Cops Corner: Sarasota

March 29
FARE-WELL
1:57 a.m. — 1400 block of Main Street. Dispute/Fight. A cab driver said a man got into his taxi in downtown Sarasota and asked to go to a hotel. The cab driver drove north on U.S. 41 until the man told him he didn’t have any money, but could get it out of the ATM. The driver returned downtown and stopped where he picked the man up, at which point the man jumped out of the car and walked away. The driver said the man owed him $25, but he was more upset that he wasted valuable time when he could have been making money.

WAKE-UP CALL
4:51 a.m. — 1500 block of First Street. Dispute/Fight. A woman complained that a man was causing a disturbance at a bus stop. She said the man was sleeping when she arrived, and she told him he had to wake up and move. In response, she said, the man became verbally abusive and threatening. The man said the woman was harassing him, and that he wanted to be left alone until his bus arrived. Officers instructed to man to wait for his bus without causing any further disturbances.

SILVER SCREEN
1 p.m. — 2100 block of Wood Street. Petit Theft. A man was conducting a major renovation on his home and found that a screen was missing from one of his windows. An officer told the man that it appeared the screen was improperly installed and blew off, but the man was convinced someone stole the screen. The officer processed the window for fingerprints, but results were negative.

IDENTITY CRISIS
1:20 p.m. — 4800 block of North Tamiami Trail. Civil Problem. The manager of a motel said that two people staying in one of the rooms refused to show their identification. One of the men staying in the room said that their boss rented the room and that they were in town from Little Rock, Ark., to work construction. The man called his boss, who arranged to get them a room at a different hotel.

BARKING LOT
2:22 p.m. — 3500 block of North Tamiami Trail. Trespassing. A grocery store manager reported that two men were harassing customers in the store’s parking lot. An officer found the men across the street and told them to stay away from the grocery store, at which point the men left the area.

March 30
FLOWER POWER
9:50 a.m. — 1300 block of Main Street. Dispute/Fight. A restaurant manager complained about the presence of two people giving away palm frond flowers on the sidewalk downtown. When officers arrived, one of the people immediately said they didn’t have to move and gave officers a letter from their attorney. The manager said he wanted them to leave because they were unsightly and sitting near the restaurant’s entrance. The officer said the people were allowed to sit on the sidewalk as long as they were not impeding pedestrians or asking for money.