Dog in action – There were two incidents over the past week that prompted campus members to call the police to inspect suspicious bags left around campus, both of which required the campus’ K-9 unit to investigate.
“We don’t send the dog out on something that we know is an explosive, but if it’s something suspicious like this, we’ll send the dog to smell for nitrates and explosives and see if they react to it,” University Police Lt. Richard Goodwin said.
The first incident occurred on Sept. 19 when a mysterious red, white and blue duffel bag was found abandoned by a trash can next to El Pollo Loco on the second floor of the University Student Union. After an investigation, the owner’s personal belongings were found inside, though the owner couldn’t be found.
The second incident happened the following day when a black-roller bag was found at a traffic light on the west turnaround on campus. Upon investigation, the K-9 unit found nothing suspicious in the bag. The owner returned to claim the bag shortly after the officers arrived.
Roommate fight – On Sept. 22, a resident of the Beachside dorms reported an assault/battery perpetrated by her roommate. Though she initially called in the morning for police assistance, she asked the officers to hold off on responding and said she would call back later about the incident.
A second call regarding the same issue came in later that night with the resident filing a full report, saying she and her roommate had a few physical confrontations before, with her roommate grabbing her once prior and pushing her twice before.
The police took the report and advised hall staff on the matter. The roommate had left for the day and would not be returning until the following day.
One too many – Police had two run-ins this past week with intoxicated subjects which required officers to intervene. The first occurred on Sept. 22 when a resident in the Hillside dorm on-campus reported a male subject with a mustache, white hat and a possible alcoholic beverage in his hand.
After arriving on the scene, police found the man laying down near parking lot G4 and arrested him for public intoxication, transporting him to the Long Beach Police Department jail. Goodwin said he believes the individual was not a Long Beach State student.
The second encounter happened on Sept. 24 when multiple students complained about a man who may have been intoxicated and was bothering those on the fifth floor of the University Library. He was described as having a tattoo on his hand, and a tattoo on his shoulder. The police arrived and gave him a field sobriety test. Rather than arresting the man, police advised him to leave.