As host to Bermuda Shorts Day, April is always busy for Campus Security and this year’s fourth month didn’t disappoint.
University of Calgary staff members harangued CS officers for not understanding the plight of the homeless, a man in a wheelchair was caught letting the air out of a truck’s tire and an intoxicated male student exposed himself to a female security officer.
CS observed two individuals acting suspiciously in the Social Sciences building. Upon approach, the man fled while the woman stayed behind. CS saw her removing empty bottles from a recycling bin and issued a verbal trespass notice. Two university staff members witnessed the event and sided with the woman, berating CS officers for being too harsh with her.
“They came up and they verbalized to the officers, ‘Why are [you] giving them a hard time? They’re only empty bottles,’ and they ended up giving this person a hug and also giving them some cash,” said CS director Lanny Fritz.
Recycling theft on campus frustrates the efforts of the Students’ Union run recycling program and is estimated to amount to a $10,000 loss each year.
CS received reports that a man in a wheel chair was letting the air out of a truck’s tire. Officers responded and the man admitted to the intransigence, saying that the truck, inappropriately parked in a handicap space, impeded access to his own vehicle and acknowledging that deflating the truck’s tire was not the best expression of his anger. The truck’s owner was notified and parking services helped reinflate the tire.
A crime committed two decades ago was rectified, as an individual phoned CS to report their spouse’s theft of a print from the engineering faculty and returned the hot item to CS, who located the proper owner.
A female officer faced a trying shift as an intoxicated male student exposed himself to her.
“The individual had been drinking heavily [and] Campus Security asked his friends that he was with to take him home for the night,” said Fritz.
A construction worker was also subjected to an unpleasant shift, though in his case it was due to getting pepper sprayed while on the job.
“A construction worker was directing traffic over by the [Energy. Environment. Experiential Learning.] building and at a point he started to exhibit sinus and nasal discomfort that is consistent with being sprayed with pepper spray,” said Fritz.
The Calgary Police Service continue to investigate the incident.
Fritz noted that BSD went well this year, despite there being more EMS calls than usual, all of which were due to individuals drinking too much.
Total losses for the month were $27,461.56 from 121 incidents.