Longboat Key Cops Corner: It was stolen. No, it wasn't.

June 3

Stolen, not stolen

1:27 p.m., 5600 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Suspicious incident: A resident called police to report her kayak had been stolen. In the course of the officer’s investigation, a neighbor reminded the caller that he had borrowed it and had replaced it in the proper location. The caller then apologized for the mix-up and asked her neighbor to let her know when he borrows the kayak in the future.

Ooops

3:36 p.m., 500 Ranger Lane

Alarm: An officer responded to a report of an activated home alarm. When the officer arrived, he learned a Realtor had accidentally set off the system.

Disappearing protest

4:04 p.m., 4000 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Suspicious person: Police were called regarding a protest taking place on the side of the road. By the time an officer arrived, the protesters had left. It was raining at the time of the report, police said.

Pack of parked cars

5:32 p.m., 500 block of Lois Avenue

Parking: A caller who did not wish to meet with police reported multiple cars parked in the grass on private property. As an officer arrived, he reported most of the cars had left or were leaving. One of the last to leave told the officer he owned the property and the others were his guests. The officer reconnected with the caller to pass along his information.

Leaving a calling card

11:24 p.m., 5300 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Security check: An officer conducting a routine security check of a business discovered a door left unlocked. The officer found no sign of forced entry or any kind of crime inside the building. He left a business card with a case number inside, locked the door and left.

 June 4

Past due

12:41 a.m., 800 block of Broadway Street

Parking: An officer wrote a citation for a vehicle found parked on the street an area posted with signs prohibiting parking after 11 p.m.

We’re no dummies

10:15 a.m., police headquarters

Suspicious incident: A resident came to police headquarters to report an attempted fraud. The resident said she received an email stating she was the winner of $750,000 in a sweepstakes and was required to wire $900 back to the organization to cover “insurance costs.’’ The resident said she didn’t fall for the obvious scam but wanted to file a police report about the incident.

 Job done

11:30 a.m., 2600 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Traffic: Police were called to check out a report of two construction vehicles partially blocking the bicycle lane. The drivers of those two vehicles moved them to a safe space beyond the lane’s boundaries.

Toppled

1:26 p.m., 5900 Emerald Harbor Drive

 Property damage: A resident called police to document and take a report on damage done to pool equipment. The resident said a chlorinator had been knocked over, possibly by lawn workers. The damage had taken place two weeks earlier. The officer sent to the address completed a report and noted there was no evidence the damage had been done intentionally.

Making waves

4:11 p.m., 7100 Longboat Drive

Citizen dispute: A resident called police to say that a neighbor operates a boat too fast in a slow-speed zone. The police officer, who spoke to the resident by telephone, said he would request the department’s marine patrol officer patrol in that area.

Protest safely

3:45 p.m., 3800 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Suspicious incident: A caller concerned about the safety of about 15 roadside protesters called police. An officer encountered the group and urged them to stay on the sidewalk or the grass and not approach the roadside because of less-than-optimal weather conditions at the time.  The officer reported the protesters were polite, did as they were asked and proceeded without incident.

Who are you?

4:14 p.m., 500 block of Ranger Lane

Suspicious person: A vehicle parked in front of a home drew enough suspicion to warrant a call to police from a resident. An officer sent to investigate learned the man in the car was waiting for a contractor to arrive to speak about a work project being planned.

No one home

5:18 p.m., 5600 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Suspicious incident: A customer arrived at a business and knocked on the locked door, to no avail. He called a number listed on the door and got no answer but thought someone was inside. An officer familiar with the business arrived and reported the owner’s truck was not there. A neighboring business employee said the owner next door closed up shop for the day because of inclement weather. 

Request: Granted

8:26 p.m., 700 block of Longboat Club Drive

Suspicious person: Police spoke to a man following a dispute with a resident over beach access. The man said he wanted to get to the beach to take sunset photographs but was blocked by the caller. Police explained to the man, who was from out of town, that he was trying to cross private property and should use a public access point. The caller told police he had delivered the same message, but the man became angry and told him to call police.