Cops Corner

Jan. 5
Poor reception
9:58 a.m. — 500 block of Sanctuary Drive. Suspicious Circumstance. A woman reported that someone pretending to be a cable man called her home, wanting to come out to fix her system. The cable company knew nothing about the call.

Heavy lifting
11:37 a.m. — 200 block of Sands Point Road. Lost Property. A resort employee reported that a coil of electrical wire weighing more than 200 pounds was stolen from a fire panel room.

Jan. 6
Natural wear-and-tear
12:07 p.m. — 1000 block of Longboat Club Road. Suspicious Circumstance. A woman showed police where her door frame had scratches and pry marks. Police determined the interior door frame paint was chipping and that there was no evidence of forced entry.

Jan. 7
Distasteful demonstration
11:49 a.m. — 500 block of Bay Isles Road. Civil Disturbance. A woman told police she wanted them to take away a photograph of the president with an Adolf Hitler-like mustache being displayed by demonstrators. Police explained that the demonstration was orderly and that the First Amendment protected the photograph being shown. The woman was extremely upset that police would not remove the photo and requested the officer’s business card.

Jan. 8
Double trouble
10:21 a.m. — 300 block of North Shore Road. Vehicle Larceny. A woman reported that someone broke the right front window of her car while it was parked in a condominium parking lot, which caused $500 worth of damage. Prints on the car came back negative. A nearby car was also broken into. Nothing was stolen from either car.

Won’t you be my neighbor?
11:20 a.m. — 10 block of Winslow Place. Disturbance. Two men told police that a neighbor drove past them twice at a high rate of speed, gave them the middle finger and yelled insults at them. The driver denied he was speeding and told police that the rest of the neighborhood was harassing him. No further action was taken.

Blue man group
12:41 p.m. — Intersection of Gulf of Mexico Drive (GMD) and Bay Isles Parkway. Suspicious Person. A woman called police to report a man dressed in blue paper clothing was standing near Gulf of Mexico Drive. The man was located and given a ride to a Sarasota shelter.

Family-friendly
1:17 p.m. — 4900 block of GMD. Traffic Assistance. Police assisted an Ohio family whose vehicle had run out of gas.

Jan. 9
Restaurant found unlocked
12:32 a.m. — 400 block of GMD. Security Check. Police found the kitchen door of a restaurant unlocked, and the owner was called to come secure the door.

No valid license
8:34 a.m. — 4200 block of GMD. Traffic Violation. A woman was issued a ticket for driving without a driver’s license.

False alarm
2:52 p.m. — 3000 block of Harbourside Drive. Rescue. A golfer set off a medical alarm in a golf cart by mistake.

Bathtime ban
4:54 p.m. — 5700 block of GMD. Code Enforcement. Police found a man and his wet dog in the parking lot of a beach access. The man was warned he couldn’t let his dog take a dip in the Gulf.

Jan. 10
Cane recovered
9 a.m. — 2800 block of Harbourside Drive. Found Property. Police found a silver cane on the sidewalk approximately 100 feet south of the Longboat Key Club Moorings. The cane was taken into police possession.

City living
10:22 p.m. — 500 block of Bay Isles Parkway. Code Enforcement. Police found a couple sleeping in the entranceway of a vacant restaurant. Once they were woken up, they told police they recently took a bus to the Key “to get out of the city.” Police gave them a ride back to the city after informing them it was illegal to camp here.

Jan. 11
Smoke and mirrors
7:48 a.m. — Intersection of GMD and Dream Island Road. Fire. Someone reported smoke in the area of Dream Island Road. No smoke could be found.

The early bird
10:31 a.m. — 100 block of Bay Isles Road. Disturbance. A restaurant owner called police after a former employee refused to leave until he got his last paycheck, even though he arrived one day earlier than the scheduled payday. Once police arrived, he agreed to come back the following day.

Jan. 5
Secure space
9:56 p.m. — 100 block of Bay Isles Road. Security Check. A vacant shopping center space was left unlocked and secured by police.

Jan. 6
No trailers allowed
9 a.m. — 500 block of Yawl Lane. Code Enforcement. A man was told he couldn’t park a travel trailer outside his home for more than five days.