Longboat Key Cops Corner: An unwelcome call

April 1

Unwelcome call

3:31 p.m., police headquarters 

Suspicious incident: An officer met a resident at the police station to learn more about a suspicious call she had received. The resident said a caller from a number unknown to her left a voicemail. In response, the resident said she changed her cell phone number in hopes of not receiving a call from that person again. The officer gave the resident a business card and a case number with instructions to call police again if further calls are received. 

Sounding off

8:08 p.m., 2100 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive 

Citizen assist: An officer was sent to look into a report of an activated car alarm. When he arrived, the officer learned from the car's owner that the alarm was the result of an electrical fault. The owner deactivated the alarm and told the officer he would have a mechanic fix the issue. 

April 2

Lost and eventually found

2:01 p.m., 4000 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive 

Found property: While walking in a town park, an officer was approached by a man who found a wallet. After examining the wallet and making an inventory of the its contents, the finder was issued a receipt and the officer began checking around the park to find the owner. After no one was found, the wallet was taken to the police department for safekeeping. Days later, the owner was found via the internet and contacted. He said he had been visiting Longboat Key and had returned home in the meantime, but correctly identified the wallet's contents. 

Overdone

5:55 p.m., 600 block of Buttonwood Drive 

Alarm: First responders were called to a home on a report of a fire alarm sounding. After the cause of the alarm was determined to be cooking smoke, emergency workers were released from the scene. 

April 5

Hot or not?

5:28 a.m., 7200 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Citizen assist: Police and fire rescue units were sent to the Longboat Pass bridge and found a broken-down vehicle blocking the northbound lane. The owner of the vehicle said it had overheated. It was pushed to the end of the bridge and allowed to cool off. 

Left behind

7 p.m., police headquarters

Found property: A zip-lock bag containing a wallet was found on a police patrol vehicle at the police station. Left by a resident who had visited earlier but left before an officer could arrive, the wallet contained cash, credit cards and identification. Police contacted the owner of the wallet via the information found inside, and the owner said he would come to the police department to pick it up. 

April 6

"Tell him hi for me"

9:28 a.m., 500 block of Russell Street 

Welfare check: Police were asked to check on the welfare of a resident who hadn't been heard from in a while. An officer sent to the home learned the resident was healthy and in no danger. The officer advised the resident about the call about her well-being, to which she responded "Oh, that's my ex-husband. Tell him hi for me.''

April 7 

All. Night. Long.

7:43 a.m., 600 block of Buttonwood Drive 

Noise complaint: The sound of a pump expelling groundwater from a swimming pool project was enough to prompt a call to police. The officer discovered the backyard work and spoke to a person in the home who said the owners were away for two days. Calls to the contractor were not successful. 

A former raccoon

8:36 a.m., 1200 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive 

Animal complaint: Police were alerted to the presence of a dead raccoon on the road. An officer moved it off the pavement and conducted no further investigation. 

It's a gusher

5:31 p.m., 500 block of Channel Lane 

Citizen assist: A bit of yard maintenance led to a plumbing problem for a resident. Called to a neighborhood to look into a possible water-main break, an officer spoke to a homeowner who said he had been trimming a tree when a limb fell and hit a backflow pipe. The officer said because the break was on private property, it was the homeowner's responsibility to repair. The resident said he would call a plumbing contractor to stop the leak, which was beginning to pond on a nearby road. 

April 9

No reply at all

2:42 a.m., 5600 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive 

Noise complaint: Police were alerted to a noise complaint coming from condominium community. The responding officer saw lights on inside the unit to which he was directed, but he heard no noise. His repeated knocks on the door were not answered.