2008 Woodie Awards
Student arrested after name-calling
Jerica Harvey
Issue date: 5/7/08 Section: News
A UW-Whitewater sophomore was arrested recently on a disorderly conduct charge after he called the driver of a bus shuttle from campus to Milwaukee an 'idiot.'
Larry Whitaker, an African-American, initially called a responding campus police officer a racist on the scene of the April 25 incident but said in a telephone interview Monday he didn't feel it was a racial issue.
"I guess I called [the bus driver] an idiot," Whitaker said. "I should have never called him an idiot, but I did apologize to him later and he still wasn't accepting my apology."
Whitaker said he believed the situation shouldn't have been taken further once he apologized. However, police at the scene drew Tasers before arresting Whitaker according to witnesses. The campus police report said the officers felt threatened.
Whitaker was arrested after referring to the bus driver as racist. According to police reports, the responding officer explained to Whitaker they have to assume that everyone is going to resist them to ensure safety.
Freshman Catherine Hollins, a student who boarded the bus, said the incident started when the bus driver, Jack Wolf, started to leave while two passengers were getting change from Drumlin Hall. They had asked Wolf for change, but he refused to give them any.
Hollins said she had seen many drivers previously give students change.
Tina Ortiz, head dispatch coordinator for Wisconsin Coach Lines, said drivers being able to supply change is a common misconception students have.
"Some drivers have given out change which is wrong and they should not be doing it," Ortiz said. "Now we actually nipped it in the bud and let the drivers know we do not give out change."
Hollins also said she thought the whole situation was taken out of proportion.
"There was no cursing," Hollins said. "[Whitaker] came up to the bus driver and apologized because he didn't want to keep everyone waiting. It was genuine and the bus driver didn't react [positively]."
Ortiz said the bus driver followed protocol procedure.
"The bus driver can leave that person behind if they are name-calling," Ortiz said. "If someone is calling them stupid, calling them ignorant, calling them names, they do not need to board them on the bus because they need to concentrate on driving. There is no tolerance for that whatsoever and the police can be called."
Whitaker was taken to the campus police department by squad car and was issued a disorderly conduct citation. He said he plans to attend his court date on June 13 to try to get the charge reduced.
Larry Whitaker, an African-American, initially called a responding campus police officer a racist on the scene of the April 25 incident but said in a telephone interview Monday he didn't feel it was a racial issue.
"I guess I called [the bus driver] an idiot," Whitaker said. "I should have never called him an idiot, but I did apologize to him later and he still wasn't accepting my apology."
Whitaker said he believed the situation shouldn't have been taken further once he apologized. However, police at the scene drew Tasers before arresting Whitaker according to witnesses. The campus police report said the officers felt threatened.
Whitaker was arrested after referring to the bus driver as racist. According to police reports, the responding officer explained to Whitaker they have to assume that everyone is going to resist them to ensure safety.
Freshman Catherine Hollins, a student who boarded the bus, said the incident started when the bus driver, Jack Wolf, started to leave while two passengers were getting change from Drumlin Hall. They had asked Wolf for change, but he refused to give them any.
Hollins said she had seen many drivers previously give students change.
Tina Ortiz, head dispatch coordinator for Wisconsin Coach Lines, said drivers being able to supply change is a common misconception students have.
"Some drivers have given out change which is wrong and they should not be doing it," Ortiz said. "Now we actually nipped it in the bud and let the drivers know we do not give out change."
Hollins also said she thought the whole situation was taken out of proportion.
"There was no cursing," Hollins said. "[Whitaker] came up to the bus driver and apologized because he didn't want to keep everyone waiting. It was genuine and the bus driver didn't react [positively]."
Ortiz said the bus driver followed protocol procedure.
"The bus driver can leave that person behind if they are name-calling," Ortiz said. "If someone is calling them stupid, calling them ignorant, calling them names, they do not need to board them on the bus because they need to concentrate on driving. There is no tolerance for that whatsoever and the police can be called."
Whitaker was taken to the campus police department by squad car and was issued a disorderly conduct citation. He said he plans to attend his court date on June 13 to try to get the charge reduced.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Jim
posted 5/07/08 @ 12:08 PM CST
If everybody called the police when someone called them an idiot we would have a lot of people in jail. I think the police have many more important things to do than this. (Continued…)
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