Man chased through U-M campus after officer sees him urinating in public
Editor's note: The 21-year-old Ypsilanti man is not a student as initially reported.
A 21-year-old Ypsilanti man who was seen urinating in public was taken into custody after leading an officer on a foot chase through the University of Michigan central campus early Friday morning.
A Housing Security officer saw three people urinating at 2:29 a.m. near the Helen Newberry Dormitory at 432 S. State St. in Ann Arbor, U-M police said in a crime summary.
The 21-year-old shoved the officer and fled on foot, leading officers on a foot chase around central campus, police said.
The man was ultimately nabbed, processed and released from custody pending authorization of charges of non-aggravated assault, resisting a police officer and urinating in public.
Police said the man was not a student.
John Counts covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at johncounts@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.
Comments
Kronoberger
Tue, Jul 9, 2013 : 11:39 a.m.
This certainly belies the assertion that we need more police in Ann Arbor. Clearly the police have way too much time on their hands if they are arresting people for relieving themselves at 2:00 A.M. The doughnut shop must have been closed.
genetracy
Sun, Jul 7, 2013 : 1:35 a.m.
Perhaps he was creating public art.
nickcarraweigh
Sat, Jul 6, 2013 : 1:43 p.m.
This will turn out to be much ado about nothing much, I bet
GoNavy
Sat, Jul 6, 2013 : 1:12 p.m.
I'm shocked they were able to catch the kid on foot.
walker101
Sat, Jul 6, 2013 : 12:39 p.m.
I wonder what they do if you happen to pass gas?
Not from around here
Sun, Jul 7, 2013 : 8:25 p.m.
Well if you pass enough hot air, they make you an ann arbor city council member
Fat Bill
Sat, Jul 6, 2013 : 4:03 a.m.
This sort of civil disobedience will NOT be tolerated...
suzspot
Sat, Jul 6, 2013 : 2:03 a.m.
Now..did the urination start or end at 2:29? Did he zip up before running? Inquiring minds need to know..I feel like I'm left hanging..
arborani
Sat, Jul 6, 2013 : 4:06 p.m.
Ouch.
racerx
Fri, Jul 5, 2013 : 11:46 p.m.
Non news story. Gee. Even the simplest of crimes are reported.
Scott Reed
Fri, Jul 5, 2013 : 11:41 p.m.
Maybe the city needs to consider adding more public restrooms (or even just urinals). This should be treated as a public health issue, not a criminal issue. This story seems like a huge overreaction. Peeing discreetly on a tree or bush, out of prominent view, should not be considered a crime.
GoNavy
Sat, Jul 6, 2013 : 1:14 p.m.
Heh, not only public restrooms...there's a total shortage of conveniently placed trash cans in this city. I lived in NYC - they have the answer to keeping trash off the streets: A bucket every 50 yards or so. In Ann Arbor, you can go an entire block without seeing a trash can.
Jim Osborn
Sat, Jul 6, 2013 : 12:54 p.m.
the article and perhaps the police report omits if he was out in the open or behind a bush. It does make a difference. Was the cop on a stake-out behind a bush and got peed on? We need to know the whole story!
hmsp
Fri, Jul 5, 2013 : 10:59 p.m.
Anyone remember the uproar when it was a UM head coach that got caught? Great guy, too, and I'm happy to report that he's doing just fine today!
Ricardo Queso
Fri, Jul 5, 2013 : 7:54 p.m.
When it is number two, you are alone. When it is number one, urination.
grye
Fri, Jul 5, 2013 : 7:05 p.m.
How many golfers have done the same thing on the golf course? I'll bet the UofM Police could write a fair number of tickets daily if they set up a surveillance on the UofM Golf Course. Maye enough to hold down the cost of tuition.
Not from around here
Sun, Jul 7, 2013 : 8:24 p.m.
We get it Ormand, your a racist and sexist. I though that wasn't allowed on annarbor.com. I guess it is. Good to know.
ordmad
Sat, Jul 6, 2013 : 2:36 a.m.
Older white guys are exempt.
Brad
Fri, Jul 5, 2013 : 10:55 p.m.
Tickets for -- "excessive waggling"? I know that Sergio Garcia once had a problem with that.
Jay Thomas
Fri, Jul 5, 2013 : 6:21 p.m.
Rapists frequently wait outside where female students live. But I'm sure everyone is right, it's just some drunk homeless guy. What else?
Jay Thomas
Sat, Jul 6, 2013 : 11:46 p.m.
ArthGuinness, Let's just say you gotta go when you gotta go and it's an interesting location.
OLDTIMER3
Sat, Jul 6, 2013 : 11:19 a.m.
It didn't say all 3 ran just the one.
ArthGuinness
Fri, Jul 5, 2013 : 7:02 p.m.
Well according to you, apparently it was three rapists (note that the cops only could catch the slowest one). And instead of hiding out inconspicuously while preying on women, they were busy relieving themselves.
M
Fri, Jul 5, 2013 : 6:08 p.m.
Really? This is headline news? Slow day for annarbor.com...
Ricardo Queso
Sat, Jul 6, 2013 : 2:56 p.m.
Just like D.C., good reporting depends on a few well placed leaks.
WalkingJoe
Fri, Jul 5, 2013 : 6:19 p.m.
Well M, it is the holiday weekend.
Sean Thomas
Fri, Jul 5, 2013 : 5:52 p.m.
I was going to say wow who cares if someone is peeing in public....but if you get caught you are clearly not doing it right. This guy is stupid.
djm12652
Mon, Jul 8, 2013 : 6:01 p.m.
I care if I have to see someone with their junk showing...nor do I wish to have to deal with the stench of some drunk's pee. That's why bars have bathrooms.
Homeland Conspiracy
Fri, Jul 5, 2013 : 5:29 p.m.
The man was ultimately nabbed LOL
a2citizen
Fri, Jul 5, 2013 : 5:26 p.m.
Lucky that wasn't a can of spray paint in his hands.
Nicholas Urfe
Fri, Jul 5, 2013 : 4:46 p.m.
Getting violent with a cop and shoving? Great way to turn a simple citation into a felony. Maybe try drinking a bit less. A better idea is to urinate in the bar bathroom before you leave. I wonder if he was on his way to a car he had parked somewhere?
Matt Cooper
Sat, Jul 6, 2013 : 4:45 p.m.
Shoving someone certainly can be a felony. There are variables in every assault or assault and battery charge that can take it from a petty misdemeanor to a serious felony very quickly. And no, it doesn't take a weapon or an intent to commit 'great bodily harm less than murder', which is a separate charge. The subject shoved someone. That is at minimum misdemeanor assault. And it only gets worse from there.
MathGeek
Sat, Jul 6, 2013 : 1:20 p.m.
Yes, but you made it seem that shoving someone is a felony. Which if you shove a cop, yes, I'm sure it is. But, if you shove some shmoe on the street that has a flashlight and whistle, I doubt it's a felony right from the jump. I think there would have to be some pretty serious shoving and possibly assaulting with a weapon to commit great bodily harm less than murder for that to be a felony.
Matt Cooper
Sat, Jul 6, 2013 : 3:19 a.m.
1. One does not have to be a cop to place someone under arrest or to detain them pending arrival of police. If someone assaults another person, that person has the right to hold them until police arrive, provided they can do this safely. 2. Assault is assault, and shoving someone, in uniform or not, is assault.
MathGeek
Sat, Jul 6, 2013 : 1:54 a.m.
It sounds like it was a housing security officer that originally made contact. I don't think pushing a security officer holds the same legal weight as shoving a real police officer. The housing office doesn't have arresting authority, and would have had to call the UofM police to write the citation they ended up issuing.
Matt Cooper
Fri, Jul 5, 2013 : 11:24 p.m.
Well it certainly wouldn't be to assault a cop.
TinyArtist
Fri, Jul 5, 2013 : 6:26 p.m.
So if you had a snootful, and a bladder full, and someone tried to stop your blessed relief, what would your innate reaction be?
PhillyCheeseSteak
Fri, Jul 5, 2013 : 4:41 p.m.
Does anyone know if a conviction of urinating in public can put you on the registered sex offender list? Or is that just an urban myth? Thank you.
sarroth
Sat, Jul 6, 2013 : 6:02 p.m.
It depends not on the state but on the county where the offense occurs. I know from speaking with juvenile probation office in my county on this issue that while technically peeing in public regardless of if someone other than the officer sees you is considered a sex offense, the court and the probation office has the leeway to consider the intent of the act in determining if the crime deserves the punishment of sex offender registry or not. As this is county-dependent, counties are free to mandate sex offender registry with no leeway in considering the intent of the act. Considering that intent is often considered in the prosecution and sentencing for other crimes, it is unfortunate that it is not considered more often in the case of public urination - which is a crime, no argument from me on that, but rarely a sexual offense.
cornelius McDougenschniefferburgenstein jr. 3 esq.
Sat, Jul 6, 2013 : 12:03 a.m.
YES unless youre a um student it gets expunged like everything else they do.
Matt Cooper
Fri, Jul 5, 2013 : 11:23 p.m.
Not entirely true, Mick. I have a friend who left a bar one night and urinated on the side of the building just as a woman and her 6 year-old child were walking past. They saw him in the act and called the cops. He ended up getting probation for urinating in public along with indecent exposure. The intent doesn't matter. No he didn't intend to show his member to a 6 year-old, but the judge didn't care about that. He stayed on the SO list for 5 years. And this was right here in Michigan.
Mick52
Fri, Jul 5, 2013 : 5:08 p.m.
UIP is not an offense that will pub you on a sex offender list unless your act is intended to be indecent exposure.
West Park
Fri, Jul 5, 2013 : 4:56 p.m.
Research says that 5 or 6 states have that law. I can't find which states. If it is obviously for the purpose of exposing yourself, that's a sex crime. If children are around that's another level.
Paul
Fri, Jul 5, 2013 : 4:56 p.m.
Indecent exposure might do it . Why you always need good legal advice when charged with a crime.
nowayjose
Fri, Jul 5, 2013 : 4:40 p.m.
Some heavy crime UofM Pd is up against. God speed.
Basic Bob
Fri, Jul 5, 2013 : 4:26 p.m.
Everyone urinates. Get over it.
Slim Jim
Mon, Jul 8, 2013 : 1:35 a.m.
Most civilized people do it in a sanitary manner, not on the street whenever they feel like it. Have a little control over your bodily functions, like you were taught around the age of two.
wordcop
Sat, Jul 6, 2013 : 11:42 p.m.
My mistake. My first post is there.
Nicholas Urfe
Fri, Jul 5, 2013 : 4:46 p.m.
So it's okay if I pee on your porch?
Rich
Fri, Jul 5, 2013 : 4:21 p.m.
I think if you're out of site of people, urinating in public should be OK. Pretty funny the A2 cops actually chased the guy. What a waste of time.
wordcop
Sat, Jul 6, 2013 : 11:27 p.m.
I agree. I remember when the old Ann Arbor news included public urination in the list of offences that led to arrest at U of M football games. Hilarious except to the poor guy who couldn't make it to the urinal.
Matt Cooper
Fri, Jul 5, 2013 : 11:19 p.m.
"Pretty funny the A2 cops actually chased the guy. What a waste of time" Yeah, cuz you know, after assaulting an officer they really should have just let him go. And yes, shoving a police officer is a crime of assault.
ArthGuinness
Fri, Jul 5, 2013 : 6:59 p.m.
If Rich is talking about in the woods off the beaten path, sure. If it's on the side of a building, no.
tdw
Fri, Jul 5, 2013 : 5:24 p.m.
Well, now if he had done it out of sight he wouldn't have gotten caught would he?
ChrisW
Fri, Jul 5, 2013 : 5:10 p.m.
We'll have them come and pee on your property, Rich, and see how you like it.
Paul
Fri, Jul 5, 2013 : 4:53 p.m.
Same with peeing in swimming pools, right ? Just cause its not seen its OK ?
John Counts
Fri, Jul 5, 2013 : 4:44 p.m.
It was University of Michigan police that reported this, not Ann Arbor police.
Nicholas Urfe
Fri, Jul 5, 2013 : 4:44 p.m.
Right - because everyone just loves the smell of urine.
John Counts
Fri, Jul 5, 2013 : 4:15 p.m.
Police originally reported to us that the man was a student. Soon after we posted the story, we were notified the man was not a student, that he was a 21-year-old Ypsilanti man. The proper changes have been made in the story.
arborani
Sat, Jul 6, 2013 : 4:02 p.m.
@jmcmurray: Bertha was referring - perfectly correctly - to mentions of "homeless" in previous posts. Sheesh. PS: Bertha, I always enjoy your posts.
jmcmurray
Fri, Jul 5, 2013 : 9:12 p.m.
Where in the story did it say homeless 21-year-old Ypsilanti man, Bertha? Or, are you just assuming all men from Ypsilanti are homeless?
Bertha Venation
Fri, Jul 5, 2013 : 5:05 p.m.
Can somebody please tell me the difference between student pee and homeless pee? I'm sorry, I missed the study results.
Paul
Fri, Jul 5, 2013 : 4:51 p.m.
Has he ever been a student ? Many are on summer break right now.
you can't handle the truth
Fri, Jul 5, 2013 : 3:59 p.m.
If you are homeless, feel free to whip it out right on Main St in the middle of the day. If you are a drunk student at 2am, don't do it...
FormerMichRes
Sun, Jul 7, 2013 : 1:24 a.m.
Agree. A2 is the only place I've lived where homeless/panhandlers are considered part of the social elite.
johnnya2
Sat, Jul 6, 2013 : 2:26 p.m.
@aanative, And of course this is the ONLY time a student has ever done it, because only students get in trouble for public urination while homeless are allowed to do it at will. Maybe you should cite how many public urination tickets or charges are filed against homeless versus students? The MAIN difference in THIS story is that the 21 year old assaulted a police officer and resisted arrest. I can guarantee if a homeless person did this, he would still be in custody. Of course the homeless are treated so well in the world in your alternative reality. Oh and for the record. that smell of urine in alleys and parking lots, comes from students as well as homeless, because I have seen many drunks students leaving Necto or Skeeps and peeeing in alleys, but keep blaming homeless for the problems of the world. They are easier t scapegoat
aanative
Fri, Jul 5, 2013 : 10:01 p.m.
Nicholas: because downtown and campus alleys and parking structure stairwells stink with urine, and I've witnessed a homeless person urinating in one during the day, just as I've witnessed homeless men urinating in bushes and breaking glass bottles in the street. It happens.
Nicholas Urfe
Fri, Jul 5, 2013 : 4:42 p.m.
Can you cite any facts to support your assertion that homeless people are allowed to expose themselves on main street in the middle of the day with no consequences from police enforcement? Or are you just making stuff up?
you can't handle the truth
Fri, Jul 5, 2013 : 4:38 p.m.
Correction: If you are homeless, feel free to whip it out right on Main St in the middle of the day. If you are a 21 year old Ypsilanti resident at 2am, don't do it...