By Jamie Miller and Rosalia Jimenez
Property Damage in Ramp A
At 2:36 p.m. on Aug. 13, a Grand Rapids Community College Police officer was dispatched to level six of Ramp A in response to a report of damage to college property. According to the police report, a vehicle hit the left entrance gate to the ramp. Upon arriving on the scene, the officer made contact with a student and his father. The father told the officer that he was trying to get the brake to work properly when his heel got stuck and pressed the gas pedal. He stated that this caused the vehicle to drive onto the curb, hitting and knocking down the gate housing box. The car then came to a halt just past the gate after the brake function was restored. The officer then asked the student what happened, receiving the same story.
The officer took photos of the scene and attached them to the report, noting that the body camera was recording at the time the incident report was being taken. After the report was taken, the responding officer notified an employee from Ellis Parking of the damages to the gate. A traffic and safety team was then sent to check the damages and get an estimate of the repairs needed for the gate.
The responding officer later reviewed the GRCC camera footage of the entrance of Ramp A. The officer noticed that just after the incident, the student switched positions with his father, moving to the passenger seat. The footage showed the pair driving past the parking divider and parking the vehicle.
The responding officer made contact with the student and parent on Aug. 14, notifying them that he had watched the security camera footage. The student and parent admitted to switching seats, but the rest of the story remained the same. The father admitted that he was wrong for lying to an officer and claimed to be protecting his son. He said that they just moved to Michigan, mentioning that the student has cerebral palsy and was nervous about driving in a new area. The officer was told that, since moving to Michigan, the student had yet to get a valid Michigan driver’s license. The officer stated that the incident would not go on his driving record.
Trespassing Between Ford Fieldhouse and Calkins Science Building
On Aug. 14 at around 9:43 p.m. officers were dispatched to the Grand Rapids Community College dumpster between the Gerald R. Ford Fieldhouse and the Calkins Science Building in response to a call made by a GRCC custodian. The custodian had reported a man with dark clothing digging through the dumpsters.
The police arrived on scene and found a man matching the description looking as though he was building a shelter. When ordered to stop what he was doing and move toward the officers, the man complied. However, he was reluctant to give his name, stating that he did not have a license or state ID. When dispatched ran his name through their network, they were advised that the man had an arrest warrant out from the 61st district court for trespassing.
The responding officers asked the man to place his hands on his head, following up with an order to place them behind his back. Both times, the man refused, resulting in the officers gently pushing him against the Fieldhouse wall and placing his hands behind his back in handcuffs. The officers then placed the man under arrest and transported him to the Kent County Correctional Facility.
Graffiti in Ramp A
At about 6:03 a.m. on Aug. 21, an officer was dispatched to a report of malicious destruction of property (MDOP) of Ramp A. The caller had reported graffiti on the third level. Upon arriving on scene, the officer reported seeing blue graffiti in the shape of a crescent moon with two stars on the cement wall of the stairwell. The officer also reported seeing, in red graffiti, the words “rat venom” painted on the wall. There were no suspects following the incident.
Property Damage in Ramp C
An officer patrolling Ramp C at about 6:54 a.m. on Aug. 23 reported a broken gate arm at the Fountain Street exit gate. The officer observed the gate arm slanting downward when it normally sits horizontal to the ground. The gate housing box was reported still having a working belt, however the arm was unable to be moved.
The responding officer checked the camera footage and reported a vehicle drive up to the gate. In the camera footage, the passenger of the vehicle stepped out and lifted the gate arm, so the driver could pull through without scanning a card or ticket. The passenger then dropped the arm, falling past its normal positioning and into the downward slant, before getting back in the car. The vehicle left the scene.
The responding officer notified Ellis Parking, who quickly sent for the gate to be fixed. There were no suspects in the incident.
Hit and Run at Ramp A
On Aug. 28, at about 1:25 p.m. an officer responded to a property damage hit and run occurring on level three of Ramp A. The officer met the caller at her vehicle and reported scratching and scuff marks on the driver side corner of the rear bumper. The woman stated she checks her vehicle every day when parking on the ramps because of the tight spaces. She said that there was no damage when she parked at about 9:20 a.m.
The responding officer took photos of the damage and checked the surrounding vehicles. It was reported that the other vehicles had some damage on them as well, though none matched the amount of damage to her car.
Toll runner reported at Parking Ramp B
On Thursday, Aug. 29 at 9:58 a.m. a Grand Rapids Community College police officer was dispatched to parking Ramp B at Lyon Street on a report of a vehicle that managed to run the gate arm without paying. Upon reviewing the security footage the officer discovered a silver Suzuki SX4 as the suspect vehicle. The officer managed to contact the student who owned the car, when asked why he did it the student stated he did so because he didn’t have any money on him and had done so 15 other times. The officer and student were able to work out a plan for the student to pay off the money he owes the school and the student was let go without any criminal charges.
Damage to property at Bostwick Ave
On Tuesday, Sept. 3 at 7:08 a.m. while on a mobile patrol in Parking Ramp A at Bostwick Avenue, an officer was advised that new graffiti had been reported in the north central stairwell of the ramp between levels five and six. As the officer walked down the stairwell the officer noticed a design or letters spray painted on the wall at the first landing in light blue and red paint which was dry to the touch. There are no suspects at this time.
Graffiti at Bostwick Ave Parking Ramp
On Monday, Sept. 9 at 6:39 a.m., an officer located graffiti on the west stairwell of level six at Parking Ramp A. The graffiti appeared to be a black star drawn in marker on a wall. It is unknown when the damage was left and there is no suspect information.
Reported theft at Applied Technology Center
On Monday, Sept. 9 at around 11:55 a.m. an officer was dispatched to meet with a student, who told the officer that she had been waiting for her class to start in the common area when she got up to make a phone call at 9:21 a.m. She told the officer that she had taken off her Beats Flex bluetooth headphones to do so laying them on her backpack and when she returned 12 minutes later they were gone. She was unable to locate them by going through her belongings. The woman did not see anyone near her belongings when she returned nor did the security cameras have a view of her seat rendering the cameras useless in this case.
Property damaged at Bostwick Ave.
On Tuesday, Sept 10. At 6:06 a.m. an officer was dispatched to Parking Ramp A on report of damage to the gate arm and pay station of the staff exit on level one. Upon arriving the officer discovered it was in the student exit, not the staff one. The gate arm had been bent as if pushed outward. Upon reviewing the security footage it was discovered that on Sept. 9 at around 11:13 a.m., a Kia pulled up and after their RaiderCard was declined several times the driver elected to ram through the gate arm. The officer later made contact with the man who agreed to pay for the damages.
Larceny reported at Godfrey Ave
On Tuesday, Sept 24 at 12:11 p.m. an officer was dispatched to the Michigan Technical Education Center building on a report of theft of power tools. Upon arriving the officer discovered several tools had been taken from a tool chest in room 142, the officer learned the door is left unlocked during the day when school’s in session and that the chest was unlocked. It is unclear when the tools were taken though it’s believed they were still there on Sept. 18, though with the door and tool box being left open for weeks at a time it is unclear when the tools were taken. The serial numbers of the missing tools were not recorded.
Damage to property at Parking Ramp C
On Tuesday, Sept 24. At 12:18 p.m. an officer was dispatched to Parking Ramp C on the DeVos Campus on the subject of a reported damage to property. Upon arriving the officer met with the caller, a GRCC employee who showed the officer graffiti on the back of a box truck owned by GRCC. She said that an employee had discovered the graffiti at around 9 a.m. The officer did not know when the graffiti occurred with said graffiti consisting of the word ghost and the number 313 written in what looked to be black permanent marker. The officer was able to clean the graffiti off the truck.
