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.
By Cooper Hemmes
Parking incident at GRCC Auto Lab
On Wednesday, Feb. 5, at 10:38 a.m. Grand Rapids Community College Police responded to a property accident report at the GRCC auto lab. The accident occurred when a 2006 Nissan Titan backed into a parking space and hit a 2015 Chevy Malibu. The Malibu was unoccupied when the incident took place, it was also reported that the parking lot was partially covered with ice on this particular day. When the officer spoke with the person who was backing into the parking space, they said that they hit a patch of ice, causing them to strike the second vehicle with theirs. The person was not injured and immediately reported the incident to their instructor. The damages to both cars were minimal, with the Malibu having damage on the back driver-side bumper. Both vehicles are insured and the damages have been covered by agencies.
Car window smashed by gate in GRCC Ramp A
On Thursday, Feb. 6, at 2:43 p.m., GRCC Police reported a student with a smashed rear window on their car. The student said that he backed into a metal snow gate in the ramp, and it smashed his back window into pieces. The officer noted that the gate had white marks on it from the collision, but they were unable to get any further information on the policy number or insurance of the vehicle.
Student arrested after pint of Fireball Whiskey found at GRCC Applied Tech Center
On Thursday, Feb. 6, at 6:06 p.m., GRCC police were dispatched to an unattended backpack outside a room at the GRCC Applied Tech Center. Upon arrival, the officer noticed the bag was unattended. After the officer was unable to find the owner, he looked inside the backpack to see if there was any identification of the owner. While searching the backpack the officer found a partially empty pint of fireball whiskey within the bag. After placing the whiskey back in the bag, the officer took it back to the GRCC Police Department.
The owner of the backpack arrived at GRCC PD quite upset. Quickly, the owner of the backpack became impatient and abrasive. The officer met the person in the PD lobby and gave the backpack back to them. The officer told the person that due to them having liquor in their backpack, they had to forward the report to the student code of conduct office. Upon hearing this, the student became even more upset, raising their voice. It was at this point that the officer smelled alcohol on the student’s breath. The student then said that they had to go to class and took their backpack.
Shortly after leaving, the student called the GRCC Police Department and asked why they went through their backpack. The student asked why they took the Fireball out of the bag and demanded to give it back to them. The officer then explained to the student why they searched the backpack as well as why the Fireball was taken. The student stated that they would then return to the Police Department after class to speak with a supervisor about the situation. The student then returned five minutes after their phone conversation with the officer. Upon arrival, they spoke with the officer’s supervisor who then re-explained to the student why they searched the backpack and took the liquor. The student then got even more upset and raised their voice yet again. The officer then told the student to place their hands behind their back and that they were not going to jail. The officer then placed the student in handcuffs and checked them for tightness.
The officer then called the Grand Rapids Police Department and found out that there was a warrant out for the student and that they would like her to be put in jail. The student then stated that they would like to pay their $100 bond to not be put in jail. The student’s friend then withdrew $100 from a nearby ATM and gave it to the officers. The officer then removed the handcuffs from the student and filled out an interim bond receipt. The officer gave the student a copy of the bond receipt and they were released.
Hit and run accident at GRCC Ramp A
On the morning of Monday, Feb. 10, a hit-and-run accident was reported to GRCC Police. After the report was called in, the officer was dispatched to GRCC Ramp A where he met with the owner of a white 2008 Subaru. Upon arrival, the student told the officer that he parked his car at 7:45 a.m. and got back to the car at 11:45 a.m. When he came back, his front passenger bumper was damaged. The student said that they did not have any witnesses and also had nobody come forward confessing that they hit his vehicle. The student checked around to see if there was any damage to other cars around them to see if he could get any hints as to who hit his vehicle. He stated that the car was registered under his father’s name. The officer then got the insurance number of the car and gave the student their contact information for further communication. The officer then checked the surrounding areas and found no witnesses himself, as well as not seeing anything on the security cameras, clearing this incident without any further action.
Kids left unattended in Calkins Room 508
On Tuesday, Feb. 11, at 7:54 p.m., the GRCC police were dispatched to an incident at Calkins Science Center involving a mess caused by children. The officer stated that a GRCC custodian found room 508 at Calkins Science Center in shambles multiple times throughout the semester. The custodian stated that there were kids left unattended in this room during these incidents. The officer then showed up at room 508 and found two children left alone in the room. When the officer asked the children their ages, one said 12 and the other said 6. Following this, the officer then found the parent. When the officer found the parent they stated that they were running out of time to bring their kids home and had to bring them to GRCC. The officer explained to the parent that their kids had been leaving a mess in room 508 on multiple occasions. The parent then asked the officer if it would be okay to leave their kids in room 508 as long as they did not make a mess, the officer said they would let the parent know via email. The officer then relayed the information to the parent that due to GRCC’s policy regarding children on campus, they would not be allowed on campus unattended.
