Cops Corner: Longboat Key

Aug. 30
Expiration date
10:31 a.m. — Coquina Beach. Traffic Violation. Police saw a vehicle exit a condominium parking lot and noticed that its tag had expired. The driver received a written warning.

Aug. 31
Bicycle blunder
9:35 a.m. — 200 block of GMD. Rescue/Injury. Two Public Works employees flagged down police after a woman fell off her bicycle. The woman said that she rode her bike from Sarasota and believes she lost control of her bicycle when she attempted to re-enter the bicycle lane. Firefighters provided first aid to the woman, but she declined to be transported to a medical facility.

Sept. 1
After hours
11:58 p.m. — 3400 block of GMD. Code Enforcement. Police warned two people about the town’s parking and beach hours restrictions after seeing their vehicle parked at a beach access after hours.

Sept. 2
Missing the warning signs
1:03 a.m. — 100 block of N. Shore Road. Code Enforcement. Police gave verbal warnings to two people on the beach after hours because the beach hours sign was missing.

Sending out an SOS
4:47 p.m. — Off the Key. Boat. While conducting marine patrol police heard someone yelling for help and found a woman struggling against an outgoing tide. She had been swept away from family and friends while on a vessel anchored near Jewfish Key. The woman couldn’t avoid the tide and was being swept under another vessel. Police took the woman and her daughter, who was swimming nearby, onto the police boat. Neither woman required medical treatment.

Runaway boat
5:57 p.m. — Off the Key. Assist Other Agency. A group of passengers was ejected from their boat in Sarasota Bay, and their boat continued to run, moving in circles and getting close to people in the water. Police found that the boaters had been picked up by a good Samaritan and were not injured. Police, along with Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and U.S. Coast Guard officers, stopped the vessel by fouling the propeller. 

Sept. 4
Burnout
7:39 p.m. — 200 block of GMD. Burning. Police responded to a reported open fire on the beach but found that it had been extinguished and that the responsible person had left the area on arrival.

Sand man
7:51 p.m. — 4400 block of GMD. Public Drunkenness. A man who was reported by a caller to be lying facedown in the sand near a crowd of people and severely sunburned turned out to also be severely intoxicated. The man was celebrating his 40th birthday with his wife and family and had taken a break by lying down in the sand. The crowd was actually gathered to watch a turtle nest excavation. The man told police that he didn’t need medical attention.

DELIVERY DILEMMA
9:45 p.m. — 6700 block of GMD. Suspicious Vehicle. Police observed a vehicle that met the characteristics of a reported suspicious vehicle and conducted a traffic stop. The driver said that he was delivering a pizza and pulled into a condominium parking lot to make a phone call because he wasn’t sure of the address. The man got a ride home with a coworker, along with a citation, after police found that his license was suspended due to excessive points.

Air of suspicion
9:48 p.m. — 4900 block of GMD. Suspicious Person. Police were unable to locate a person reportedly traveling northbound by foot who was unknown to the caller. The report does not identify additional suspicious characteristics.

Lights out
8:23 p.m. — 4400 block of GMD. Code Enforcement. While police investigated a public intoxication case, Turtle Watch volunteers pointed out an apartment with bright lights shining onto the beach in violation of the town’s nesting-season ordinance. Police spoke to the condominium manager, who said he would contact the unit owner.