Washington University community members were alerted March 12 at 4:07 p.m. to a series of trespassing incidents that transpired on the Danforth Campus over a period of three days and culminated in the arrest of a man unaffiliated with the University by the Washington University Police Department.

The person’s reason for trespassing was unclear, and WUPD Chief Mark Glenn said that WUPD has not yet determined whether he had any relationship to a member of the Washington University community.

WUPD first issued a trespass warning to the individual on March 10 after he was found in Gregg House’s first floor common room. Residents of Gregg House were alerted about this incident in an email.

“At the time, it was an isolated incident,” WUPD Chief Mark Glenn said. “Based on that, we wanted to notify that community [Gregg House]. We didn’t know at that time the large expanse. We didn’t think it reached out that far.”

However, the same person allegedly became involved in two more incidents occurring on March 11 and March 12. On the morning of March 11, WUPD officers arrived at Gregg House to assist a staff member who had reported seeing a non-resident in the building. According to the memo, this non-resident became “argumentative” when asked if he needed assistance by the Gregg House staff member.

WUPD later determined that this person was able to enter the building by “tailgating” in the door after a student. It was also determined that following the encounter with the staff member, this person immediately left the building and campus grounds.

Just after midnight on the morning of March 12, this same person was recognized by a WUPD officer on the South 40, and was escorted off campus.

This unaffiliated person was again seen on the Danforth campus at approximately 10:00 a.m., March 12. He was placed under arrest for trespassing inside the Danforth University Center. Upon escorting this person and driving him to the WUPD station, he informed officers that he had been treated at a local hospital for a back injury and asked for additional treatment. Clayton paramedics immediately transported this person to a local hospital. The memo specified that he was “conscious and alert.”

According to a post on the @wu4abolition Instagram account, students witnessed this person being arrested on Mudd Field by three to four WUPD officers. The post said that officers dismissed student questions.

Students then continued to inquire when the man was transported to the WUPD station and were told by officers “he was being arrested for ‘multiple counts of trespassing,’ and would not be given bail and would be processed elsewhere.”

Glenn said that HIPAA prevented him from disclosing exact details of the individual’s medical situation, but offered a brief overview of his interaction with WUPD.

“He stated that he was being treated at a local facility for a back injury and was having problems with his back again,” Glenn said. “We immediately called paramedics and they responded as quickly as possible, and transported him to go get further treatment.”

Second year law student Alec Jessar did not witness the arrest on March 12, but upon hearing of the events that had transpired, he called WUPD to gain information about the arrest and the departure of a man from campus on a stretcher. Before the security memo was sent out this afternoon, it was unclear if the man involved was an affiliated or unaffiliated person of the University.

“When I said, ‘I’m calling to ask about the arrest of the community member,’ they cut me off and said they’d transfer me to a supervisor,” Jessar said in a statement. “I was then transferred to a voicemail and left a message.”

Jessar attempted to call again four minutes later where he requested to speak with a real person and was told the police chief was available only to be told right before sent to voicemail that Glenn would call him back.

“An hour and fifteen minutes later the police chief called me and left a message,” Jessar said. “I called back just after [and] I said I was calling to ask about what had happened and why the person was arrested. He asked what I had been told and I told him that I knew that a community member had been arrested and then left the station unconscious. He said that he wouldn’t comment on the investigation but that the person needed an ambulance so they had an ambulance come to the station.”

Jessar also inquired about WUPD’s policies regarding individuals on campus who are unaffiliated with the University. Glenn said WUPD investigates when they are called about people but do not check IDs and do not stop people because of how they look.

The investigation into these incidents is currently still in progress, but WUPD will send information to be reviewed by the St. Louis county counselor after the investigation is complete.