By Aaron Ortega

Senior Staff Writer

A man, wearing only a sheet, sat detained in the Brookhaven College Police Department interviewing room on the evening of Aug. 28. According to the Brookhaven Police Department, the man was unable to answer the officers’ questions and appeared delusional and unaware of his surroundings. He claimed he had been robbed and his clothes were taken. No robberies had been reported to the Farmers Branch Police Department that day.

According to a campus-wide bulletin posted online, around 11:25 p.m., 43-year-old Kevin Paul Coffer was discovered naked, lying prone, in the corner of F120 in F Building. Coffer, who is homeless and a registered sex offender, was taken into custody.

Campus police contacted the Dallas Police Department, informing them a registered sex offender was detained. Campus police said they issued a criminal trespass against Coffer, and he will be arrested if seen on campus again.

Officer Napoleon Hill discovered Coffer during a routine patrol around the building that evening. Upon discovering the naked Coffer, Hill gave verbal commands instructing him to place his hands behind his back while another officer provided cover. Hill, in accordance with his officer’s training, said he retained a stable and professional demeanor despite the unusual circumstances.

“It is part of the job, and I didn’t expect to have to handle a naked man, possibly with diseases, a criminal history and his mental state of mind, but I did what was expected of me,” Hill said.

Based on Coffer’s demeanor and criminal record, he was taken into custody and transferred to Green Oaks Hospital for further medical assistance and psychiatric evaluation. A campus-wide email detailing the incident was sent to the Brookhaven community.

Regarding precautions the campus should take after an incident such as this, John Klingensmith, Brookhaven chief of police, said, “Generally speaking, everyone should be aware of their surroundings at all times and report anyone or anything that looks suspicious to the college police.”

Klingensmith said that while Brookhaven is one of the safest campuses in the Dallas County Community College District, crime can occur anywhere and at any time.

Utopia Weiner, a student who attends a sculpture class, expressed little concern over the occurrence. “We’re careful when we walk out in the parking lot,” Weiner said. She said she was not worried about sharing a space in the F Building with a naked man, considering that various classes use live models on occasion.

“We have 17 full-time, highly trained officers scheduled to work 24/7 to ensure rapid response times who can handle various situations professionally,” Klingensmith said. “This was an isolated incident that was handled delicately, and no one was hurt in the process because of our well-trained staff.”

While many students work in the art labs during evening hours, most expressed little concern over their safety, and said it was just a random incident. A few students said they feel generally at ease, yet more aware of their surroundings.

“It’s not like it happens every other week. It’s an odd occurrence,” student Stephanie Miranda said. “I’ll throw a bag of clay at him if he comes at me.”

While Coffer claimed he was robbed that evening, because there was no evidence or report of such a robbery occurring that day, the case of Coffer’s missing clothes remained a mystery. Police officers conducted a thorough search of the campus and surrounding buildings. However, no clothing was found.