The first weekend of the fall semester saw a dramatic uptick in crime and police activity compared to previous weekends.
Spanning the nights of Aug. 20 to Aug. 23rd, there were multiple reports of reckless driving, several DUI arrests were made and many open-container-related pedestrian stops, according to Pullman Police Officer Ruben Harris.
“Unfortunately, it’s [DUIs] typically… It’s unfortunate because in terms of something that happens frequently but is a danger to other people, DUIs can have catastrophic consequences, so it’s something that we very much try to emphasize,” said Harris.
According to Harris, the majority of the weekend’s incidents occurred around Greek Row and the student apartments, with a few occurrences, including one DUI arrest, taking place off of College Hill.
Two particularly concerning incidents included a DUI arrest where the individual admitted to seeing female drivers and following them, as well as an incident of road rage where a separate individual was charged for yelling racial slurs and threatening to shoot another driver, according to Harris.
In addition to substance-related incidents, there were also basic traffic stops conducted over the weekend, according to PD call logs.
“We are making traffic stops, especially if there’s no other things going on… we have an amazing number of people that drive around with no headlights on, obviously that’s a huge safety issue and it happens a surprising amount,” Harris said.
Open-container stops were also frequent during syllabus week, with many pedestrian stops resulting from open-container violations.
“If people can just have their hands empty when they step out into a public place… if they’re able to move through the world with purpose and not have beverages in their hands, then we’re not going to be talking to them,” Harris said. “If people have their hands empty and they’re safe and nobody’s causing problems, we’re definitely not here to try to arrest somebody over nothing.”
According to Harris, the police department is expecting a higher volume of calls and incidents to occur this weekend, as visitors come into town for the first WSU football game of the season.
“This weekend brings a bunch of parents and alumni, so it’s just another layer of activity for us…but we’re prepared for things to be busier than they were last weekend,” Harris said.
During weekends such as the first home game, police presence will be increased, and officers will be on the lookout for impaired drivers, according to Harris.
“Even if you’re my age, and I’m getting close to 50… this is not Vegas, so if I walk down the sidewalk with an open Coors Light, that’s a multi-hundred-dollar ticket,” Harris said. “The open container thing is something that we notice. We’re really looking for safety issues,” Harris said.
