Cops Corner: Sarasota 08.24.17

Aug. 19

SERVER ERROR
8 a.m. — 200 block of Benjamin Franklin Drive
Dispute: A hotel manager contacted police to report an issue with a guest. The guest got into a dispute with the hotel’s breakfast servers that morning. She told police she did not feel safe staying at the hotel because of the dispute. The guest tried to flag down a server to hand in a coupon for a free breakfast, but the server said she would have to give it to the person who had been serving her during the meal. The guest insisted that the server could help her, because her server was busy. The guest said that server later walked by her and muttered “some people,” at which point the two got in a face-to-face argument.

The guest complained to the hotel manager, who apologized for the incident. The guest demanded the hotel send the server home and not let him back until she checked out of the hotel. The manager said he could not do that, but agreed to refund the cost of her breakfast, pay for one night of her stay and offered to check her into a nearby resort. The woman said she did not want to leave. The woman told police that she did not understand why the hotel couldn’t send the employee home. An officer told her businesses do not work that way. Later, the manager said he spoke with other guests in the dining area, who said the guest was being rude to all the servers.

Aug. 20

RUMOR HAS IT
Midnight — 1100 block of Gulfstream Avenue
Battery: A man was leaving a hotel when an acquaintance walked up to him on his way out. The man said the acquaintance put his arm around him in a friendly manner and walked him over to the middle of the valet parking area. The acquaintance then became aggressive, accusing the man of spreading lies that the acquaintance was charged with insurance fraud. The acquaintance said those rumors were hurting his business. The man said he had heard that rumor months ago, but hadn’t told anybody because he didn’t care. The man said the acquaintance started threatening him and then shoved him. The man shoved back, and then the acquaintance punched the man in his face. 

A valet said he saw the men arguing and beginning to fight. From what he could see, it appeared the acquaintance was the aggressor. After the acquaintance threw a punch, the man stepped back and began to remove the rings and jewelry from his hands, and the two man began fighting one another. After several minutes, hotel security broke up the fight. The acquaintance left with a friend. The man wanted to press battery charges, but officers were unable to find any personal information regarding the acquaintance at the time.

Aug. 21

BROKEN LIMB
5 p.m. — 1200 block of Myrtle Street
Dispute: A man said his neighbor came to his home three times in the past two days. The neighbor told the man that a tree branch from his yard broke off and fell into her yard. The man said he would take care of it, but the woman checked in multiple times before he got a chance to remove the branch. Officers told the neighbor to give the man reasonable time before checking back in on the status of the tree.