Woman Brings Booze to Victim Impact Panel, Cusses Out Officers, Police Say

A 28-year-old Glendale woman is accused of attending a victim impact panel at UW-Waukesha while under the influence of a narcotic, creating a disturbance after police located alcohol, a prescription pill and a knife on her, according to a criminal complaint.

Elizabeth A. Austin was charged Wednesday with bail jumping, carrying a concealed weapon, resisting an officer and disorderly conduct. She faces up to 30 months in jail and $31,000 if convicted of the four misdemeanor charges.

Online court records show Austin is on bail for a second drunken driving offense that was charged in December 2011.

According to the criminal complaint:

Austin was attending a victim impact panel at 7 p.m. Nov. 14 at UW-Waukesha with about 100 other people in a lecture hall. As Judge William Domina explained the rules and introduced the panel, Austin started shaking with apparent tremors.

Austin appeared nervous and fidgety as she was digging through her purse. She produced several pills in front of police officers and was distracting the victim impact panel.

Police took her into the hallway, where she told them she was “just trying to organize her purse.” Officers found a bottle of a yellowish liquid in it, which she claimed was tea. However, police noted that it was alcohol and that alcohol is a banned substance at victim impact panels.  She also told police a prescription pill she had was for acne.

When police confronted her that the pill was not for acne but for depression, she became agitated. Police looked through her purse where the pill was found and they found an X-Acto knife with a razor blade attached.

Austin, who originally said there was nothing in the purse that would harm the officer, told police she had the knife because she is a graphic arts student and carries her supplies in her purse.

Austin became more agitated during questioning, according to the complaint, so she lunged for her purse with the knife and pills in it, yelling “If I’m not going to get my (expletive) certificate, I’m just going to leave.”

An officer grabbed her arm to prevent her from grabbing the weapon, which caused her to continue swearing at police. She made a fist and tried to pull away from the police, despite them telling her to stop resisting. They pulled her to floor and handcuffed her as she continued to kick and scream, disrupting the forum and college classes.