Cops Corner: Sarasota

May 7
ANOTHER DAY AT THE OFFICE
8 a.m. — 700 block of S. Washington Boulevard. Suspicion Panhandling. An officer was advised of a panhandler in the median. The officer observed the man, but didn’t see him collect any money. The man walked into a fast-food restaurant, and the officer left the area.

SAFETY FIRST
11:30 p.m. — 2100 block of N. Washington Boulevard. Petit Theft. A store manager reported a woman left the store without paying for a small box of Band-Aids.

HUM-DRUM CALL
2:54 p.m. — 700 block of Benjamin Franklin Drive. Suspicious Noise. A resident reported a loud humming noise in the parking garage of a resort. The resident did not want to meet with the officer, but told the officer to stand on the sidewalk to hear the noise. The officer could hear a humming noise coming from inside the parking structure. The officer entered the parking garage and positively identified the sound as a generator. The officer found no violation and spoke to the resort manager, who said the resort was involved in an ongoing problem with the condo nearby. No further action was taken.

NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH
11:43 p.m. — 1900 block of Magnolia Street. Suspicious Vehicle. An officer responded to a report of a suspicious vehicle parked in front of a home. When the officer questioned the car’s owner, the car owner said that a resident came out and became aggressive toward him. The officer told the car owner, who was visiting from New Hampshire, that residents are just looking out for their neighborhood and reporting when something appears suspicious. The owner said he doesn’t get harassed in New Hampshire.

May 8
ROLLING ON
8:58 a.m. — 1100 John Ringling Parkway. Miscellaneous Officer. A resident parked his Ford F-350 in a parking lot. For unknown reasons, the truck rolled about 20 feet and struck a water spigot at the edge of the boat ramp. The top of the spigot was snapped off. The vehicle was not damaged.

UNHAPPY CAMPERS
8:18 p.m. — 400 block of S. Pelican Drive. Suspicious Person. A resident told a police officer that she had heard a transient in the wooded area on the other side of her privacy fence. An officer checked the area and discovered a homeless man lying on a blanket and smoking a cigarette. There were no active warrants out for the man. It appears other people may have been sleeping at the location.

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