Monday, Nov. 9, 2009 6:02 p.m.
7:31 p.m.
UPD sent out an Infomail at 7:29 p.m. confirming the occurrence of the incident and providing a description of the intruder. He is a white male, 30 to 35 years old, 6 feet tall with a thin build, and wearing a green shirt, blue jeans, and a baseball hat, according to the Infomail.
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A man entered the women’s locker room in the Lerner Health and Wellness Center Monday evening and opened the curtains of two in-use showers, exposing the occupants, one of the victims said.
The victim said she and her friend – both female graduate students – were showering in stalls next to each other around 4:45 p.m. when the man pulled back the curtains.
“She screamed, she was the first to get peeped,” the student said. “I almost was going to run after him,” she said of her reaction.
A third girl in the locker room then reported the incident to staff members, who alerted the University Police Department. At 5:15 p.m., UPD officers were sweeping the building looking for the man, a HelWell staff member said.
The victim, whose name is being withheld due to privacy concerns, said the girl who reported the incident to staff members thought the man had just walked into the wrong locker room.
“I don’t know why he’d look in the showers to check,” she said.
Officers in the lobby of HelWell declined to comment. UPD Chief Dolores Stafford did not immediately return a request for comment.
Saturday, Oct. 31, 2009 6:23 p.m.
As students gear up for tricks and treats on Halloween, the University is taking special proactive measures – the holiday is a peak time for student misconduct, the director of Student Judicial Services said.
Tara Pereira, assistant dean of students and the head of SJS, said that her office can identify certain peak times when students misbehave by tracking calls to the Community Concern Hotline, and that the University has prepared countermeasures for unruly students on Saturday.
“The George Washington University has once again engaged in proactive planning to address the upcoming events of Halloween. Especially with the holiday falling on a Saturday this year, we have redoubled our efforts,” Pereira said.
Pereira said the University is coordinating with the Metropolitan Police Department, and “just a few of the steps being taken to curb inappropriate behavior,” include an additional University Police Department presence and Neighborhood Action Team patrols. The University will also provide alternative activities on campus and has educated students and housing staff, Pereira said.
Michael Akin, executive director of international, government and community affairs, said that the holiday draws increased occurrences of misconduct.
“Halloween is a time when we expect increased activity,” Akin said. “Each year we undertake a number of efforts to proactively address these issues.”
Pereira said neighbors have also been encouraged to report any misconduct to the hotline.
Sunday, Oct. 18, 2009 6:31 p.m.
Dolores Stafford
University Police Chief Dolores Stafford announced Sunday she will step down from her position after 18 years of leading the department.
Stafford, who has worked in law enforcement and security for 25 years, came to GW in 1992. Stafford said Sunday she previously planned to retire at 50 but recently decided to “accelerate that plan and retire from active law enforcement at 45” and notified the University of her departure on Wednesday.
Stafford said she will remain in her position through the period of transition to a new chief – but will leave office by the end of the academic year. Her successor has not been named.
“As I move on, I plan to slow my life down dramatically,” Stafford said in an e-mail. “I will live in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware and will work part time for the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators (IACLEA) and will continue to expand and manage the small consulting business that I began in 1997.”
Read more…
Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2009 7:44 a.m.
Suspect 1
Suspect 2
A freshman student reported that her BlackBerry Storm cell phone had been stolen from her purse on Saturday, and the Metropolitan Police Department distributed photos of two suspects, including a photo of one of the subjects with his hand in the GW student’s bag.
According to a Metropolitan Police Department report, three female GW students were on their way home to Thurston Hall from a party when they asked two unknown males on the street to take a photo of them on the corner of the 2000 block of F Street, which is home to a handful of GW buildings, including Potomac Hall.
While the photo was being taken, the suspect stole the BlackBerry from the purse of one of the students.
The GW InfoMail Crime Alert e-mail sent on Tuesday night to students includes the photos of the suspects, and descriptions of them were included in a “be on the lookout” flyer issued by MPD:
“Suspect 1 - approximately 6′ -6′1″, 25-years-old, 220 lbs., heavy build, dark complexion, short-cut hair and wearing a green shirt and black pants
Suspect 2 – approximately 5′11″, 25-years-old, 180 lbs., slim build, medium complexion and wearing a green cap, green jacket, green shirt and indigo pants.
Anyone with information about the identity of these subjects is asked to contact Detective Neil Jones at neil.jones@dc.gov or 202-730-1903 or the MPD Command Information Center at 202-727-9099. Callers wishing to remain anonymous may call 1-888-919-CRIME (2746). Anonymous information may also be forwarded to the MPD’s TEXT TIP LINE by text messaging 50411. “
The e-mail also encourages the GW community to watch for the two individuals and to contact University Police at 202-994-6111 if they are seen around campus.
The e-mail advises students to avoid asking strangers for assistance and to be cautious walking around campus at night.
- Gabrielle Bluestone contributed to this report
Monday, Aug. 31, 2009 5:44 p.m.
The fire alarm system in Funger Hall went off at 3 p.m. today, prompting an evacuation of the building and disrupting the first day of class for hundreds of students.
Issues with the fire alarm system have persisted throughout the weekend, said Juan Ibanez, associate vice president for Facilities, adding that his office has been working to resolve the issue.
“We thought the problem was resolved today, but evidently not,” Ibanez said in an e-mail “So, we are continuing to work the issue with the electrical and fire alarm contractors. In the interim, [University Police Department] personnel will be performing 24/7 on-site fire watch services while the alarm is on standby.”
Sunday, Aug. 23, 2009 8:04 p.m.
Metropolitan Police Department officers arrested a woman Sunday evening after a student accused her of entering a room in Ivory Tower and stealing a wallet.
Sophomore Lindsey Henry was taking a nap in a friend’s room in Ivory Tower residence hall when she woke up to an unknown woman standing by her friend’s desk.
“We said ‘Excuse me, can I help you?’ She told us she was helping move someone in,” said Henry. “We asked her to leave.”
Later, Henry’s friend realized a wallet had been stolen from the room and called the University Police Department to report the incident. Henry later helped identify the woman and she was taken into custody by UPD officers.
“It was kind of unreal,” Henry said. “It’s one of those things where I am more in shock than anything else, waking up to someone in the room.”
Another student at the scene of the arrest, who requested anonymity, said he had a computer, wallet and sunglasses stolen from his Ivory Tower room on Saturday.
University Police Chief Dolores Stafford was not immediately available for comment. UPD and MPD officers on the scene declined to comment.
Update, 5:07 p.m., Aug. 24
There have been 12 burglaries reported in residence halls since Aug. 12, according to a GW Infomail. UPD said it is launching an investigation to determine if the incidents are connected.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009 11:35 p.m.
The Metropolitan Police Department's K-9 Unit reports to the intersection of 22nd and H streets last night after a parking garage staff member reported a suspicious package on the second floor. Gabrielle Bluestone/Hatchet photographer
A suspicious package is being investigated by Metropolitan and University Police at the University Parking Garage on H and 22nd streets.
The block of 22nd street between H and I streets is currently closed, and police are investigating the package on the second floor of the parking facility. At least one police vehicle and several UPD officers are currently on that floor.
Update, 11:51 p.m.
A police K-9 unit is on the scene. UPD Chief Dolores Stafford and University spokesperson Michelle Sherrard were both unavailable for comment, and officers at the garage declined to comment as well.
Update, 12:58 a.m.
Police officials began leaving the scene at around 12:30 a.m. The road has been reopened.
Update, Thursday, 11:45 a.m.
A parking garage staff member called in a report of a suspicious briefcase at approximately 10:15 p.m. on Wednesday, UPD Inspector Mark Balazik said. The area was blocked off and MPD was called to assist. The briefcase was determined to be benign and contained trash, papers and magazines, Balazik said.
- Andrew Nacin contributed to this report
Thursday, April 2, 2009 7:35 p.m.
The fire alarm in New Hall has gone off three separate times so far today, with one alarm forcing students outside for an hour in the middle of the night.
The first alarm was activated at around 3:30 a.m. and residents waited about an hour before they could get back inside, sixth-floor roommates Kavon Akhtar and Gil Rein said. The alarm went also went off two or three times this morning between 7 and 8 a.m., they said.
The third alarm activated at about 7 p.m. this evening, and Rein said they haven’t been told what’s been causing the alarms. University Police Chief Dolores Stafford was not immediately available for comment.
Sunday, Jan. 11, 2009 10:22 p.m.
Residents of the West End must enter through the rear entrance of the building after a pipe leak flooded the lobby of the dorm, said a University Police Officer on the scene.
According to the officer, the leak began earlier this morning however it began to worsen as the day progressed.
At 10 p.m. about an inch of water coated the floor of the lobby, and two trash cans were set up to collect the water raining down from the ceiling.
Facilities management refused comment, and UPD Chief Dolores Stafford could not be reached for comment at the time of the incident.
Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2008 5:04 p.m.
Two people were arrested in the Marvin Center last Saturday for assaulting multiple University Police Department officers, according to a police report.
Keyon Wade, 18, and Deandre Sidney Baker, 20, were arrested by UPD and taken to the Metropolitan Police Department 2nd District headquarters for processing shortly after 1 a.m., according to the report. Both individuals were unaffiliated with the University, UPD Chief Dolores Stafford said in an e-mail.
Several UPD officers responded to word of a fight in one of the Marvin Center’s ballrooms and saw Baker “lunging toward an unnamed individual,” the report states. When officers tried to remove him from the building, Baker resisted and hit officers in the chest and cheek, according to the report.
Wade then hit an officer in the face, causing bruising, the report states. Three separate officers were struck and one was taken to GW Hospital, according to the report.
Both GW Ballroom and the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. were holding events in the in the Marvin Center’s ballrooms that evening, according to a representative at the Marvin Center concierge desk. Neither group responded immediately to request for comment.
Stafford said UPD is pressing charges and that Wade and Baker were in the building attending an event but did not say which one. The Hatchet has not been able to obtain contact information for either individual.
