Citing a lack of security footage and a pool of about 1,000 construction workers, the survivor of Tuesday’s attack in the Reitz Union said police will likely not find her attacker.
At about 6:15 a.m., a tall man in a white hard hat shoved the 49-year-old Reitz employee against a wall and grabbed her breast, she said.
The woman, who wished to remain anonymous, said a detective later told her there were no active security cameras nearby.
“And that’s when he told me that there’s really no working cameras in the Reitz Union except for in the bookstore area, which was closed,” she said.
The incident lasted less than two minutes, ending after the woman told the attacker her husband was a police officer, she said.
“It seemed like it was forever, but, in actuality, it was over very quickly,” she said.
After the attack, the woman said she recounted her story to police several times.
About five hours later, University Police sent an email to students, faculty and staff about the incident.
The email informed recipients about a battery in the Reitz Union, but it did not specify where the suspect grabbed the woman, only that he grabbed and pushed her.
UPD spokesman Maj. Brad Barber said he wrote the email based on available information, and that informing the campus about the battery was his main priority.
The woman said the term “battery” does not fully represent her experience, and that police should release a more accurate update to better inform the university community.
@martindvassolo
mvassolo@alligator.org
