Scene
A night with WUPD
The Washington University Police Department is often seen by students as a group of officers who break up fraternity parties and refer intoxicated students to the judicial administrator. To help shed light on a real night in the life of a WUPD officer, Student Life shadowed WUPD officer Dave Goodwin on Friday, Sept. 26.
A dispatcher at WUPD receives an emergency call on Friday night. The Emergency Support Team and WUPD assess each situation and inform any necessary parties from the dispatch room. Officers in the dispatch room are connected to hundreds of cameras around campus as well as local and national television.
Goodwin rushes to an intoxication call in Liggett House on Friday night at about 1 a.m. WUPD officers tend to arrive on the scene before EST because of the officers’ greater mobility.
Deep within the WUPD office is a jail cell for holding suspects who may be a danger to the community. While the jail cell has never been used—many suspects are transported to other police departments in St. Louis County—it is ready for use if needed.
Goodwin marks an illegally parked bike for removal with a red tag. The bicycle must be moved from the ramp in a reasonable amount of time or the lock will be cut and the bicycle confiscated.
Two WUPD officers talk with an intoxicated person who is not a Washington University student to assess her mental and physical capabilities. A Wash. U. student accompanying her explained what her friend had drank that night. The officers were able to stabilize the student and gave instructions to a sober contact to stay with her for the rest of the night.
Alpha Epsilon Pi sophomore Cory Steinberg, the fraternity’s house manager, talks with Goodwin about the fraternity’s mixer that night. The rule of thumb for house managers for fraternity parties is to “police yourselves” so the officers don’t have to.
Goodwin checks the back doors of a fraternity house on campus, looking for unlocked doors and music. Placing a hand on the door allows him to feel any bass from music within the house that might indicate that an unregistered party is happening.
EST member and sophomore Gaby Gonzalez and her colleague rush to the intoxication call in Liggett House to help stabilize the intoxicated student. Due to the severity of the situation, the EST members were accompanied by three WUPD officers—as opposed to the typical one officer—to ensure the safety of the paramedics and students involved.