Family dispute ensues after stepdaughter falls in boat

Saturday, June 1

Brush burn

6:14 p.m., 100 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Fire: An officer noticed a small brush fire at Overlook Park and requested backup from Longboat Key Fire Rescue. Before backup arrived, though, the officer was able to put out most of the fire with his fire extinguisher. Longboat Key Fire Rescue hosed down the rest of the fire when the firefighter paramedics arrived on the scene. 

Random resident rage 

7 p.m., 6900 block of Bayside Drive

Civil Disturbance: A resident filed a report of an incident where an unknown crowd of locals approached him and said he was trashing the place and needed to leave. The man said he had no idea who the people were. 

Quick driver swap 

8:15 p.m., 2800 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Vehicle Stop: An officer on patrol noticed a car traveling down GMD at a high speed and attempted to pass another vehicle in a no-pass zone. The officer pulled the vehicle over after witnessing the car swerve into the northbound lane and almost strike another vehicle. The driver said that he did not have a driver’s license or passport. The officer requested backup due to the man appearing nervous and attempting to put his hands in his pockets. Then, the officer instructed the driver to step out and walk to the rear of the car. A Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officer stopped to assist until Longboat Key PD backup arrived. The driver was issued a criminal citation for operating a vehicle without a license and a traffic citation for failure to maintain a single lane. The passenger had a driver’s license, though, and was allowed to drive the pair away from the scene. 

Suspicious spotlights 

9:04 a.m., 3700 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Officer Public Service: Dispatch sent an officer to investigate a group of people on the beach with spotlights. Upon arrival at the beach, the officer discovered a family who said they were crab fishing. The officer advised them that spotlights were prohibited on the beach due to sea turtle nesting season. The family claimed they were unaware of the issue and would leave the beach. 

Sunday, June 2

Lock-out on private property  

6:37 p.m., 5600 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Disturbance: An officer was sent to investigate a vehicle left unattended and running on private property. According to the complainant, the car was in a unit’s spot for 15 minutes. The officer spoke with the HOA president and checked out the vehicle, which had keys in the ignition and a cellphone on the passenger seat. As the officer was writing a citation for an unattended vehicle, the owner approached. He said he had left the car there while unloading beach supplies and accidentally locked the car with the keys in the ignition. The owner said he had a locksmith on the way. But as the officer was finishing the citation, the man became irate, according to the officer’s report, calling the HOA president vulgar names. The officer called for backup until the locksmith arrived and unlocked the man’s vehicle. The report says he angrily left the scene. 

Tuesday, June 4

Toppled over tipsy 

3:05 p.m., 2600 block of Gulf Drive South

Family Disturbance: An officer met with the Manatee County Marine Unit for a disturbance that occurred on a boat near Jewfish Key. The complainant said she was on the boat with her family and friends when her stepfather put the boat in drive and she fell into the middle part of the boat. She said she got into a verbal argument with her stepfather because of it, and her mother got in between them both to break them up and avoid a physical altercation. While speaking with the complainant, the officer said he smelled a “strong odor” of alcohol from her breath and she was not making sense of some things. She said she was not injured and no physical altercation occurred, so she ordered a ride-share car back to the rental unit