Posted on Sun, Dec 4, 2011 : 10:18 a.m.
U-M student assaulted by 5-7 males
By Julie Baker
A University of Michigan student told police he was assaulted early Saturday by several males as he was walking near the Nichols Arboretum entrance, according to a crime alert.
The incident happened at about 1:30 a.m. Saturday on Geddes Avenue, near the entrance to the Nichols Arboretum near Oxford Road.
The student sought medical treatment around 9 p.m. and reported the incident to police.
The suspects, as described by witnesses, are five to seven males.
U-M police spokeswoman Diane Brown said Sunday morning that no additional information was available at this time. She said she was not sure why there was a delay in reporting the assault.
If you have information, contact the University of Michigan Department of Public Safety at 734-763-1131.
Comments
seasons
Mon, Dec 5, 2011 : 5:56 p.m.
AnnArbor.com would do well by establishing a "Police Report" section. This item as well as so many on a daily basis are no more than police reports. The Ann Arbor News used to have a Police Report section - can't remember what it was exactly called, but it would be a better way of presenting these items which are routinely very short on details.
Carole
Mon, Dec 5, 2011 : 1:41 p.m.
Sadden about the event. And, it also appears to me that crime is on the rise here in Ann Arbor. Lived here all my life starting in 1940, and have always felt safe. Sure, we've had our ups and downs but lately it surely seems to be on the "up side" -- let us all be more aware of our surroundings and hopefully council will increase out police force to what it used to be.
Wolf's Bane
Mon, Dec 5, 2011 : 3:15 a.m.
Whew, according to this month's Ann Arbor Observer crime is "way, way, way down", so I guess the two recent assaults on Ann Arbor women and this brutal gang beating don't count, huh?
julieswhimsies
Mon, Dec 5, 2011 : 2:25 a.m.
If you are going to post such an alarming piece of news, please add more details. People need to take precautions!!!
oldgaffer
Mon, Dec 5, 2011 : 2:14 a.m.
Where race isn't mentioned most folks think the assailants are of the race they fear the most.
SW40
Mon, Dec 5, 2011 : 1:49 a.m.
So there is an assault on campus and the University of Michigan police are not releasing the race of the suspects? I imagine someone should contact Security on Campus Inc. The organization that mandates that universities obey the federal Jeanne Cleary Law. I don't really care what a couple liberal professors from UofM believe about suspect descriptions, the bottom line is the public deserves to know the race of a person committing violent crimes on or near our public universities. Shame on UofM and shame on AA.com for not digging into this story a little deeper and finding out if there is now a policy on why UofM is withholding suspect descriptions. I wonder why their police chief just quit, hmmm. Most of the time the comments on this website blasting this paper are just amusing but I wonder if AA.com will actually do some investigative journalism and find out if the University of Michigan is knowingly violating federal law.
DBH
Mon, Dec 5, 2011 : 1:16 p.m.
@Kai Petainen, does it make a difference if the problem at some point crosses over UM property and then exits it (as the pollution apparently did) as opposed to not ever having been on UM property (as this assault is reported to have occurred adjacent to, but not on, UM property)? @SW40, thanks for that quote from the law (could you provide a link, please?). Your "adjacent" and UM's or the City of Ann Arbor's "adjacent" may not be the same thing - I don't know. Regardless of the formal legality, I definitely agree with you that coordination between UM and the City is in everyone's interests, even if not formally required (which, as you state, might be under the Clery Act under these literally borderline cases).
Kai Petainen
Mon, Dec 5, 2011 : 2:52 a.m.
@DBH.... the UofM has some jurisdiction over stuff that goes outside of its territory. i found this out last year when the pollution spill would flow through UofM property and into the huron river. the local police did not investigate as it was a UofM matter, and even the DNR and the EPA did not investigate as it was a UofM investigation. i am NOT blaming UofM whatsoever (the cause is unknown)... but this was a case where something went through UofM territory and then out of its territory and into the river. it's a case whereby one would think that the city police, the state police, the DNR or the EPA would get involved -- but they didn't. the investigation was left up to UofM's jurisdiction.
SW40
Mon, Dec 5, 2011 : 2:41 a.m.
just realized I said maize and gold haha, maize and blue.
SW40
Mon, Dec 5, 2011 : 2:36 a.m.
Thanks for the correction on the name of the law. The law advises that all areas "unobstructed public areas immediately adjacent to or running through campus". I know the area where this assault occurred and it is definately adjacent to UofM property. An assault being perpetrated by 5-7 males would be catergorized as aggravated which is covered by the Clery Law. UofM may not have taken the initial report but they are required to retrieve as much information as possible and distribute the information to the public. UofM and AAPD often share information and for a great deal fo time their detectives even shared the same office space. If UofM is knowingly not asking the Ann Arbor Police department for the race of suspects when they release crime alerts than they are in violation of the law. This isn't brain surgery, UofM must release race information of all suspects committing 7 catergories that Clery covers as well as their sub-catergories. C'mon people lets hold UofM to some kind of standard, we aren't talking about their football team where most of you people are just blinded by the maize and gold.
Kai Petainen
Mon, Dec 5, 2011 : 2:17 a.m.
as it is under the jurisdiction of the city police... contact them for more info.
DBH
Mon, Dec 5, 2011 : 2:16 a.m.
And it's Clery, not Cleary. People keep making that mistake.
DBH
Mon, Dec 5, 2011 : 2:15 a.m.
From the story, "The incident happened at about 1:30 a.m. Saturday on Geddes Avenue, near the entrance to the Nichols Arboretum near Oxford Road." To my knowledge, this is under the jurisdiction of the City of Ann Arbor, not UM.
psaume23
Mon, Dec 5, 2011 : 12:12 a.m.
Ann Arbor could benefit from an Angels' Night-type community watch group patrolling crime hot spots near campus. The groups can be composed of men and women who rotate on patrols in their indigenous areas during the times of night and early morning, and whose members have had routine name checks (i.e., MSP criminal records checks) and who are provided with credentials and" handy-talkie radios" through the police department. It has been obvious that the local police force is stretched too thin and is ineffective in responding to and investigating muggings and sexual assaults in every nook and cranny of the campus and Main Street areas. Also, police officers should not patrol from squad cars but should be on bikes or on foot.
whatsupwithMI
Sun, Dec 4, 2011 : 10:35 p.m.
Perhaps, and I speculate, the reason is that the _old_ AA News (before they folded) was criticized (outside of city limits) over and over for hiding facts about Ann Arbor crime. The tiny details of daily police reports for neighboring cities always made the paper, but for AA, it was the public consensus that even major things were ignored. Assaults _do_ happen in AA, and frankly lately they seem to happen _more_ often than they do 4.5 miles away. As I hear Alcoholics Anonymous has as a creed, admitting the problem is the first step to recovery. I applaud the new blog form of the paper for (seemingly) doing a better job of reporting reality. And the nice delivery kid offering a one-month dead-tree subscription as a trial 5.5 miles East got me to nibble as a result. That beans, for your bean-counters @ the office. Keep that grip on reality.
whatsupwithMI
Mon, Dec 5, 2011 : 12:42 a.m.
This was meant as a reply to "Major" and his question as to why bad news seems to appear "rapidly" now.
Sparty
Sun, Dec 4, 2011 : 7:57 p.m.
I have never seen so many complainers in my life as I see daily posting on the A2.com boards. It's amazing. Such bitter, haters (this week it was hating on senior citizens, gay people, victims of crime, and the list goes on). So sad. Try to find a little happiness in life, maybe it will lift you from all your gloom and doom that you project non-stop.
RunsWithScissors
Sun, Dec 4, 2011 : 6:36 p.m.
I wonder if he spent the 19.5 hours in the local ER waiting to be seen by a doctor. I've spend 8+ hours waiting in ER only to walk out and seek help elsewhere.
melissa
Mon, Dec 5, 2011 : 5:24 p.m.
If you go to an emergency room and wait for eight hours without dying, then it wasn't an emergency. Go to an urgent care center instead. You'll be seen more quickly, and won't clog the ER. Save it for those who really need it.
TheGerman
Sun, Dec 4, 2011 : 5:59 p.m.
19.5 hours before seeking medical treatment?
A2Susie
Sun, Dec 4, 2011 : 5:52 p.m.
I know I am one of the first to complain when an article is not well written or confusing, but I am grateful that annarbor.com does post these crime alerts as soon as they can, updating as details continue to come out later. I don't understand the criticism that they should wait until more details are known. Would you really rather go walking in that area without knowing about he attack there until after the full report is released? I prefer to know ASAP.
bhall
Sun, Dec 4, 2011 : 5:46 p.m.
I got the crime alert at 1:50 a.m. last night in my email. I just don't understand the criticism of a2dotblog here. The crime alert had no description of the suspects or any other information other than the date, time, and location of the alleged assault. And the U-M DPS had no more information when a2dotblog called them. What else do you want? Geez. Imagine, before email and the Internet we were reading about crimes days after they happened.
nicole
Sun, Dec 4, 2011 : 5:05 p.m.
Please describe the suspects. I have a feeling I know why they're not described. And by the way, the Deja Vu ad at the top of this article is totally offensive. I can't believe AANews.com allows such advertising on the site. It's very sexist.
Jen Eyer
Sun, Dec 4, 2011 : 11:05 p.m.
This has been fixed — meaning, that ad should only appear in the sports section, as it was supposed to be.
bunnyabbot
Sun, Dec 4, 2011 : 8:55 p.m.
I noticed the Vu ad the first time I read this page too. (as well as on a sports page) so the word fart isn't allowed but an ad degrading women for the entertainment of men is deemed ok because they are a paid advertiser? Really? b/c I would rather not hear about tight ends outside of football or at least not read it on a "news" site. It's been determined the ad popped up on an assault page, well what if this had been a female victim or a rape? Why take the chance with a trashy ad for a trashy place.
justcurious
Sun, Dec 4, 2011 : 7:09 p.m.
Well Jen, what is aa.com trying to do, give the guys a peep show?
Jen Eyer
Sun, Dec 4, 2011 : 6:29 p.m.
That ad is not supposed to show up here; it should only be on sports stories (except preps). We are working to fix it.
justcurious
Sun, Dec 4, 2011 : 5:55 p.m.
You are right, the Deja Vu ads are inappropriate. But I suppose they are trying to be "nonjudgmental". That's always a good excuse for not being able to say something is wrong.
trespass
Sun, Dec 4, 2011 : 5:04 p.m.
With the highest paid police chief in the state (oops, he just quit) and almost unlimited resources paid for by tuition, you would think we could get a professional police force rather than a bunch of security guards. I guess this shows that their main purpose is not to protect the community members but to make the administration look good. Maybe we should let the Ann Arbor police take over policing the campus.
Richard
Sun, Dec 4, 2011 : 4:50 p.m.
A2.com can't win. People criticize when they post stories with limited information and also criticize when people feel they haven't posted a story soon enough even though they only have limited information.
Kai Petainen
Sun, Dec 4, 2011 : 7:11 p.m.
jen / bhall... thanks for clarifying that.
Jen Eyer
Sun, Dec 4, 2011 : 7:07 p.m.
bhall: You are correct on both counts.
Kai Petainen
Sun, Dec 4, 2011 : 6:50 p.m.
bhall... fair enough. that's a good counter-point.
bhall
Sun, Dec 4, 2011 : 6:40 p.m.
I assume annarbor.com has contracted out some comment moderation to third parties to cover graveyard shifts; many other news sites do that. But those third parties aren't going to post or make news judgements. You can't pay a staffer to stay up all night to wade through comments at 3 a.m. and still run a business. I also assume many stories are programmed in advance to post at certain times. In other words, reporters and editors write a story and program it to post at 6 a.m. the next day to be fresh content when people get up and check the site before going to work. This is also standard in the news business.
Kai Petainen
Sun, Dec 4, 2011 : 6:25 p.m.
if they have someone who screens the comment boards late at night then they can easily post the alert bulletin. and, they post articles at 5am/6am... so they can surely post a crime alert bulletin. i don't expect the article at 1:30 am. but, i would expect it in the morning and not 8-9 hours later.
bhall
Sun, Dec 4, 2011 : 5:49 p.m.
You're assuming there's somebody working at 1:50 a.m. when the crime alert came out. That's the timestamp of the alert in my email. I guess I'm glad there's no poor reporter or editor that has to wait by their email all night just in the 1/1000th chance something shows up and could be posted. Wait, I've got it! Maybe they should set up an email filter alert to give them electroshocks to get them out of bed if something happens in the middle of the night! Then they could post information to the Web and immediately reach the two (one?) people reading a2dotcom between 1 a.m. and 6 a.m. on Sunday morning!
Kai Petainen
Sun, Dec 4, 2011 : 5:01 p.m.
it's not their fault for posting limited info. they get that data from elsewhere. but, they could... just repost the DPS alert that comes out. just repost it right away. good grief... i was able to post it in the comments. they could have done that right away. "A crime alert has come from UofM DPS, here it is:" and then just copy/paste the crime alert.
Ricebrnr
Sun, Dec 4, 2011 : 4:40 p.m.
Oh wait that's U of M property..I thought they said I'd never need to defend myself with my firearm on their property...
justcurious
Sun, Dec 4, 2011 : 7:08 p.m.
I assumed they were on Geddes.
RJA
Sun, Dec 4, 2011 : 4:34 p.m.
I don't understand all the complaints about A2.com If U-M Police spokeswoman woman doesn't have any additional information, can't blame her for the delay in the victim not reporting the assault in a timely manner.
justcurious
Sun, Dec 4, 2011 : 5:45 p.m.
Absolutely correct. People don't seem to have thoughts on the actual articles as much as they want to whine about reporting. They can only report what they are told. Would they rather the reporter make up stuff to fill the page?
Kai Petainen
Sun, Dec 4, 2011 : 4:10 p.m.
@tdw, @racerx... race is no longer a factor when describing crimes. read this article: <a href="http://annarbor.com/news/students-protest-racial-descriptions-in-crime-alerts-at-town-hall-meeting/">http://annarbor.com/news/students-protest-racial-descriptions-in-crime-alerts-at-town-hall-meeting/</a> but race, although not a factor in crimes, will be a factor in choosing students <a href="http://www.annarbor.com/news/federal-government-supports-considering-race-in-admissions-practices-with-new-policy/">http://www.annarbor.com/news/federal-government-supports-considering-race-in-admissions-practices-with-new-policy/</a> race is not appropriate when talking about crime, but it is appropriate when we talk about education.
Kai Petainen
Sun, Dec 4, 2011 : 10:04 p.m.
@tdw ... i know.
tdw
Sun, Dec 4, 2011 : 8:32 p.m.
Kai....I was being sarcastic
justcurious
Sun, Dec 4, 2011 : 4:09 p.m.
I don't want to criticize the reporting here. But I do want to suggest that these crimes are happening more and more frequently and people need to demand that the police be given what it takes to patrol the downtown and campus areas heavily on the weekends. What does it take to get this. Does Ann Arbor need Curtis Sliwa type citizen patrols to make the thugs realize they aren't welcome? If you don't know or remember who he was, Google him.
justcurious
Sun, Dec 4, 2011 : 7:07 p.m.
Mike, he was and is a very controversial character. He was kicked out of Detroit!! My point was that we need SOMEONE patrolling and keeping the peace. People are out of control, especially when alcohol and drugs are involved. How many are coming from out of town to make mayhem? Posters on here have indicated that.
MIKE
Sun, Dec 4, 2011 : 5:59 p.m.
Isn't Curtis the guy that claimed to have been kidnapped by the NYPD, in what turned out to be a publicity stunt?
Michigan Man
Sun, Dec 4, 2011 : 4:29 p.m.
just curious - be careful with your words - comments criticizing A2.com reporting are typically removed.
Dog Guy
Sun, Dec 4, 2011 : 4:06 p.m.
And how did the victim determine that the assailants were males? (I am assuming human assailants.)
Major
Sun, Dec 4, 2011 : 4:14 p.m.
Human assailants?? How do you draw that conclusion from this story...I was thinking walkers myself....
Kai Petainen
Sun, Dec 4, 2011 : 4:01 p.m.
it's ironic that at 11:14 last night i was talking about crime along the arboretum borders, and how different police forces respond to events... depending on the location of the crime (see my comments at the bottom of this page) <a href="http://www.annarbor.com/news/opinion/university-of-michigan-students-safety-doesnt-end-at-campus-limits/">http://www.annarbor.com/news/opinion/university-of-michigan-students-safety-doesnt-end-at-campus-limits/</a> and shortly after that comment they posted the crime alert. why the delay? that's a good question. diane probably doesn't know... she's a good person and she's the messenger. someone tells her what to say. the delay seems to reinforce the point that the writer of that article was trying to make. "University of Michigan students' safety doesn't end at campus limits"
Kai Petainen
Sun, Dec 4, 2011 : 6:32 p.m.
@justcurious ... i wish i knew the answer to that myself. i'm learning what areas they are responsible for, by experience. that is... i call the police... and they tell me... 'oh, campus (or city) police are responsible for that area'. and then they tell me to call the campus police number or the city police number. one day i had a city police officer come and answer a complaint i had about vandalism. i tried telling him about how i witnessed some bad stuff in the arb -- he told me that he couldn't go there, as that was taken care of by the campus police.
justcurious
Sun, Dec 4, 2011 : 5:52 p.m.
Kai, where can we find a map showing the area that the campus police are responsible for? I'm not sure what area they are considering to be "campus".
Kai Petainen
Sun, Dec 4, 2011 : 4:11 p.m.
bring back O'Dell
Jen Eyer
Sun, Dec 4, 2011 : 3:59 p.m.
Major and others: We continue post information on stories like this as it becomes available. From our perspective, we believe that those who live nearby and the community at large would prefer to know of an incident as soon as possible, and then continue to be updated as more information is released.
MIKE
Sun, Dec 4, 2011 : 5:55 p.m.
Old Fart gets blocked now? How sensitive can we be?
Jen Eyer
Sun, Dec 4, 2011 : 5:13 p.m.
It was blocked for a word that isn't allowed in most contexts, not for the criticism. I unblocked it.
Michigan Man
Sun, Dec 4, 2011 : 4:28 p.m.
Ms. Eyer - When I made fair and clean comments on the quality of A2.com reporting a few moments ago - my comments were deleted. Why? Please try not to be threatened with honest, spontaneous feedback from your readers - Please try to view comments as an opportunity for A2.com to improve the quality of its work.
Kai Petainen
Sun, Dec 4, 2011 : 4:15 p.m.
@major the information that was released, is found here: <a href="http://police.umich.edu/?posting_id=206" rel='nofollow'>http://police.umich.edu/?posting_id=206</a> there's not a whole lot more that the ann arbor news can do. your question should be directed at DPS.
Major
Sun, Dec 4, 2011 : 4:12 p.m.
Post information then, otherwise it's like crying wolf, or the sky is falling! The way I see it, this could have been a roving gang of opportunists, or maybe drunken persons out goofing off, or zombies!!! I would offer the suggestion of getting more info pre-post, as opposed to sensationalism.
Kai Petainen
Sun, Dec 4, 2011 : 4:05 p.m.
i agree. but if i could offer some criticism. quite often i see news events that trickle out of the ann arbor news at 5am. this crime alert came out last night, so i would have expected to see it at 5am and not 10:18 am. but it's a minor criticism, as you do update events as info comes out.
tdw
Sun, Dec 4, 2011 : 3:51 p.m.
What is wrong with A2.com ? what was their race ? which direction did they flee ? how tall were they ? What was the victims race ? how tall was he ? what type of clothes was he wearing ? bla bla bla .......every bodies a arm chair quarterback.....
Julie Baker
Sun, Dec 4, 2011 : 3:48 p.m.
This story has been updated to include comments from U-M police spokeswoman Diane Brown.
Whitney G
Sun, Dec 4, 2011 : 3:44 p.m.
The student sought medical treatment around 9 p.m.? Should this say 9:00 a.m. or am I missing something?
DanAA
Sun, Dec 4, 2011 : 4:39 p.m.
that should read "Whitney, I thought the same thing. Perhaps the victim knew he would need medical treatment and sought such treatment as a preventative measure from the future assault."
DanAA
Sun, Dec 4, 2011 : 4:38 p.m.
Whitney, I thought the same thing. Perhaps the victim knew he would need medical treatment and sought such treatment as a preventative measure.
Major
Sun, Dec 4, 2011 : 3:37 p.m.
Seems this story could have waited till there were at least the minimal amount of pertinent information. Talk about a whole lot of nothing here...not to mention the timeline is a bit out of order? I live nearby and would like to have some tangible information please!
Wolf's Bane
Mon, Dec 5, 2011 : 3:15 a.m.
Tangible info? Carry Pepper spray.
racerx
Sun, Dec 4, 2011 : 3:37 p.m.
Why does A2.com print stories with such limited information? If the story is not complete, what harm would it do to wait until more information is available? Were those who attacked white males?, hispanic? black? indian? middle eastern? What took so long to seek medical attention? Was this all there was to the crime alert? If police is seeking the public's input, what information could we possibly provide? Example, I saw seven male German Shepard dogs at the entrance to the Arboretum around 1:40am. Should I provide police with this information? Seems the rush to print something out weights something worth printing.
max1
Sun, Dec 4, 2011 : 5:14 p.m.
GERMAN SHEPHERD dogs ?! ~ be careful there - you may offend A2.com and/or some of their overly-sensitive readers ... better stick to just Dogs.
Robert Granville
Sun, Dec 4, 2011 : 4:22 p.m.
I don't care how much info they have. I like visiting the Arb. I'd like to know immediately if a gang of 5-7 sadists could be roaming.
Michigan Man
Sun, Dec 4, 2011 : 3:54 p.m.
As on old fart, it is quite obvious that in my lifetime journalism excellence and standards have suffered immensely, as evidenced by this very weak A2.com story. Not that the Ann Arbor News was perfect, but I do long for the good old days in A2.