Police: EMU student may face charges for filing false armed robbery report
- Previous story: EMU police: Student robbed by 4 men then punched in face
An Eastern Michigan University student may face criminal charges after falsely claiming he was robbed at gunpoint Friday evening on campus, police said.
From EMU
The student told police the men demanded his money and he gave them his wallet. The student said he was punched in the face before the men fled.
"The investigation of this case has revealed that the claim of an armed robbery on campus was a false report," the school said in a updated notice. "This report will be forwarded to the Washtenaw County Prosecutor’s office for review and possible criminal charges. Eastern Michigan University will also be looking into seeking sanctions against the student for the false police report."
Julie Baker can be reached at juliebaker@annarbor.com or at 734-623-2576. Follow her on Twitter @juliebakera2.
Comments
brian
Mon, Nov 5, 2012 : 3:04 a.m.
I love Ypsi, have lived here since 73. We are not that bad of a city. We also have an awesome police force.
RJA
Sun, Nov 4, 2012 : 9:26 p.m.
A false report is a false report! CHARGE HIM !! FALSE was my first thought.
Jonathan Blutarsky
Sun, Nov 4, 2012 : 9:25 p.m.
Well - Hopefully this person will get the help he needs - and a bill for the resources he needlessly consumed.
EMU Prof
Sun, Nov 4, 2012 : 6:18 p.m.
He should be arrested, expelled, and billed for the police hours spent investigating this 'crime.'
genetracy
Sun, Nov 4, 2012 : 5:16 p.m.
I guess they do not teach "The Boy Who Cried Wolf" in Lit 101 at EMU.
Billy Bob Schwartz
Sun, Nov 4, 2012 : 9:09 p.m.
I think that's about second grade, isn't it?
Angry Moderate
Sun, Nov 4, 2012 : 5:50 p.m.
To be fair--U of M apparently doesn't either.
Elouise
Sun, Nov 4, 2012 : 4:41 p.m.
People who file false reports make it hard for those who do not cry wolf to receive the justice they deserve. Not to mention having put everyone who lives in the area on high alert for absolutely nothing... The kid probably lost his wallet and didn't want to admit it, therefore filed a police report thinking he'd get some form of reimbursement from the agency. FYI, kiddo, they don't replace property even when it is legitimately stolen.
Elouise
Sun, Nov 4, 2012 : 11:34 p.m.
No, I mean it wasn't falsified and the crime actually happened.
Billy Bob Schwartz
Sun, Nov 4, 2012 : 9:08 p.m.
"legitimately stolen?" Is that like legitimate rape?
Billy
Sun, Nov 4, 2012 : 4:32 p.m.
I don't like that word in the headline...."may." Crime was committed.....resources were expended....there is no may about this...he should be charged, end of story.
DBH
Sun, Nov 4, 2012 : 4:11 p.m.
I don't understand why filing a false report is not, by default, a near-automatic route to being charged with a crime. I fail to see why prosecutors need to mull this over, with uncertain timelines for making the decision to charge or not. How about this false report story from over three weeks ago? Are the prosecutors still undecided on this, one way or the other? http://www.annarbor.com/news/crime/u-m-student-who-said-she-was-sexually-assaulted-by-4-men-admits-to-making-up-report/
DBH
Sun, Nov 4, 2012 : 9:20 p.m.
@Mick52, that is substantially my point. Why mull it over at all, particularly when (such as in the case a few weeks ago, referenced in my original comment) the "plaintiff" admits to falsifying the report of a crime. And your second paragraph explicitly justifies why, with rare exception (e.g., demonstrable mental illness), all such persons making false reports of crimes should be prosecuted. To not prosecute them increases the likelihood of others making similar false reports and wasting the resources of law enforcement better spent on real crime and crime avoidance. If they know they may not be prosecuted, they are less likely to be dissuaded from making such false allegations (for whatever perverse reason they make them).
Mick52
Sun, Nov 4, 2012 : 7:20 p.m.
Prosecutors do not mull over this offense any more than any other. It is a crime and reviewed as any crime might be. I suppose some particular factors could be used to decide one way or the other, but that happens with all requests for warrants. Police are already busy enough patrolling, investigating, etc to have to deal with false reports. Also, a report of a robbery results in a large amount of work and use off resources.
justcurious
Sun, Nov 4, 2012 : 3:36 p.m.
Curious, did he flunk a lie detector test like a recent "victim" who claimed to have been robbed of $55,000, but was not brought up on charges?
justcurious
Sun, Nov 4, 2012 : 11:23 p.m.
So sorry Skyjockey, I must have used the wrong term huh? I think most folks knew what I meant though.
Skyjockey43
Sun, Nov 4, 2012 : 6:26 p.m.
Just a side note here; there is no such thing as a "lie detector". Law enforcement sometimes utilize a device called a polygraph which is a machine that measures blood pressure, respiration, and galvanic skin response (fingertip sweating). The operator of the device compares these readings during questioning and compares them to the readings recorded during a set of test questions to determine if the subject is using deception when answering questions. The test is extremely subjective and unreliable, and this is why polygraph examinations are inadmissable in court proceedings. There have been a number of high profile cases in which people have passed polygraph tests and have later proved to be guilty of their crimes, most notably Robert Hanssen.
nickcarraweigh
Sun, Nov 4, 2012 : 3:34 p.m.
As Ms. Gardner suggested, there's been a wave of false police reports over the past several months. The ones I have in mind all involved invented violent crimes, and many of them involved invented sexual assaults. I suspect the backstory on these incidents, some journalistic trip upriver toward whatever motivates such false reporting, would be a good read.
15crown00
Sun, Nov 4, 2012 : 3:25 p.m.
if the student did it he/she should face charges
Paula Gardner
Sun, Nov 4, 2012 : 3:15 p.m.
It seems like this is happening way more often lately. I don't recall ever writing this many stories about false reports.
craigjjs
Mon, Nov 5, 2012 : 1:31 p.m.
Maybe the reports of false reports are false.
jj45678
Sun, Nov 4, 2012 : 10:50 p.m.
Any chance you cold ask police what the motive was for filing the false report? The added piece of information would make the story much more comprehensive (and interesting).
Angry Moderate
Sun, Nov 4, 2012 : 5:49 p.m.
Could you follow up on some of the past false police report stories? They always say that charges "might" be filed. For example, the U of M student who reported a fake gang rape recently.
Nicole B.
Sun, Nov 4, 2012 : 3:03 p.m.
What a jerk.
Billy Bob Schwartz
Sun, Nov 4, 2012 : 9:04 p.m.
alleged jerk.
Greg
Sun, Nov 4, 2012 : 2:59 p.m.
Would be nice to have a few details about what really happened or why police determined the story was false. Motive???
Angry Moderate
Sun, Nov 4, 2012 : 11:38 p.m.
I highly doubt that the police released that information. It's hardly the journalist's fault.
jj45678
Sun, Nov 4, 2012 : 10:49 p.m.
what is this "journalism" you speak of?
Jeff Renner
Sun, Nov 4, 2012 : 2:36 p.m.
The commenters on the previous story called it right. It certainly smelled fishy.