- November 22, 2024
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Lifted up
7:26 a.m., 500 block of Kingfisher Lane
Noise: An officer responding to a report of early-morning noise arrived at a home to find two men working on the second floor. They told the officer they had operated a lift earlier but it was no longer needed for their work. The officer reminded them of the town’s prohibition on disturbing work noise before 8 a.m. They said they wouldn’t use their lift again before the permitted hour.
Rolling along
9:15 a.m., 1000 block of Bogey Lane
Traffic: After seeing a car roll through a stop sign without stopping, a police officer conducted a traffic stop. The driver responded that he knew a stop sign was present and acknowledged not stopping. The driver, who was found to be free of wants and arrest warrants, was issued a written warning.
Lights and license
10:40 a.m., 6100 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive
Traffic: Police pulled over a Palm Harbor driver to ask about the trailer he was towing on Gulf of Mexico Drive. The small trailer had no tag and its lights weren’t working. In conversation with the officer, the driver said he doesn’t use the trailer very often and was unaware of its condition. He promised to address the issues when he returned home. The driver was issued a written warning.
There and gone
11:54 a.m., 7100 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive
Animal report: An officer who arrived at the scene of a coyote-on-the-beach report was unable to find the elusive animal after checking the area.
End of the road
12:35 p.m., 1200 block of Bogey Lane
Traffic: The island’s traffic monitoring cameras spotted a car mid-island connected to a driver with a suspended license. An officer quickly spotted the car southbound on Gulf of Mexico Drive and pulled it over. The Bradenton driver acknowledged knowing his license was suspended and said that he was on his way to work. The car’s license plate was seized, and the vehicle towed from the scene. The driver was issued a citation for knowingly driving with a suspended license.
Floating mystery
6:30 p.m., 3400 block of Mistletoe Lane
Abandoned boat: An officer trying to spot a personal watercraft adrift in Sarasota Bay called on the Longboat Key Fire Department for help. The fire department’s marine unit took two officers aboard to investigate what the land-bound officer reported to be an unattended watercraft about a mile from shore. On the way out, two officers and a fire battalion chief reported seeing the craft through binoculars, but in the gathering darkness couldn’t precisely locate it. A message was relayed to the U.S. Coast Guard to issue a warning to passing boaters about the possible obstruction near the boating channel.
Charging too long
11:52 p.m., Bayfront Park
Parking: An electric vehicle was issued a parking ticket after an officer found it still connected to a charging post after Bayfront Park’s closing hour of 11 p.m.
Too loud but too late
8:42 a.m., 600 Bayport Way
Noise: A caller to police complaining about work noise before the allowed 8 a.m. hour was reminded to call in such a report before 8 a.m.
Will they ever learn?
1:10 p.m., 1900 Gulf of Mexico Drive
Traffic: The driver of a car-carrying tractor-trailer was warned to make other arrangements for delivery of a client’s car, because parking in the center of Gulf of Mexico Drive was not acceptable. The driver moved the truck. Three similar incidents were reported over the next four days on GMD.
Hello, I must be going
8:19 p.m., 500 block of General Harris Street
Parking: An officer called to the scene of a car reported to be parked illegally found a four-door sedan, parked with all four wheels off the pavement and on a gravel parking area. The owner arrived at the same time as the officer and said he was finished visiting friends and was leaving. No citations or warnings were issued.
Signs of the (high) times
12:12 a.m., Police Headquarters
Code enforcement: Several officers were notified by a commander that signs promoting Dr. Green Relief Cannabis Cards had been placed in various locations around the town, in violation of the town’s sign code. Officers collected 29 of the signs and brought them to the police department for safekeeping. Police tried to contact the sign’s owners, but the 1-800 number on the sign did not connect to the company. Chain of evidence paperwork was completed and the signs were inventoried.
Dock on the bay
8:21 a.m. Sister Keys
Public service: A caller to police regarding a large dock piling on the sandbar on Lyon’s Bay was told the police department did not have a boat unit in service at the time. The case was referred to the attention of the department’s marine unit and Public Works Department.
Scooter under wraps
2:35 p.m., 500 Sloop Lane
Parking: Police were called to a neighborhood in connection with the discovery of a motor scooter under a tarp. Once the scooter was confirmed as not stolen, the owner was located nearby in the Bay Harbour complex. The owner said he would remove the scooter the next day.
No wallet-passing zone
4:31 p.m., Police Headquarters
Found property: A woman arrived to the police department’s front desk to return a wallet she reported finding in the middle of Gulf of Mexico Drive, about a mile south. Police tried to contact the New Jersey owner of the wallet at his Longboat Key address, to no avail. Another officer would be given the task of delivering the wallet to its owner.
Boat on the loose
8:16 p.m., 4000 block of Exeter Drive
Suspicious vehicle: A caller to police reported a medium-sized sailboat had drifted into the mangroves near his home. In the gathering darkness, the officer could not see the boat, but marine unit officers who had been nearby earlier in the day said they had seen and taken note of it earlier in the day.