By Jamie Miller
Editor’s note: Coverage of campus police reports has been delayed due to the Grand Rapids Community College Police Department now requiring The Collegiate to file a Freedom of Information Act request in order to obtain reports.
Smoking trespasser ejected from charging tables
On Monday, July 21 at 8:35 p.m. an officer on patrol noticed a man smoking at the south commons charging tables. The officer initiated contact with the man, informing him that Grand Rapids Community College was a smoke-free campus. The man stated he understood and put out his cigarette, telling the officer that he had come from Grant, Michigan and was just trying to charge his electric bike and further stated he was a bit sunburned and a bit tired. The officer asked if he had any identification on him to which the man produced a Michigan ID card, which the officer ran through the Law Enforcement Information Network. The officer then advised the man of GRCC’s smoke rules. The man said he would leave soon, and the officer left.
Smoking trespasser at Parking Ramp A stairwell
On Monday, July 21 at 5:49 p.m. an officer was driving down Parking Ramp A between level five and four when the officer noticed a man smoking a cigarette in the south stairwell. The officer exited her vehicle and made contact with the man telling him that GRCC is a smoke-free campus. The man put out his cigarette and stated he was a student, however when the officer asked for his student ID to verify this, the man said he didn’t want to give it to her and moved to leave campus. However, another officer located him on the east side of the Student Center once more smoking a cigarette, the female officer then moved to that location where the other officer was in the process of interviewing him. The man at first did not give the officers his real name, using an alias he had given GRCC police officers during a previous trespassing incident on June 5. However, the male officer was able to get his real identification and the officers gave him an appearance ticket for trespassing and told the man he had 10 days to show up to court. The male officer told the man not to lie to officers in the future and he was let go.
Trouble with person at Student Enrollment Center
On Monday, July 21, at 1 p.m., officers were dispatched to the GRCC Enrollment Center on a report of a dispute. Dispatch had advised the officers on their way over that they had received a second call about the same incident and advised the officers to speed up their response time. Upon arrival, the officers noticed the GRCC Associate Director of Enrollment Center Services speaking to a student. The student was not yelling but was clearly distressed, looking to be having trouble both explaining her frustration and listening to instructions from the associate director. The officers then advised that the two were making a scene, and one officer talked with the student while others spoke to an employee who had earlier argued with her. The employee said her interaction with the student was regarding academic suspension and the freezing of her financial aid for the 2025 fall semester. The employee stated that while trying to explain to the student the consequences of withdrawing from her classes, the student became agitated and disruptive. As this was going on, the other two officers were able to calm the student down enough that the employee and associate director were able to explain to the student why withdrawing from her classes now would affect her fall tuition. After the conversation was over the student stated she was thankful for the information and stated she understood what they were saying. The two staff members stated their offices were open and invited the student to come back if she had any questions.
Theft at Science Building
On Tuesday, July 29, at 10:09 a.m., a student walked into the GRCC Police Department to make a larceny report. She told the two officers who interviewed her that she had been in the GRCC Science Building in study room 113, and left between 9:20 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. when she went to the Quiet Cafe and left her tan backpack in the room on a chair at the east side of the table with the zipper of the main compartment partially open. She told the officers that when she returned at 9:39 a.m., she found the main compartment of the backpack almost completely unzipped and her black nylon wallet missing. She stated that no one was around when she left or when she came back. She said she checked the room’s waste basket and the common area outside the room, but was unable to locate it. She told the officer she was willing to press charges if the thief was located. She was issued the incident number for the report and was told she would be informed if a suspect was located. The officers then checked the study room and surrounding area, but were unable to find the wallet. The area has no cameras and the study rooms do not lock. There were no suspects at the time of this report.
iPad stolen from Ford Fieldhouse
On Wednesday, July 30, at 10:12 a.m., the Christman construction company’s superintendent of construction at the Ford Fieldhouse entered the GRCC PD building to report a stolen iPad. He told the officers the theft had happened the previous night, and when he and another employee searched the surveillance footage, they were able to locate the possible thief. He further said that at some time during the night, the lights in the turf field room came on due to motion, which allowed the suspect to be seen. Said suspect was dressed in a white baseball cap, grey shirt with a black sweatshirt hanging from his neck, white socks and a black backpack. The suspect also had a sleeve-style tattoo on his left arm. The suspect entered the room via door S3-2 on the north side of the turf room, which leads to the northeast stairwell. The superintendent suspected the only way he could have entered was by jumping the fence on the outside stairwell next to the loading dock then entering the unlocked door on the stairwell at level three making his way down to the S3-2 door, cutting through the fieldhouse, making his way to storage room 114 before using the reception area to enter the offices behind the reception desks. The superintendent told the officers that the suspect only took the iPad and that he suspected the man made his exit via the east side entrance onto Ransom Avenue North East. The officers were able to confirm the superintendent’s story via security footage and went to the building, finding that two doors were indeed unlocked, which the superintendent and another employee said was due to the construction being done to the building. However, besides the security footage already mentioned, they were unable to find any more shots of the suspect as the cameras at the reception desk and entrance were inoperable due to construction. However, the officers were able to confirm that the suspect entered the fieldhouse at 4:32 a.m., then made his way to the storage room before moving out of sight. The officers also approached Cornell Health’s security to see if their cameras caught the suspect leaving the building. However, their security stated that their cameras are pointed down and only view their property. The officer then spoke to an employee of DHE Plumbing and Mechanical, who told the officer that the iPad belonged to the company and that it had been left on a cart in room 114 by the employee’s boss. He further stated that it had given off a GPS location five hours prior at 7 a.m., but since then, nothing. The employee said he believed this was because it had been turned off. He told the officers that the device has a SIM card from Verizon and, if turned on, it will give an alert with its location. The employee then gave the officers the iPad’s serial number and model information, with the officers giving him the case number. However, there are no suspects at this time.
Misunderstanding at Enrollment Center
On Thursday, July 31, at 4:26 p.m., an officer was dispatched to the Enrollment Center on a report of an individual who needed to be escorted from the building. However, upon arriving, the officer noticed the person in question sitting calmly and quietly waiting to meet with a financial aid advisor. The officer would be told that some of the employees were under the misunderstanding that the student was trespassing, which they had not. The officer waited as the student was advised by the financial aid employees. The student then left the building on her own due to not being able to complete the next step of the enrollment process at that time.
Sleeping man ejected from ATC Building
On Wednesday, Aug. 6, at 8:56 p.m., a custodian reported a suspicious person sleeping in the Applied Technology Center near Foodology on the second floor. Two officers were dispatched and located the man sleeping in a booth. The two officers immediately recognized the man from a previous call. When the officers asked for identification, the man said he had none and became uncooperative, and the officers handcuffed him for officer safety. The man who was eventually identified by his California license told the officers he wasn’t a student or staff member and had fallen asleep. The officers responded by telling him that he couldn’t be there and proceeded to give him a verbal trespass warning before escorting the still uncooperative man off campus.
