Campus Watch: Below is a summary of campus criminal activity reported to or observed by The University of Texas at Austin Police Department between Sunday 3/31/19 and Saturday 4/6/19. 3/31/2019, at 10:11 p.m., 1800 San Jacinto Blvd Wrong-way driving, Wrong License Plate, Warrant Arrest: A UTPD Officer was following a Travis County EMS ambulance to the Dell Seton Medical Center when the ambulance suddenly slowed and made a sudden lane change. The officer then realized the ambulance was avoiding a car travelling the wrong way on the one way road. The officer stopped the wrong-way driver and found that the license plate was for a completely different vehicle. He also found that the driver was wanted for assault on a family member. The officer brought the fugitive to Travis County Jail without incident. Safety Tip: Nationally, wrong-way driving claims approximately 360 lives each year. There is a high overlap with drug and alcohol impairment. To protect yourself, “Stay right at night.” Wrong-way collisions usually happen in the left lane, because wrong-way drivers often know they are impaired and attempt to travel in what they think are the slower lanes. If you see a wrong-way driver, pull off the roadway and dial 911. If you realize you are driving the wrong-way, activate your hazard lights and stop, then turn around immediately if it’s safe to do so. 4/1/2019, at 2:21 a.m., 900 Guadalupe St Wrong-way driving, Driving While Intoxicated: An officer stopped a vehicle for travelling the wrong way on Guadalupe Street. The officer asked about the odor of alcohol he could smell, and the driver said she was on her way home to Pflugerville after drinking one beer. The driver displayed many “clues” on the Standardized Field Sobriety Test. The Standardized Field Sobriety Tests were developed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in an effort to reduce the number of traffic fatalities. Research indicates these tests can correctly identify an alcohol-impaired driver over 90% of the time. Combined with her driving behavior and her odor of alcohol, the SFSTs demonstrated Probable Cause for DWI, and the Officer arrested the driver and transported her to Travis County Jail. There, the driver refused to give a sample of her breath. The Officer was able to complete a search warrant at the jail and obtained a sample of the driver’s blood. The blood will be tested to establish the intoxication level of the driver. Safety Tip: The best practice when going out drinking is to bring a designated sober friend. Capital Metro offers excellent resources, including the E-Bus, that can get UT’s students back to West Campus and UT’s Residence Halls safely. The Texas Department of Transportation’s research found that the average legal cost of a DWI is over $17,000. In that context, Ride-Share services are downright inexpensive. 4/5/2019, at 12:22 p.m., 201 E 21st St. (Jester Center) Criminal Trespassing, Warrant Arrest, Failure to Identify (Fugitive), Resisting Arrest or Transport, Assault on a Public Servant: UTPD received a call that a man was refusing to leave a dining hall after demanding food for himself and his dog. After being asked to leave, the man walked behind cash registers and yelled at staff, causing a disturbance. Officers quickly arrived and stopped the man, attempting to detain him to investigate the situation. The man was immediately combative when asked to identify himself, but was placed in police custody and transported to jail, where he was identified and found to be a fugitive from another county. Refusing to identify yourself when arrested carries an enhancement if you’re a fugitive at that time. The man also struck officers during his arrest, which is also a serious crime. Safety Tip: The person who called UTPD for help did a great job. He was able to provide a very clear ‘head to toe’ description of the man we were looking for. He communicated the specific location where help was needed. He called 911 promptly, before the situation escalated, so we could get there in time. And finally, he waited for police to meet with him so we could gain a clear understanding of the situation. He’s eligible for UTPD’s Safer by the Slice program and will get a free pizza courtesy of your friendly UTPD officers. If you’re not sure if a situation on campus is an emergency, give UTPD a call and let us figure it out. It very well may not become an emergency because you called us so quickly. The University of Texas Police Department responded to 914 total calls for service, including 81 Foot Patrols, 196 Alarm Activations, 46 Traffic Violations, and 6 Thefts between Sunday 3/31/19 and Saturday 4/6/19. To view our official crime log, visit https://utdirect.utexas.edu/apps/fasweb/utpd/nlogon/crimelog/.
