UC Cops Seek Man Posing as Campus Safety Escort

UC Berkeley police issued an advisory on Tuesday about a man who had the word "Bear" on his jacket lapel and identified himself as a campus "BearWALK" escort to a female student who was waiting for an escort about 11:15 p.m. at Shattuck and University avenues Friday night.

He walked the student to her home, asked to be let in to use the restroom and then requested a sexual act, police said. 

"The student said no and the person left without incident and no physical contact was made at any time," according to police, who are seeking the identity of the man.

He was described as a " light-skinned white male in his mid 20s, 6' 0" tall and about 200 lbs., with long blond hair in braids and a blonde goatee, wearing a tan jacket with the word "Bear" on the lapel, and wearing sunglasses at night."

Official BearWALK escorts are trained student employees of the UC Police Department who wear uniforms and carry a police-issued identification card that they will show on request, police said.

Here is the full UC Berkeley police police advisory:

On Friday June 28, 2013 at about 11:15 p.m. at Shattuck and University, a
person matching the description below approached a female student who was
waiting for a BearWALK escort. When she asked him if he was the BearWALK
escort, he replied that he was and began to walk her home. Upon arriving
at her home, he asked to use the restroom and before leaving he made a
request for a sexual act. The student said no and the person left without
incident and no physical contact was made at any time.

UCPD is interested in identifying this person, described as:

A light-skinned white male in his mid 20s, 6' 0" tall and about 200 lbs.,
with long blond hair in braids and a blonde goatee, wearing a tan jacket
with the word "Bear" on the lapel, and wearing sunglasses at night.

For additional information or questions about this case, please contact
Detective Brendan Tinney of the UCPD Criminal Investigations Bureau /
Threat Management Unit at 510-642-3658.

**How can I identify a BearWALK CSO?

While UCPD cannot determine if this suspicious circumstance is connected
with any attempt of wrong-doing, we want to make the public aware that
Night Safety Services offered by the University, including BearWALK
walking escort, are carried out by trained and uniformed personnel who are
student employees of UCPD called Community Service Officers (CSOs). A CSO
will never ask to come into your residence.

CSOs will have a UCPD-issued identification card showing their full name
and their badge number which they will show upon request. They also carry
a police radio. When working as BearWALKers, they always wear yellow
shirts and jackets that are either yellow or blue. All garments have "CSO"
on the back, the CSO Seal on the left breast, and a UC Police Department
patch on the upper arm. See pictures at "What does a BearWALK CSO look
like?"

All Stop-to-Stop and late night Door-to-Door Night Safety Shuttle Rides
are provided by employees of Parking & Transportation driving vehicles
marked "Bear Transit".

Night Safety Services can be requested through BearWALK.berkeley.edu and
510-642-9255. If you have any concerns at any time regarding BearWALK, we
encourage you to call 510-642-6760 at any time. We encourage you to
explore the related links below for more information about Night Safety
Services on campus.


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Beginning at dusk, 7 days a week, you can access the BearWalk web link at
http://bearwalk.berkeley.edu/ to make a request for a safe way home, and
to see a live map of our night safety buses and their proximity relative
to your location.   You can also contact BearWalk via phone at
510-642-WALK (9255). Remember, shuttles stop on the North Side of Moffitt
every half hour. For further info please visit the UCPD website at
http://police.berkeley.edu/bearwalk

This crime alert has been released with the joint cooperation of BPD and
UCPD.  In the interest of the follow-up investigation, these are all the
very important community safety Crime Alert details that UCPD and BPD are
offering at this time.