Family beachside debate spills over into hotel lobby

Friday, June 30

Persistent petition problems

6:16 p.m., 1400 block of First Street

Dispute: A week after petition signature seekers were embroiled in a dispute over a booth on the sidewalk that is the property of a retailer, the same group called police about a male subject who had made a threat toward them involving a gun. Two males told an officer a subject had been yelling at them and people who signed their petitions for about an hour. While doing so, he sporadically made statements about coming back another day with a gun.

The subject did not display any weapons, motion toward a possible weapon, nor make any physical acts or motions toward them during the incident. While discussing the incident, one of the complainants brought up an ongoing dispute with the store and said, "We actually may have somebody go to jail on Wednesday."

About the same time as this call, police responded to an additional call nearby, which happened to be from the subject, who was interviewed by a different officer. No probable cause was developed to show that a crime had been committed and the complainants declined to provide their information.

Saturday, July 1

Beach blanket bickering

4:41 p.m., 200 block of Benjamin Franklin Drive

Disturbance: A responding officer met with a woman at a Lido Beach hotel who was intoxicated and crying. She advised that she was on the beach with her husband, his brother and his brother’s wife. All had been drinking alcohol, and at some point an incident from 10 years prior was brought up, which led to a verbal altercation. 

The parties had returned to the hotel lobby where the argument continued. The woman went to her room and her husband, having been locked out of the room, went to the pool. The officer determined no crime had been committed.

Hiccup hubbub

8:41 p.m., 1700 block of Benjamin Franklin Drive

Dispute: Police responded to a incident in which a man who was engaged in a verbal dispute with his fiancée locked himself and their daughter in his truck to avoid the dispute escalating further. He advised an officer that after doing so, the woman began pounding on the truck’s windows.

The dispute began inside the fiancée’s home, the man said, over him having a case of hiccups. He advised he would be leaving for his residence in Bradenton for the night. There was no damage done to the truck and the man said he did not wish to provide a report.

Monday, July 3

Drinking in the view

900 block of John Ringling Causeway

Dispute: A group of men had been drinking and leaning on a man’s van and, when asked to stop by the van’s owner, one of them appeared to become agitated. That prompted the man to get into his van and call 911. An officer spoke to one of the men who said they had recently moved to Sarasota and were only hanging out in the park, enjoying the view, and “having a few beers.” 

The officer advised that drinking alcohol on city property was prohibited, and they promptly poured the beers on the ground, apologized and said they were unaware. The subject then asked responding officers to call a taxi for himself and his friends, after which he locked his car and returned home via Yellow Cab.