UMD Police respond to reports of hate bias incident, suspicious activity, theft

University of Maryland Police responded to reports of a hate bias incident, suspicious activity and theft, among other incidents this past week, according to police reports.

Hate bias incident

University Police responded to a hate bias incident on the fifth floor of the plant sciences building on Sept. 13 at 11:34 a.m. An offensive phrase and a swastika were found on a balcony ledge, police spokeswoman Sgt. Rosanne Hoaas said.

Police do not know when the incident occurred. A notification was made to have the area cleaned and the phrase and swastika are now cleared. No further information was reported, Hoaas said. This case is active.

Suspicious activity

University Police responded to Lot 15 for a report of suspicious activity on Sept. 10 at 1:10 a.m. An officer arrived on the scene to find a man pulling on car door handles, claiming to try and locate his car.

The man’s car was not in the parking lot, and the officer told him he was trespassing, Hoaas said.

The man was escorted off the property but proceeded to return a few more times. The officer told him if he came back again, he would be arrested. He came back to the property anyway and was arrested and charged with trespassing on school grounds, and he was issued a denial to campus, Hoaas said. This case is closed.

Theft

On Sept. 11 at 4:44 p.m., police responded to Boteler Lane for a bicycle theft, Hoaas said. A male student reported that his road bicycle was stolen between approximately 3 p.m. on Sept. 8 and 4:30 p.m. on Sept. 10.

University Police submitted a request for a video review of the cameras in the area and is awaiting review of the footage. This case is active.

Driving under the influence/driving while intoxicated

University Police charged two people with DWI/DUI arrests, one on Sept. 9 and the other on Sept. 10, Hoaas said. In both cases, an officer stopped a motor vehicle for a traffic violation and then detected the smell of alcohol while talking with the driver.

In the Sept. 9 incident, which happened at 3:10 a.m., the driver failed standardized field sobriety tests and was arrested. In the Sept. 10 case, which occurred at 3:12 a.m., the driver was unable to complete the sobriety tests and was arrested. Both cases are closed.