How often do home invasions at gunpoint happen on college campuses when school is out of session?
They don’t happen unless criminals feel no threat in doing so, especially at colleges unless it’s the Arizona State University Crime Spree Zone.
With no staffing, no patrol presence, and completely incompetant management at the ASU Police department it’s going to get worse as word of mouth spreads about the ease of breaking the law and getting away with it more often than not.
Here’s the story:
ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY HOME INVASION AT GUNPOINT
BREAKING
ASU police investigate armed robbery at student housing on Mesa Polytechnic campus
Anne Ryman, The Republic azcentral.com
Crime
Arizona State University police are investigating an armed robbery that was reported late Sunday night on the Polytechnic campus in Mesa.
Police say a man, armed with a handgun, forced his way into a residence shortly before midnight at West Desert Village, a student-housing complex on the Mesa campus, and demanded the victim’s laptops and cellphones. The man then fled out the back door.
The suspect is described by police as a white man from 16 to 30 years old. He is about 5 feet, 8 inches tall with a thin build and short blond hair. Police say he wore dark jeans and a green hooded shirt with writing. He had a black bandana over the lower part of his face.
ASU Police say no arrests have been made. Anyone with information is asked to call ASU Police.
The department put out two emergency alerts early Monday morning, the first asking people to avoid the area near 6928 E. Usher Ave., and the second giving the all clear.
Robberies have not been common occurrences on ASU campuses in recent years, according to statistics the university is required to report to the federal government under the Clery Act.
In 2014, the Tempe campus reported three robberies, the West and Downtown Phoenix campuses each reported two robberies and the Polytechnic campus reported one robbery. Clery statistics for 2015 won’t be published until October, and 2016 statistics won’t be available until the following year.
Crimes that occur off campus near universities aren’t generally required to be reported under the Clery Act unless the crime occurs on property the university rents or controls.
Reach the reporter at 602-444-8072 or anne.ryman@arizonarepublic.com.
Suspect arrested :
ASU police worked with Tempe, Mesa and Scottsdale police departments to make the arrest.
Three city police departments had to do the heavy lifting for ASUPD in order to close this case. That speaks volumes. The ASUPD is not a functioning police department. It’s a mall cop security operation that has arrest powers and a command structure equal to a city police department only in size.
One detective with one year of patrol experience, soon to be a Sergeant, to talk to the one officer probably on patrol at a cubicle that night. Would it have been possible to involve more agencies? How embarrassing.
It’s nice when someone is able to do ALL the work for you in those group projects, but you all get equal credit for it. It’s the new PC model of policing where everyone is a winner because we don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings.
Of course they did. ASUPD doesn’t have the training, resources, or people so we had to beg. All the talent from other departments leave. It’s a good thing the robber used the cell phone to telegraph his location and had all the evidence there. Easy conviction.
Make sure this one gets reported to the Feds…another violent felony that occurs with asu students due to the fact everyone knows the campuses are the softest targets.
Another lucky break for us. I’m glad all those departments were able to help get that scumbag off the streets and in jail. Maybe he will be a bunk mate with some of the ASU Police command when they get convicted.
During this call Chief Mike Thompson was seen straping on his gas mask and climbing under his desk until the call cleared. It was a impromptu training exercise opportunity.
Well the call was clear he was able to complete the internal affair blue team paperwork on the responding officer, including notice of termination, but minus all the details of the call.
I know patrol and work are out of his comfort zone, but you could assign our useless pet dog handler to patrol the shifts and campuses where increased crime is happening. Make it a marked Tahoe. One or two officers is no deterrent. What were his shift expectations? Chicken bone choking hazard awareness? Gimme 2 special ed kids, labs from the pound, and throw them in tan 511 tactical gear and we just doubled his effectiveness and put more money in salary savings next to what we’re receiving from all 6 officers who said fuck this place I’m done.
The department had one officer on patrol and a supervisor at Polytec. It’s not enough resources to safely handle an armed robber, the search for one, and what happens when you are needed at another call? Can a whole campus go without policing for a 12hr shift because you’re busy?
This campus had two officers quit within a month because of the miserable demoralizing and retaliatory workplace at the ASUPD.
With clique member Commander Chris Speranza in charge there nobody is surprised. Self-defeating shifty shit management at ASUPD is the biggest threat to the level of safety on campus.
They ensure that turnover remains constant because for years ASUPD has been to law enforcement careers what a Porta-Poddy is to a home.
A building full of fat cat administrators in police uniforms working days in Tempe is no use to you when no officer is working to respond to the person pointing a gun at your face. Disgraceful. Michael Crow is enabling this to occur.
In the end Michael Crow bears full responsibility for the horrific state of his police department; not being able to properly staff your campuses with police officers is why I would never recommend attending Arizona State University.
Michael Crow enforces a model of negative management that is top- heavy and dismissive of any and all negative workplace issues for employees at the University. It would serve him well to read some of the university studies on responsible, confident, and successful management.
Maybe Commanders can start becoming part of the team and work patrol until we get beyond our neverending staffing crisis. Commander Speranza is a pro at pointing fingers, blaming subordinates, blaming superiors,and enlarging problems instead of creating solutions.
For anyone wondering why no officers are on patrol when they’re victimized here’s just one example. Prior to this armed home invasion at Poly the command at ASUPD harassed two officers from this campus so much they decided to quit, one after over a decade of harassment.
This happens year after year at the ASU Police department and the only response from the University administration is hire more green recruit officers!
More ASU PD command management failure. They simply can’t look in the mirror and see the problem.
Rest assured, they are slandering ever officer who left recently in the same way they slander everyone who voluntarily leaves the department. The management personalizes their failure at retention and leadership on the backs of officers who reject their perverse immoral code of behavior.
I was there to hear it from their own mouths on more than one occasion and it’s an institutional cancer. They will never change their ways and that’s unfortunate.
I’m not surprised by this. Criminals get bold in groups and they get bold when they know nobody is watching. This happened with school out of session. We will be down six officers starting this school year.
I would just like to give a shout out to those people involved in suing some of the most immoral and corrupt people working in law enforcement in Arizona.
Information always has a way of getting out and all their hopes rest on this being kept out of court. You have some very concerned people who do not want this to see the inside of a courtroom. Transparency is good.
The lack of patrol officers is squarely due to bad and spiteful leadership over the years.
For example, not too long ago Chris Speranza, before he “ascended” to commander, boasted with his then-FTO counterpart, that no matter who he had as his next officer-in-training, he was going to purposely fail him or her just for shits and giggles.
Now how sadistic is that? Speranza is going to take it upon himself to destroy another person’s livelihood and chosen career, before it even gets started, just for the freaking hell of it!
Chris Speranza may not be listed as a defendant in the lawsuit, but when the dust settles, handcuffs and shackles might be awaiting him at the end of the day.
Yes, stealing taxpayer dollars is a crime, ASU PD command.