UTPD Announcements: Mental Health Awareness As the semester advances towards finals, remember to take note of your own mental health. Students can contact the Counseling and Mental Health Center at 512-471-3515 for an assessment over the phone, or simply walk in at the Student Services Building, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Take our self-defense class! Free, three day Rape Aggression Defense course offerings on November (11-13). Register now. Citizen Response to Active Shooter Events Join us on November 11, noon to 1 p.m. in the Avaya Auditorium, POB 2.302.Officers will discuss active shooter events and provide options that adhere to the Run, Hide, Fight protocol. Learn how to take life-saving action and what to expect from UTPD in these situations. View all UTPD class offerings here. October 20, 2019, 2:08 a.m., 204 E. 21st St. (Moore-Hill Residence Hall) Public Intoxication: Three UT students drank alcohol at a birthday party and were returning to their residence hall when one began vomiting near the entrance of the dorm. Her friends sought help. UTPD found she was so intoxicated she needed help holding up her head and couldn’t speak. EMS arrived and assisted her into a stretcher for an evaluation. She was transferred to the Sobering Center. Due to Medical Amnesty, UTPD is not pursuing any criminal charges. Safety Tip: It’s much easier to become intoxicated on batch drinks at parties than you might realize. These drinks can mask the taste of alcohol with a higher sugar concentration and often the people drinking these kinds of drinks are inexperienced with alcohol and don’t understand their limits. The most important thing you can do to be safe when drinking is to have a sober friend with you. Should you realize you made a mistake and are intoxicated, calling for help is the best way to be safe and also to avoid any criminal consequences. The Sobering Center in Austin is a successful jail diversion program with medical professionals and educational literature for patients to read when they are feeling better. October 20, 2019, 8:18 p.m., 2300 Robert Dedman Theft: After several football games, athletics staff reported a man wearing a “Sustainability Squad” shirt, putting several pallets of beverages into a truck and leaving. The Sustainability Squad is an athletics program and staff did not recognize the man wearing the shirt. The man left so quickly no one was able to identify him. An officer saw the man, his truck, and pulled him over. The man had several pallets of water. He told officers he had been given the shirt by a friend and was also given permission to take beer, water, and soda. The UT property, including the shirt, was returned to Athletics and the man, who had no affiliation with the university, was given a Criminal Trespass Warning. If he were to return to campus, he would be subject to arrest for trespassing. Safety Tip: Call the police when you feel specific behavior is suspicious. When calling 911 to report someone “doesn’t look like they belong,” it’s important to explain the behavior that also makes you suspicious. In this scenario, accessing unauthorized areas or property were key to our investigation. Please also indicate behavior suggesting a mental health crisis or intoxication. October 21, 2019, 8:39 a.m., 3985 W Braker Ln, West Pickle Research Building Terroristic Threat: While on the way to work, a driver got upset when a UT Staff member upset attempted to make a lane change. The staff member was followed to work by a man who was honking his horn and driving aggressively and also reportedly displayed a gun. When the employee arrived at work, the man left the area. Thankfully, he never came into the West Pickle Research Campus, which is located near the Pickle Research Campus. UTPD arrived to perform an investigation and notify security and front desk staff of what to watch for. VAN (Victim’s Advocate Network) arrived and offered help to the victim. Safety Tip: Unfortunately, road rage is something we should plan for in advance. Consider the following tips: 1. Don’t take the behavior of other motorists personally and escalate situations yourself. 2. Diffuse anger from others by showing them calmness. Do not reciprocate body language, communicate aggressively, or show them you think they are in the wrong. Don’t attempt to get back at another motorist by catching up or passing them. Instead, steer clear, avoid eye contact, and be the bigger person. 3. There are many examples of angry motorists following people to homes, work, and parking lots. If you think this is happening, take note of the color, make, model, and license plate number. 4. Call 911 as soon as you feel unsafe, for example as soon as you notice someone is following you. 5. Stick to well-traveled roads and think of the best place to go. Know where a police station or security entrance is near your home and workplace. Think in advance of how you could describe your exact location, such as a convenience store at a specific intersection. If someone is following you, don’t pull off into a neighborhood or isolated location, and don’t go home or to work. Remember that a 911 dispatcher can help you navigate to a safe location. Don’t forget to connect with UTPD via Twitter and Facebook, and remember you can reach out to your campus District Representative with any non-emergency concerns or questions you have. Other great social media resources include the Twitter feeds for UT Austin’s Office of Campus Safety and the Austin Police Department. To view our official crime log, visit: https://utdirect.utexas.edu/apps/fasweb/utpd/nlogon/crimelog/
