Category Archives: Security and Safety

Shots fired at Virginia Tech, campus on lockdown

Posted on December 8, 2011 by | 1 Comment

This is a quickly evolving story (it was on CNN as I was leaving the house today), but the short version is there is a shooting incident going on at Virginia Tech.  Here’s a link to an article from MSNBC article and a quote:

 

A police officer was shot at Virginia Tech on Thursday morning and officials warned everyone to seek shelter while an armed suspect was at large on the campus where 33 people died in 2007 in the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.

The campus newspaper and a local television station reported the officer was dead.

A possible second victim was reported at a campus parking lot, CBS television station WDBJ reported.

“We don’t know if the suspect fled or the extent of the injuries to the suspect or to the officer,” NBC News’ Pete Williams told msnbc cable TV earlier.

“This was a traffic stop on campus,” Williams said. “It was not someone walking around firing shots.”

I’m sure there will be more coming out about all this.

→ 1 Comment

Posted in In the media..., Security and Safety

“Va. Tech’s federal appeal could set precedent”

Posted on December 5, 2011 by | Leave a comment

A couple of alert EMUTalk.org readers sent me versions of this article, “Va. Tech’s federal appeal could set precendent (sic),” this particular one from the spelling impaired Hampton Roads PilotOnline web site.  Here’s an interesting quote:

The university, with help from the Virginia attorney general’s office, is appealing $55,000 in fines levied against it by the U.S. Department of Education in March 2011. The three-day hearing is part of that appeal, which will be handled by Chief Judge Ernest Canellos of the department’s Office of Higher Education Appeals.

The hearing itself is precedent setting, said Daniel Carter of Security on Campus, a nonprofit that advocates for Clery compliance.

“There has never been a Clery Act hearing,” Carter said.

But it may not be the last. Investigators have been on the Penn State campus for a Clery Act investigation into whether the university failed to report incidents of sexual abuse in connection to allegations against former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky.

EMU is mentioned in the article as being the infamous “winner” of the largest fine under the Clery Act to date, though I have a feeling we’ll soon be in third place.

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Dickinson Murder, In the media..., Security and Safety

“Greg O’Dell returns to Eastern Michigan University as executive director of public safety and chief of police”

Posted on November 30, 2011 by | 29 Comments

There has got to be a story behind this one:

According to this press release, “Greg O’Dell returns to Eastern Michigan University as executive director of public safety and chief of police.”  Now, I take this as good news because I think it is true that O’Dell was highly thought of at EMU, but something is amiss here.  For starters, O’Dell took the job as chief of police at the University of Michigan in August– this after being at EMU previously as chief of police and in Ann Arbor in various police administration positions.  To add to this, O’Dell is taking a $20,000 pay cut from his previous salary at EMU and God only knows how much of a pay cut relative to his job at U of M.

What’s up with this?

→ 29 Comments

Posted in Administrator Life, In the media..., Security and Safety

Library “water incident” continues, probably not sewage

Posted on November 3, 2011 by | 1 Comment

One thing I suggested here yesterday that I am pretty sure turns out to be false:  the flood water incident probably wasn’t sewage, which is what I had originally heard.  That’s the good news.  The bad news is it looks pretty bad.

After the continued part, I include VP for Communication Walter Kraft’s full email he sent around earlier today.  Right after I received that message, I went up to my office and took a look around and a few pictures.  Here’s a link to the whole set of photos if you want to see it.

First off, it’s never a good sign to see a “catastrophic cleaning” truck parked out front.  But on the plus-side, I was expecting some sort of sewage/poo-like smell and I didn’t get that.  I didn’t get any kind of wet/mildewy smell either.  So that’s all good.

But it looks like the water damage was pretty extensive.  Half of the second floor was closed off, the rest rooms on the first floor were roped off, and the writing center is completely closed.  And it looks like it might be closed for a while.  This picture (which someone else took– this was all roped off from me) is the ceiling on the floor, which is not where it belongs.  Hard to say when that is going to be open again.

I also think the last sentence of Kraft’s release is kind of telling here:  ”The cause of the water leak, which originated in a ceiling sprinkler head in the men’s bathroom on the second floor, remains under investigation.”  Those are some interesting lines to read between.

Continue reading →

→ 1 Comment

Posted in Buildings and Grounds, Security and Safety

“EMU student charged with arson”

Posted on September 9, 2011 by | Leave a comment

annarbor.com reported this yesterday.  Here are the first couple of paragraphs:

An Eastern Michigan University student accused of setting a small fire Wednesday in a bathroom at the Student Center told police he planned to burn the building down, but changed his mind, EMU Interim Public Safety Director Bob Heighes said.

Paul Travis McClendon, 55, of Ypsilanti Township, was arraigned this afternoon at the Washtenaw County Jail on a charge of arson.

This guy doesn’t exactly seem like the sharpest knife in the drawer, but what’s also interesting to me is McClendon was arrested hours later as a result of the surveillance camera footage.  And with the sprinkler system kicking in, the chance that he would have been successful at burning down the building as a result of a trashcan fire was pretty small, even if he hadn’t changed his mind.

Good job to EMU DPS!

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Buildings and Grounds, In the media..., Security and Safety

EMU Police Chief O’Dell going to U of M

Posted on August 3, 2011 by | 2 Comments

annarbor.com and other sources report that EMU Police Chief Greg O’Dell is moving on to that job at the University of Michigan.  A loyal reader sent me a link to the U of M announcement and noted that the big raise O’Dell received from EMU wasn’t enough to keep him here after all.

→ 2 Comments

Posted in Administrator Life, In the media..., Security and Safety, University of Michigan

“War of the Worlds” confusion possible on campus today

Posted on June 8, 2011 by | 1 Comment

Well, probably not, but that’s the first thing that occurred to me when I saw this message from PR guy Geoff “Geoff” Larcom:

To the campus community: Emergency management training exercise today

The Eastern Michigan University Department of Public Safety and the Emergency Management Office will conduct a training exercise today (Wednesday, June 8), 9:30 a.m. until noon. This is only a training exercise. During this time, there may be increased emergency services activity on campus near the Department of Public Safety, the Convocation Center and Westview Apartments. Volunteers will be playing roles as disaster victims and the EMU Community Emergency Response Team will be practicing its response procedures. For more information, call 487-0799 or e-mailemergency.management@emich.edu.

By the way, it’d be nice if they would also rehearse a zombie apocalypse.

→ 1 Comment

Posted in Buildings and Grounds, College Fun, Security and Safety

Attempted robbery at EMU credit union

Posted on June 2, 2011 by | 2 Comments

This just in:  a reliable source/friend of the site told me that they were at the EMU Credit Union a few minutes ago, and they found the area full of police.  Apparently, there was a robbery attempt– not quite sure if it was successful or not.  Anybody else hear anything about this?

→ 2 Comments

Posted in Buildings and Grounds, Security and Safety, Ypsilanti

“Cameras provide coverage, but university turns to students too”

Posted on April 26, 2011 by | Leave a comment

Here’s one of those stories I love stumbling across via my Google Alert that searches for “eastern michigan university:” from the web site Security Director News comes “Cameras provide coverage, but university turns to students too.” Here are the first couple of paragraphs:

When Greg O’Dell retired as a deputy chief of the Ann Arbor Police Department and took a job as the Chief of Police for Eastern Michigan University, he had no experience with video surveillance systems. “In the city, we had no cameras whatsoever, and when I started here there were 225 cameras on campus and I was just impressed the first time I saw that,” he said. “I was shocked how good the camera system was and how much area we could cover with that system.” The use of cameras—now up to 375 cameras—has added eyes to his police force of 33 sworn officers, who are responsible for covering 800 acres of property with 122 buildings, including 14 residence halls.

While the cameras are primarily used as an investigative tool following an incident, O’Dell said the department recently upgraded the system to make it easier for dispatchers to use the system during an event. “If dispatchers get a call of a suspicious person in a certain area, they routinely will pull up the cameras and have an image of the person before the officer arrives on the scene,” he said.  For example, last fall an unarmed robbery occurred off campus and the suspect ran across the university’s campus. O’Dell said dispatchers were able to go from camera to camera tracking the suspect and notifying police about his exact whereabouts in order to make the arrest. O’Dell said the investment the school made in the Nextiva Video Management software from Verint enabled the dispatchers to better manage and control its large video system. Dispatchers now have a mapping system, which allows them to easily pinpoint camera locations to follow a suspect through campus.

And I should point out that O’Dell goes on to say that EMU police and cameras aren’t enough, that they also rely on alert students and other members of the EMU community.

Anyway, I’m not sure what I find more interesting and surprising, the use of cameras described in the piece or the fact that there’s a web site devoted to “security director news.”  But there you have it.

 

 

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Blogosphere, In the media..., Security and Safety

“EMU freshman accused of sexually assaulting another student at campus residence hall”

Posted on April 13, 2011 by | Leave a comment

In the category of more serious and local news, annarbor.com reports “EMU freshman accused of sexually assaulting another student at campus residence hall.” From the article:

An Eastern Michigan University freshman is accused of sexually assaulting another student at Phelps Residence Hall on campus Monday night, EMU police said.

Michael Lawrence Denson, 18, is being held on a $100,000 cash or surety bond after being arraigned this afternoon at the Washtenaw County Jail on one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and three counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct.

EMU Police Chief Greg O’Dell said Denson is accused of sexually assaulting a female acquaintance. According to O’Dell, the alleged victim reported the incident shortly after it occurred and was seen at a local hospital.

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Buildings and Grounds, In the media..., Security and Safety, Student Life