Game day kept the Eugene Police Department busy near Autzen Stadium and campus during the weekend. EPD reported that its Party Patrol handed out a total of 131 citations on Friday and Saturday night, most in conjunction with the Saturday football game. Three fans were arrested by the Party Patrol, two for disorderly conduct and one for trespass, and nine were arrested for driving under the influence near Autzen.
A Sept. 30 press release reported that EPD handed out 22 citations Friday and 16 Saturday for minor in possession of alcohol. Citations for open containers of alcohol totaled 62, and 11 game-related traffic violations were given out Saturday night as of 1 a.m. Sunday morning.
EPD and the Department of Public Safety together ejected a total of 142 people from Autzen Stadium during and after the game. The majority of those barred from entrance were drunk or in possession of alcohol, but 31 people were ejected for having fraudulent tickets. EPD will conduct a follow-up investigation surrounding the forged tickets.
DPS officer Royce Myers declared the weekend an “interesting” one for crime. Although regular patrols were “dampered by the game,” there were several arrests unrelated to football.
Myers said an officer on a bicycle spotted a man and a woman acting oddly on campus Friday night and “it turned out they were stealing bikes and putting them into their car.” Both were taken into custody.
Myers said police found a group of young males “sitting in a parking lot and smoking up” Saturday night. They searched the car and recovered an undisclosed amount of hashish and $1,000 in cash, presumed to be stolen.
On Sunday afternoon, two citizens flagged down an EPD officer and pointed out a white van driving recklessly. Officers pursued the van to the bike path along the Willamette River near Jefferson Street, where the driver appeared to deliberately steer the van down the bank into the shallows of the river. EPD arrested the driver, 44-year-old Bruce Patrick Roy, on charges of felony eluding, DUII, reckless driving, and hit-and-run.