Longboat Key Cops Corner: Litter came complete with a name, phone number

Police reports from around Longboat Key.


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  • | 5:00 a.m. April 26, 2022
  • Longboat Key
  • Cops Corner
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Friday, April 15

In the eye of the beholder

10:32 a.m., 3400 block of Byron Lane

Suspicious incident: Responding to a report of a work crew cutting down trees nearby, an officer told the caller that unless the trees were protected, there was nothing law enforcement could do about the situation. The officer followed up with a visit with another homeowner who said the tree cutting was authorized by the homeowners’ association as a means to beautify the area near a pond.

Seaworthy no more

1:27 p.m., 3600 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Boating call: A resident called police to report a boat that had been entangled for days in mangroves near his property. An officer found the 9-12 foot aluminum boat with water in it, encrusted with barnacles and apparently unseaworthy. The registration number was unreadable and there was no other source of information attached. The officer secured the boat so it wouldn’t become a hazard and notified the town’s Public Works Department for its eventual removal.

Suspiciously smoking

4:03 p.m., 3500 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Suspicious person: A caller reported a 60ish man smoking in a no smoking zone. She couldn’t describe the man’s clothing. Police arrived to find only the property owner who said he was the only one smoking nearby. No other suspicious smoker was found.

Personalized for your citation

7:44 p.m., 300 block of North Shore Road

Litter: Police were alerted to an incident of littering by a person in a vehicle. The responding officer found the fast-food trash also included a receipt with a name and telephone number, which he called. The man who answered said he must have accidentally left the trash. The officer let the man know he would be getting a littering citation by mail at his out of town home address.

Saturday, April 16

Yup, that’s sewage

8:21 a.m., 500 block of Edlee Lane

Citizen assist: Police were alerted to sewer line break and investigating, confirming the report. The responding officer notified the Public Works Department, which arrived promptly and took over.

Along for the ride

10:41 a.m., 4000 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Animal complaint: A visitor to a town park walked up to his vehicle while police were on hand to investigate a report of two dogs left in a car. Police found the windows down and the dogs in no danger. The man said he was playing pickleball nearby and had come over to check on the dogs when police arrived.

Rock on, no longer

9:08 p.m., 500 block of Yawl Lane

Noise: Police spoke to the resident of a home from which music could be heard from the street. Once advised of the noise complaint, the homeowner agreed to turn off the music in compliance with a town ordinance.

Sunday, April 17

Rental returns

1:08 a.m., 4000 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Suspicious incident: A police officer noted two kayaks near the water’s edge, with no one else around. The officer noticed the kayaks looked similar to others nearby and ascertained they were likely rentals that were returned late and not put away as the others had been.

Chairs not theirs

4:04 p.m., 3800 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Trespassing: A representative of a homeowners group called police to report trespassers had taken chairs and umbrellas from private property to the beach. An officer spoke to the beachgoers who claimed not to know the chairs and umbrellas weren’t for general-public use. The officer told the beachgoers to return the property immediately. The beachgoers apologized and did as they were asked.

Monday, April 18

Not swept away

6:13 p.m., 7200 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Welfare check: Police checked on the safety of four swimmers in Longboat Pass, following a call of concern from the drawbridge tender. An officer found the swimmers in shallow water, wading ashore. The bridge tender said he called out of concern they were near a swift current under the bridge.

Not yelling

8:12 p.m., 3200 block of Bayou Sound

Suspicious incident: Police were called regarding what sounded like children yelling. Police arrived to find a group of children playing with an adult walking alongside. The children were not yelling at the time of the officer’s arrival and nothing suspicious was evident. The caller left word they did not wish to be contacted.

Tuesday, April 19

Too early, too noisy

7:47 a.m., 600 block of Cedar Street

Noise: The beeping sound from a reversing forklift and wood being moved prompted a call to police about work noise 13 minutes before the hour such sounds are allowed in the town. Police spoke to the project manager who said he would again tell his subcontractors about the town’s rules for morning and evening noise. The officer said the next violation would result in a noise citation for the offender.

Wednesday, April 20

Let there be (too much) light

11:44 a.m., 3300 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Citizen assist: A resident alerted police to a nearby residence with a bright flood light that shines in at night from across the water. The resident wasn’t sure of the address of the home with the light, and the officer sent to investigate was not able to gauge the problem during the daylight. The officer said he would contact the department’s night shift for a follow-up.

Debris in the air

2 p.m., 600 block of Cedar Street

Citizen dispute: A resident called police to report construction debris in the air, landing on his property, which was considered an ongoing issue. Police alerted the town’s code enforcement officer because no criminal activity was taking place.

Row, row, row . . .

3:32 p.m., 1500 block of Harbor Cay Lane

Suspicious person: A resident called police to report seeing a man, paddling a small boat with a piece of wood, arrive at an out-of-town neighbor’s dock and sit down for a rest. The man didn’t appear to be doing anything other than resting. Police spoke to the man and recommended resting elsewhere, not on private property.

Moving the markers

4:22 p.m., police headquarters

Citizen dispute: A homeowner came to the police department at the suggestion of Town Hall staff to file a complaint about moved property-marking stakes. The homeowner said her property had been marked before tree removal work began, and she recently returned to find the markers had been moved from their original locations. She said she did not see anyone move the markers but speculated it could have been neighbors doing so. The officer assigned to the case could not immediately confirm the markers’ proper locations to accurately identify property boundaries.

Protecting and serving

11:10 p.m., police headquarters

Traffic hazard: A police officer encountered a vehicle driving southbound on Gulf of Mexico Drive with a completely flat tire before coming to a stop in the traffic lane. The driver said she was trying to return to her place of employment in the 4700 block. The officer suggested parking the vehicle in the police department lot overnight and returning in the morning. A relative thanked the officer upon her arrival to pick up the driver with the flat tire.

Lights on

3:30 a.m., 4300 block of Chatham Drive

Suspicious vehicle: An officer investigating a report of a suspicious vehicle in a residential neighborhood found a car with its taillights on but hood cool to the touch, as if it hadn’t been running for hours. The officer found it was properly registered out of state.

 

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