Cops Corner: Longboat Key

Sept. 18
Sibling solidarity
10:15 p.m. — 500 block of Cutter Lane. Battery. A man said that another man who lives at his address pushed him during a confrontation about his sister. The man didn’t want to press charges but then began writing a statement when he learned that his sister would be leaving the residence. After speaking with his sister, he ripped up his statement.

Sept. 19
Double dog dare
2:02 p.m. — 3400 block of GMD. Animal/Dog on the Beach. A woman who had two dogs on the beach let them off their leashes. Police gave her a written warning.

Purse pursuit
7:25 p.m. — 500 block of Bay Isles Parkway. Larceny from Business. A woman left her orange purse in a shopping cart at a drugstore and returned a short time later to find the cart empty. Police reviewed surveillance video and saw an unidentified male on a bicycle in the area of the cart but couldn’t see if he took the purse. Police helped the woman cancel her credit cards and searched the area for the purse.

Sept. 20
Safe and secure
9:40 a.m. — Off the Key. Boat. While two police officers were fueling a town boat, a woman flagged them down to ask for help retrieving a child’s electric vehicle from the water so that it wouldn’t be a navigational hazard. Police helped retrieve it and secured it to the woman’s dock.

Sept. 22
No dogs allowed
7:31 p.m. — 5700 block of GMD. Animal/Dog on the Beach. Police warned a man who said he was unaware of the town’s ordinance prohibiting dogs on the beach.

Sept. 23
Confusion concerns
12:14 a.m. — 1200 block of GMD. Traffic Violation. Police saw a vehicle swerving in its lane and became concerned that the driver could be sick or impaired. The 80-year-old driver was not intoxicated but told police he was slightly confused. Police helped him get home.

Fighting words
4:44 a.m. — 5400 block of GMD. Disturbance. Two men told police they had words with three men who were harassing two females but denied fighting. Those involved in the incident said they were leaving the area and going home.

Sept. 24
Branching out
10:46 a.m. — 500 block of Bay Isles Road. Property Damage. Police saw a man’s semi-trailer strike a low-hanging limb on a ficus tree, causing several small tree limbs to fall onto a Lexus parked on the side of the road. Police told the semi-trailer driver not to move his vehicle because if the limb broke, it could cause more damage to the Lexus. Police found the Lexus owner at Town Hall. He said that a dent and scratch on the vehicle were not there before.

Credit card found
1:23 p.m. — 5400 block of GMD. Property Found. A town employee reported that a credit card was found in a fire station parking lot. Police were unable to locate the owner.

Door-to-door salesman
7:35 p.m. — 7000 block of Longboat Drive N. Soliciting. A man who was selling books and magazines door-to-door told police he was from out of town and didn’t know about the town’s soliciting ordinance. Police told him that he would be arrested if he returned to solicit.

Sept. 25
Rules were made to be broken
7:48 a.m. — 5500 block of GMD. Animal/Dog Nuisance. A man refused to answer police questions about whether his dog had been off of its leash in a park, saying he could self-incriminate. A caller had reported that the was man riding his bicycle with the dog off its leash, but when police arrived, the dog was on its leash. Police told the man about town ordinances, but the man compared his dog being off the leash to driving 46 mph in a 45 mph zone. He also said that people are neurotic and parks are meant for playing.

Sept. 26
Time for a change
12:12 p.m. — 6900 block of GMD. Suspicious Person. Police responded to a suspicious incident involving a man in a vehicle parked in a vacant gas station lot who was possibly nude. Police made contact with the man who had moved to a beach access parking area. He said that there were no bathrooms to change in and thought that it would be okay to change clothes in his vehicle. Police told him to find a public restroom next time.