U-M Police unable to contact sender of anonymous email

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An anonymous email, sent Thursday to several offices and email lists across the University of Michigan’s Ann Arbor campus, leaves the impression that a racially motivated incident near campus is being ignored by university officials.

However, the Division of Public Safety and Security has tried repeatedly to identify and contact the sender about the incident without success.

The email writer complains that university resources are being used to track down the forged, hateful emails sent earlier this week to the College of Engineering community while the writer’s complaint of verbal threats last month are being ignored.

Eddie Washington, executive director of DPSS, says U-M Police first received the anonymous email Jan. 5. Officers worked, without success, to identify the sender and reach out to the sender to get additional details.

U-M Police checked its records for the day cited in the email and found no calls for service regarding that type of incident. U-M also asked the Ann Arbor Police Department to check its records and, again, no call for service of that type was found.

The email itself never provides a location — not even a city — for where the incident was alleged to have taken place.

Washington said, at this point, he would encourage anyone who may know the sender to urge the sender to contact U-M Police at 734-763-1131.

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Comments

  1. Philip Matta
    on February 10, 2017 at 9:00 am

    If people read that they may be sought after and tracked down for sending anonymous e-mails/tips, they might be less prone to do so at all in the future.

  2. Li Ma
    on February 10, 2017 at 9:37 am

    The email also stated there is video of the incident on security cameras…have they tried tracking other means of verifying what happened, other than finding the writer or a 911 call?! The email makes clear the incident took place near a gym. Go check security cameras near the gyms on campus. There aren’t that many! The least they could do (instead of hiding behind the fact that the email doesn’t state a city) is check to see if there’s any evidence of it happening on campus. If the President of the University sent an email telling folks he was attacked “outside of a gym,” and for some reason didn’t provide a specific location (let’s pretend his phone died or something), best believe DPSS, AAPD, UM police would be all over every single potential thread, even CRUMB, of evidence. Look for the truth. Don’t just do the bare minimum.

  3. Rene Derieux
    on February 10, 2017 at 11:17 am

    Understood, but you are making an assumption that they have the resources to do all this investigation for an incident that was not reported.

    If someone is harassed or threatened, it is very difficult for the authorities to do anything if he/she doesn’t report it and at least provide a minimum if information.

  4. Rene Derieux
    on February 10, 2017 at 11:23 am

    Understood, but you are making an assumption that they have the resources to do all this investigation for an incident that was not reported.

    If someone is harassed or threatened, it is very difficult for the authorities to do anything if he/she doesn’t report it and at least provide a minimum of information.

  5. Darren Rowse
    on February 10, 2017 at 3:23 pm

    Anonymous isn’t totally hidden though, somehow they might trace the sender’s ip.

    Root Explorer

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