It was only 8 p.m. last Friday, and the university police had already transported an intoxicated female student to the hospital.
Thus began a typical weekend night in the life of a university police officer.
“We typically start patrolling right at the start of our shift,” Lt. Troy Eeten said. “Usually for the weekends, third shift is the most active.”
Eeten was working second shift which is from 3 to 11 p.m. Third shift lasts from 11 p.m. until 7 a.m.
For the remainder of Eeten’s shift, the night was calm. Greek row was busy with students heading to parties, but so far, the campus was quiet.
Eeten drove through campus and beyond, covering most streets in a 10-block radius.
“There isn’t one area on campus that we get more calls or complaints from in particular,” Eeten said. “We have sporadic events, but nothing specific.”
He said on certain roads, there have been many incidents of car burglaries.
“It’s usually some item of value that prompts the break-in, not the car itself,” he said. “Even a cupful of change can be the provoking factor. Try not to leave anything of value in plain sight.”
After Eeten’s shift ended, Sgt. Scott Fryer was on duty.
At the start of his shift, Fryer said, “We will probably get a lot of escorts. Student requests for escorts have jumped from two or three a week to two or three a night since the mugging was reported in the Scout.”
Fryer said some students tend to be so focused on where they’re going that they forget to think about their safety.
“That escort service is there for the students, and they need to use it,” he said. “They worry more about getting the drinking ticket than their health. That should be the least of their worries.”
After a brief walk-through of Late Night BU, Fryer received a call at midnight that said two males were overheard discussing “being too wasted to drive,” and a description of what they were wearing.
He tracked down the males, one of them being a Bradley student, and asked if they had been drinking. After some deliberation, the males consented to a Breathalyzer, and each received a drinking ticket.
“Signs like stumbling and falling down give us probable cause to investigate further to see if someone is intoxicated,” Fryer said.
At 12:30 a.m., a noise complaint was called in at a St. James apartment. The people involved agreed to keep the noise down, and the owner of the apartment received a ticket.
“Noise complaints are one of our most common complaints,” Fryer said.
At 2 a.m., after providing a few escorts, Fryer noticed a male and female who appeared to be intoxicated walking toward Heitz Hall.
He pulled them over, gave them Breathalyzer tests and gave each one a ticket for underage drinking. He escorted the female back to her floor in Geisert Hall and continued to patrol the area.
The remainder of the evening was quiet, as after 3 a.m. most students appeared to have turned in for the night.
Eeten and Fryer said they agreed with warmer weather comes with increased activity and complaints.
“When it starts getting nice people want to be outdoors more, and we definitely see the activity pick up,” Eeten said. “Our only savior tends to be finals. They don’t alleviate all our problems, but they help hamper them.”
This particular night had been on the quiet side, Fryer said.
“Tonight was calmer, but sometimes there are back-to-back incidents and no down time,” he said. “There are four of us on duty during third shift, and while we’re present, we can’t be everywhere. I advise everyone to be vigilant of their surroundings.”
