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.
Vaper ejected from charging table
On Thursday, Aug. 7 at 1:30 p.m. officers were dispatched on a report of a person possibly rolling tobacco or marijuana near the Student Center. Upon arriving, the officers located the person described sitting on the bench near parking ramp A. The man told the officers he was vaping while he waited for his E-bike to charge. He told the officers he was not a student and was only on campus to charge his bike. After a background check came back clean, he was let go with a warning.
Traffic violation on Lyon Street
On Thursday, Aug. 7 at 5:31 p.m. officers were driving westbound on Lyon Street northeast when they noticed a vehicle rolling through a stop sign. The officers then initiated a traffic stop and made contact with the driver, the driver gave the officers his license and the officers ran a background check before writing the man a misdemeanor citation for driving with a suspended license, after running the passenger’s license, the driver was informed to appear at the 61st District Court within 10 days and was allowed to leave with the passenger who had a valid license driving.
Emergency help pedestal tampered with at north commons
On Thursday, Aug. 14 at 6:21 p.m. officers were dispatched to the north commons on a report of a person pressing the emergency help pedestal before leaving the area heading south. An officer intercepted him on the outer loop of parking Ramp A’s level two. Two more officers arrived shortly after, as the first officer began to interview the man. The first officer was able to get the man’s name and date of birth to run through the law enforcement information network. The search came back with a warrant for the man, and the officers then handcuffed him as they waited for final confirmation. As they waited, they gave the man a trespass warning, though it was unclear if he understood. The warrants would be confirmed, and the man was transferred to the Kent County Correctional Facility. It appeared that the man had pressed the pedestal in an attempt to tamper with the device.
Man arrested at Grand Rapids Community College Fountain
On Aug. 15 at 4:50 p.m. officers were dispatched to the south commons fountain on report of individuals bathing in it. The officers located two individuals sitting next to the fountain, with one individual having his belongings spread out along the fountain wall. The two officers made contact with the two, with one of the officers asking one of the individuals if they had been bathing in the fountain, which he denied. The man also admitted to not being a GRCC student. Upon the man giving the officer his name and birth date, the officer ran his name through the database and was informed that the man had a warrant out for his arrest. The man was arrested without incident, asking a friend to take his bike and pop cans before being transported to the Kent County Correctional Facility. The second individual appeared to be dazed and could barely keep her eyes open, admitting to the officer that she was a heroin addict and was currently going through withdrawal symptoms. The officer requested medical assistance, with American Medical Response arriving to assist. Before their arrival, the officer conducted a consented search, finding 50 used needles on the woman, which were safely discarded. The woman was transported to Trinity Health for medical evaluation and assistance.
Runaway found at South Commons
On Monday, Aug. 18 at 10:11 p.m. an officer noticed two individuals at the South Commons. One individual, a female, was sitting on the table with the other, a male standing in front of her. The officer made contact with the female while another officer who arrived to assist made contact with the male. The female, after having been pulled aside from the male, told the officer that she had run away from her foster home in July and was making her way to Grand Rapids. The officer, despite the female having no ID, managed to get the female to give her full name and date of birth. Dispatch then advised the officer that the female was a missing person and contacted the Osceola Youth Center, and learned they had passed guardianship onto her caseworker. Dispatch then attempted to contact her case worker, but to no avail.
The officer then asked the female what she was doing with the male, and she stated they had just met and she knew him through a friend. Upon being asked what the two intended to do together, she stated they were simply hanging out. Upon being asked by the officer why the male was standing directly in front of her, the female stated she had a hole in her pants and wanted the male to confirm it was there. The officer then asked why her clothes were disheveled. The female explained it was because it was hot outside and she was on her period and was having cramps.
Dispatch contacted Child Protective Services, who stated Bethany Christian Services would find housing for the female and further told dispatch that, due to her being unhoused for so long, they would like the Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital to evaluate her. The female would be transported there and would be left in the custody of a Bethany Services employee.
Meanwhile, another officer spoke to the male. The male, when asked if he had ID, hesitated before saying no. After a second request, he once again said he didn’t have one. The man kept putting his hands nervously in his pocket despite the officer telling him not to. The officer would then perform a contented search on the man and despite not finding anything illegal, did locate a wallet. The man then confirmed it was his and finally gave the officer his Michigan ID card. The man then stated he had just met the female earlier that day and that she was 18 years old. The man then said that he needed to catch a bus to 28th Street and was worried about missing it. The officer then said he was free to catch it and advised him not to be on campus after hours and the man left.
Identity theft reported by man from Las Vegas
On Tuesday, Aug. 19 at 7:20 a.m. an officer was contacted by a man who stated Key2Recovery had contacted him about a bill from GRCC. He told the officer that Key2Recovery had told him to contact GRCC about someone enrolling in classes under his name. He found this strange as he is from Las Vegas and had never even heard of GRCC. The mab was directed to the GRCC Police Department. An officer ran his name and GRCC records came back with an address and phone number. The officer would make multiple attempts to call the number, only for it to come back as not in service, each and every time.
The officer then attempted to search for the house on MAPS. It showed multiple houses on a private drive and the GPS location looked to be a barn at the front of the address nearest the road. Two officers then went to the Cashiers Office to speak with them. Workers from the office pulled records of classes, billing and student information. This showed a total tuition price of $6,131.00, with courses being canceled for a price of $3,843.50, with a remaining balance of $2,287.50 with the application submission being online with no financial reimbursement being recorded The Cashiers Office then put a hold on the account. An officer later made further contact with the man who stated he had never been to Grand Rapids and had never heard of GRCC until he was contacted by Key2Recovery around a month prior. He told the officer that he had lived in Las Vegas since 2007 and lived in Mitchell, South Dakota before that. He would gave the officer his social security number, and the officer confirmed that was how his identity was stolen. The man was told to contact the Social Security Administration to report the theft, then report it to the Las Vegas Police Department. The GRCC officer told the man to call back with the LVPD incident number.
Trouble with person at Raleigh J Finkelstein Hall
On Wednesday, Aug. 20 at 10:32 a.m. officers were dispatched to Raleigh J Finkelstein Hall to escort a woman from desk five to the north offices for unknown reasons. The officers arrived and made contact with an employee at the Cashier’s Office. She said that at 11:11 a.m. she was contacted by a student asking for enrollment information. She told him that she couldn’t help him at that time but if he called back at 11:30 a.m. her bosses and other employees would be back from their meeting and could assist. This seemed to displease the student who began speaking to her in an aggressive tone and after she repeated for him to call back later, the man stated he was going to come down to the office and quote “pull up” on her. The employee said that the student said the phrase in a threatening manner and she took it as a literal threat, so much so, she moved from her desk in the open area of the office to a secured desk in the Cashier’s Office. The employee stated she has dealt with the man in the past, and he has been aggressive and demanding before. The officer told her that if he calls back again, he should speak to and be helped by someone else.
The officer attempted to contact the man many times before he called the officer back. The man claimed to the officer that the employee was rude and that there was no confrontation, and that he wanted to speak to someone else in the office. He also claimed he didn’t make a threat, but that he would come down to speak to someone, and that he had emailed her boss and had an appointment with the boss. However, when asked who the appointment was with, the man became belligerent and said he did not have to answer the officer’s questions. He told the officer to do their job and told them to have a nice day before letting off a series of expletives at the officer before hanging up. The officer then sent a report to the Behavioral Intervention Team and Conduct, as well as to the director of Student Life and Conduct.
