Campus police patrol on St. Patrick's Day
St. Patrick's Day started off calmly for campus police, but as the day went on, more incidents lead to a busy night.
The busiest time period began at 11 p.m. when Officer Jair Kollasch was on patrol. Central Michigan Life accompanied Kollasch around campus from 10 p.m. to midnight to observe police activity during St. Patrick's Day.
Kollasch encountered a group of students walking through a parking lot on campus. One of them fell down, a sign Kollasch said is what he looks for when trying to identify students who may be too intoxicated to return home safely.
“Our concern is not to stop everybody who has had a few drinks, but to keep (students) safe,” he said. “Are they able to walk? Can they stand up?"
As he approached, another student threw a bottle she was carrying out of view. Kollasch told the group of students to stop walking. Four of the six did, while two others continued.
The woman who threw the bottle aside denied it was hers, but admitted to it after further questioning from Kollasch. He had the option to cite her for a minor in possession offense, but chose not to.
“It’s easy to say ‘in every situation this is how it plays out,’” Kollasch said. “That’s not how it plays out. If I, as a cop, do nothing but write tickets, am I changing behavior?”
Kollasch left the students to go home and returned to patrolling the streets around campus. He stopped when he saw another person fall. As he approached in his patrol car, he saw that it was a group of students skateboarding.
The officer asked how they were doing. One of them was having car trouble. Kollasch told the student he could call Parking Services to have his vehicle kept overnight, then left the students alone.
“It’s just being out here and being available,” Kollasch said. “It’s just being a real person and saying ‘hi.’”
The night became busier when Kollasch received word through the radio that students in Troutman Hall had been confronted by staff for a noise complaint and locked themselves in their residence hall room. They opened a window in an attempt to flee and dispose of alcohol.
Hall staff requested police assistance, which Kollasch said meant the situation is serious, since staff are usually able to handle these types of incidents on their own.
He arrived at Troutman Hall in the Towers residence halls and looked for open windows outside on the ground floor. Kollasch found the window students were escaping through, with hall staff watching to prevent students from running.
Kollasch stood outside and watched the window to ensure no one else attempted to run. Other officers already on the scene were let into the room. Since the students had locked themselves in and allegedly been drinking, police and hall staff searched the room.
Kollasch returned to patrolling campus. It’s important to keep in mind what other officers are doing, he said. If everyone is handling incidents at the same time, no one is available if another comes up, so he stays only as long as he’s needed.
Another call came in, this time regarding a student in Woldt Hall suspected of a violation of the Controlled Substances Act. The student was reported being verbally confrontational with police, who called for assistance in case the situation escalated.
When Kollasch arrived at the scene, the student was lying in a stairwell. There were already two Mobile Medical Response paramedics and two officers present. The young man was breathing heavily. He thumped his chest saying, “It hurts, it hurts here,” he said.
One of the paramedics helped him breathe with an oxygen tank. His breathing grew more rapid, then she provided oxygen, and he settled down. A minute later, his breathing sped up again.
This cycle continued while police and paramedics tried to coax him down the stairs to the ambulance. They made their way one step at a time, until finally he was placed on a stretcher and taken for medical treatment.
When asked if the student was having an asthma attack, Kollasch said, “No, that was him pretending to have an asthma attack.”
He added later that the student could have also been having a panic attack. While he couldn't be certain the student was faking, the EMTs did not consider it a serious threat.
The student had allegedly been drinking that night, tallying his drinks on his shirt. The EMTs also suspected he had ingested narcotics.
“We want to deal with those individuals and make sure they’re safe,” Kollasch said.
