Truck strikes student; cops cuff panhandler

Alex Fregger, Tech Editor

A homeless man panhandling on campus allegedly threatened to kill an AACC police officer on the first day of school in late August.

AACC Police Officer First Class Don Medtart arrested 22-year-old Pierre McDowell and charged him with trespassing after the man allegedly threatened to kill the officer on Aug. 28.

Earlier in the day, McDowell was begging for money at the Subway in Careers, when Medtart cited him for trespassing and drove him to the nearest off-campus bus stop, the officer said.

McDowell returned to AACC shortly after, and Medtart confronted him again.

According to Medtart, McDowell started shouting profanities, saying that he would find Medtart in his car and shoot it up. McDowell told Medtart he was “nobody to mess with,” and that he would “bring his people here” to “deal with” the officer.

The following week, a student escaped injury when a truck backed into her near the Schwartz Student Union Building, according to campus police.

Police said a commercial truck hit the student, who was on her way to math class, as it backed out of the loading dock near the Schwartz Student Union Building on Sept. 7.

The victim, who attended her class before reporting the accident to campus police, said she suffered pain in her left arm, but she did not require medical attention after the accident, according to the police report.

When the police confronted the driver, he said his truck doesn’t have a reverse alarm, and he did not notice the woman.

Police did not arrest the driver.