Student Arrested in the Quad

A male undergraduate was arrested in the Quad early Sunday morning after he allegedly stole a pair of rubber gloves from an ambulance while a emergency medical technician (EMT) aided a sick student inside Currier House.

The student, Thomas E. Rodger ’08 of Dunster House, was arrested and charged with breaking and entering into a motor vehicle with the intent to commit a felony and disorderly conduct, according to Harvard University Police Department (HUPD) spokesman Steven G. Catalano.

Rodger, 20, told The Crimson yesterday that his charges had been dismissed.

“The whole thing was blown out of proportion,” he said. “And the actions were the result of the tenseness of the situation.”

Around 1:15 a.m. Sunday, HUPD accompanied an ambulance to Currier to assist a sick student. While an HUPD officer and EMT were entering the house, the officer spotted “an unidentified male leaning into the fully open side door of the ambulance,” Catalano wrote in an e-mail last night.

“As the officer and EMT arrived back at the previously locked ambulance, the male was just withdrawing his arm and putting something into his rear pocket,” he wrote.

The sophomore’s brother, William A. Rodger ’06, said yesterday that he “fully supported” his brother.

“[The matter] has been handled properly,” he added, confirming that the case is now over.

The arrested student allegedly admitted to police that he had stolen the pair of rubber gloves.

As the officer questioned the suspect, a large crowd of students waiting for the 1:20 a.m. shuttle gathered, “preventing the shuttle bus from leaving,” according to Catalano.

The Middlesex District Attorney’s Office was unavailable for comment yesterday.

—Staff writer Robin M. Peguero contributed to the reporting of this article.

—Staff writer Sam Teller can be reached at steller@fas.harvard.edu.