Cops Corner: Longboat Key

Aug. 6
Door to door no more
10:54 a.m. — 500 block of Spanish Drive North. Soliciting. A caller reported a man handing out flyers door to door. Police called the man’s supervisor and told him he needs a permit to peddle services, however, the supervisor told the officer he “had the codes in front of him” and the employee was doing nothing illegal. The officer informed him he was wrong about town codes, and the supervisor abruptly hung up the phone.

You rang?
3:12 p.m. — 300 block of GMD. Suspicious Circumstance. A man reported a phone call as a scam after the caller threatened him with an arrest warrant for tax evasion. When police tried to call the number back, no one answered the phone. Police are investigating the phone number.

Aug. 8
Won’t get far without these
4:38 p.m. — 6800 block of GMD. Property Found. Employees of a liquor store found a set of keys that were left in an empty unit next to the business.

Aug. 9
Smoke on the wire
8:46 a.m. — 3700 block of GMD. Fire. An electrical short caused an outside air- conditioning unit to smoke, and police were called to investigate the issue. Firefighter/paramedics responded to the scene to extinguish the smoking wiring, and the owners were advised to contact an electrician.

No smooth sailing
3:34 p.m. — Jewfish Key. Boat. Engine failure caused a Bradenton Beach police boat to go adrift, and when the assisting officer arrived, choppy waters pinned the boat against rocks near the shore. With help from Longboat Key police, the stranded officer rescued his boat and towed it to the nearest marina for repair.

Aug. 10
Mechanical issues
6:30 p.m. — 6900 block of GMD. Reckless Driving. Police received a report about the driver of a black Jeep swerving recklessly on the road. The driver showed no signs of impairment and said the vehicle was having mechanical issues that caused it to swerve. The driver called his wife to follow him home.

Aug. 11
Seeing the light
6:20 a.m. — 6600 block of GMD. Code Enforcement. Police responded to a complaint about unlawful exterior lights and spoke to a man, who said he is renting the home for one week and didn’t know about the town’s turtle lighting ordinance. The renter said he would be more diligent about turning off the lights.

Early-morning racket
7:42 a.m. — 700 block of St. Judes Drive. Disturbance. A resident heard power tools in use before 8 a.m. on a weekday and called police. Police found a man using a leaf blower and told him about the town’s ordinance that prohibits using power tools at that hour.

Where’s my wallet?
10:12 a.m. — 500 block of Bay Isles Parkway. Lost Property. A vacationer from Ontario, Canada, accidentally left his black Fossil wallet with two credit cards, driver’s license, health card and birth certificate on the trunk of his car while driving between Longboat Key and Englewood. Police were unable to locate his belongings.

Aug. 12
Open-door policy
12:32 a.m. — 700 block of Broadway. Security Check. Police found an unlocked door at a restaurant while doing security checks. The manager arrived at the scene and locked the building. He said the closing manager probably left it unlocked by accident.

Surf’s up, up … and away
7:30 p.m. — 6800 block of GMD. Missing Property. The owners of a 5-foot, 7-inch Al Merrick surfboard left it in the grass near a beach access point, and when they returned minutes later, the board was missing. When police arrived, a business owner across the street told them a man on a bicycle had ridden off with it under his arm not long before their arrival. The owners sent a picture of the surfboard to police for distribution.

Aug. 13
Flatbed flub
2:13 p.m. — 6000 block of Bayou Hammock Road. Property Damage. A flatbed truck struck a tree limb and caused a power line to crash to the ground. When police arrived, they found the limb lying across the bed of the truck and the power line smoldering on the ground. Police notified Florida Power & Light Co. of the damages and taped off the area for safety.

A little out of it
6:34 p.m. — Intersection of Gulf of Mexico Drive and Bay Isles Parkway. Traffic. A caller reported a reckless driver, and when police pulled him over, the man didn’t have a valid driver’s license, and the officer found the man “disoriented and confused.” The man was taken to the police station, and his wife drove him home.