Longboat Key Police dispatched to investigate late-night repairs

Friday, July 7 

Where's my car?

12:20 a.m., 3400 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive 

Citizen Assist: After a long day, out-of-town visitors called police because they lost track of the public beach access point where their vehicle was parked. One officer located the car and the callers were given a ride back to their vehicle. 

Minor inconvenience 

4:31 p.m., 4200 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive 

Suspicious Incident: Dispatch reported a suspicious incident, identified as a car alarm going off. On scene, police determined that a child activated the alarm. No arrest was made. 

Saturday, July 8 

Palm frond pollution 

9:10 a.m., 600 block of Norton Street 

Civil Citation: Police received a call about illegal dumping. When officers arrived on scene, the complainant claimed to have seen a nearby landscaping crew dumping palm fronds into the water. Officers located the landscaping crew and talked to the crew leader, who said one of the crew did dump the palm fronds. The worker was unaware that it was illegal, but officers issued a citation for unlawful dumping. 

False identity 

12:56 p.m., 3400 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Alcohol Offense: While on beach patrol, an officer spotted cans of alcoholic seltzer with some beachgoers' belongings. The beachgoers were in the water, but when they left the ocean the officer approached them to ask about the alcohol. All four admitted the alcohol was theirs. One woman said she pays over $10,000 a month to live on Longboat Key. She said the beach was private, because alcohol is allowed on private beaches. When asked by the responding officer, she gave a fake name. The officer advised her that she could go to jail for providing a false name. In the end, she ended up saying she would take the citation for the incident. 

Sunday, July 9 

Unusual object

1:14 p.m., 4700 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive 

Suspicious Incident: Officers were called to respond to a suspicious device washed ashore at a beach access point. The responders found a seemingly empty canister, and dealt with it properly. 

Monday, July 10 

Late-night repairs

12:32 a.m., 500 block of Bay Isles Parkway 

Suspicious Incident: A resident called police to report loud power tools or hammers at a store. Police located store employees working on the front door of the store. The workers were using hammers, but the responding officer determined there was no need to interfere. No power tools were being used. No criminal nature was occurring, just very late repairs.  

Tuesday, July 11 

Employee impersonation 

5:05 p.m., 6300 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive 

Citizen Dispute: When police arrived on scene, the two offenders had already left the scene. The complainant who called police said that two men in a white truck pulled into his private parking lot, then began a verbal altercation. One of the men in the truck got up close to the complainant and said “I work for the town of Longboat Key.” Police reviewed camera footage of the incident and the offenders’ truck, but no further information was available. 

Thursday, July 13 

Wrong department 

9:18 a.m., 800 block of Spanish Drive N

Citizen Assist: A resident called police to report construction trucks parked in the roadway. Police observed some construction trucks, but none that were blocking the roadway. The responding officer advised the complainant that this was most likely a homeowners association issue and not a police matter.