The Emory Wheel regularly meets with Emory Police Department (EPD) Records Manager Ed Shoemaker (87G, 90G) and EPD Communications Director Morieka Johnson (94C) and uses EPD’s public Crime Log to inform the Emory University community about recent crime on and around Emory’s campuses.
To report a crime, contact EPD at 404-727-6111 or police@emory.edu.
Criminal trespass, property damage
Emory University-affiliated Hospitals Public Safety Departments notified EPD that a vending machine was vandalized at Emory University Hospital between 1:10 a.m. and 1:36 a.m. on Feb. 26.
A hospital custodian stumbled upon the vending machine in a second-floor room and discovered that the lock had been popped open, leaving the door ajar. There was additional damage to the door besides the lock, Shoemaker said. He said it was unclear immediately whether any contents were stolen, but the vending machine was vandalized or damaged by someone whose actions were intentional rather than accidental.
“We've attempted to contact the company that owns the vending machine and stocks it and would be able to give us some idea at least of what, if anything, had been taken, but they weren't immediately available for comment in the middle of the night,” Shoemaker said.
The case is pending as EPD awaits communication from the vending machine company.
Shoemaker said that this is the second or third time that someone broke into a vending machine in the hospital in the last three weeks.
“Clearly we have an issue here,” he said.
Aggravated assault; aggressive driving
An unidentified driver put a student in a headlock after closely following the pedestrian down Eagle Row in his vehicle.
Around 4 p.m. on Feb. 25, a student reported that he was riding on a scooter on Eagle Row toward his fraternity house when he realized that a silver BMW was following closely behind him, Shoemaker said.
The student reported that the man inside the vehicle was yelling at him and said something along the lines of “get off the road.” The student attempted to move onto the sidewalk, but could not do so because it was blocked off due to construction. The bike lane does not span the entirety of Eagle Row so the student attempted to stay as close to the right curb as possible, but the vehicle came close to hitting him multiple times.
The driver eventually got out of the car near the intersection of Eagle Row and Dickey Drive, pushed the student off of the scooter and attacked him, according to Shoemaker.
Shoemaker said that the man put the student in a headlock, choked him and hit him. After a “scuffle,” the man released the student and drove away in his car, Shoemaker said.
The student did not know the driver.
EPD reported that the student sustained visible injuries but declined to be examined by emergency medical services. The department has a general description of the vehicle and the driver, who Shoemaker said appeared to be around 30 years old and not a student. The case remains active.
“We are investigating the incident,” Shoemaker said. “The key question is going to be trying to figure out who and where this vehicle is, what that guy's deal is.”
At around 7:45 p.m. that evening, Emory Communications sent a University-wide public safety notice informing the Emory community of the altercation and offering safety resources.
Burglary, second degree, non-forcible entry
A student reported that a keg purchased for a social event was stolen from a locked closet on the first floor of the Goizueta Business School. The student waited a few weeks before reporting the theft, which took place on Feb. 8 but was not reported until Feb. 20.
Students locked the closet with the keg inside on Feb. 8 around 1 p.m. The students who organized the event with the keg returned at around 3:30 p.m. to find the keg missing. The closet had been opened but there was no evidence of forced entry, Shoemaker said.
The keg, which contained beer, was worth a little less than $100, Shoemaker said. The case is currently under investigation.
Theft of lost or mislaid property ($1500 or less)
A research specialist notified EPD on Feb. 21 that someone had stolen two bottles of isoflurane, a general anesthetic used for surgical purposes, from a lab in the Health Sciences Research Building. Later, the bottles were recovered, as they had simply been misplaced.
A lab employee said that the lab received the product on Feb. 19 before noon and placed it in the appropriate area, but one of the lab’s staff could not find it two hours after the delivery.
The estimated value of the products was approximately $80.
However, on Feb. 28, Shoemaker said that EPD received notice that the package was located in the appropriate lab.
