things.
The officer picked the water bottle up and threw it in the trash.
