Cops Corner: Sarasota 5.28.2015

May 22

PICTURE IMPERFECT
10:20 a.m. — 1200 block of North Palm Avenue
Suspicion General: An officer spotted two men on the top of the roof of a parking garage taking pictures of nearby buildings. When the officer arrived at the top level of the garage, the men immediately came off the rooftop, apologized and said they were just students trying to take photographs.

May 23

DOOR JAM
9:42 p.m. — 2800 block of Riverside Drive
Criminal Mischief: While vacationing in Montana, a man received word from his neighbor that the front door to his home had been damaged. The man called police, and an officer discovered the front door was partially broken off, though it was still closed. The officer checked the home and said it appeared nothing had been rummaged through or taken. The man asked the officer to close the door as best he could and said someone would be out to fix it the next day.

May 24

DON’T LET THE BEDBUGS BITE
3:15 a.m. — 4800 block of North Tamiami Trail
Public Nuisance: A man was staying in a hotel with two friends. After they went to sleep, a woman woke up in the middle of the night after feeling something biting her legs. When they turned the lights on, they saw dozens of bedbugs on both beds in the room. They went to the manager to request a room change or refund, but the manager denied them either option. The man alerted the police, and an officer — who dealt with the same issue in the same room a few months earlier — arrived at the scene. 

Both times, the officer could clearly see bedbugs on both beds in the room. When the officer asked the manager what was being done to address the incidents, she stated they had plenty of complaints, but only about that room. The officer feels the room and potentially other rooms at the hotel are a public health risk and had a copy of the incident report forwarded to city code enforcement and nuisance abatement staff.

WEARY TRAVELER
9:30 p.m. — 4300 block of Bradenton Road
Suspicion Person: A woman reported there was a man sitting on the side of the road, and she was worried about his safety. An officer found the man sitting on the sidewalk with his bicycle. The man said he was making his way to his mother’s house, and he got turned around in the process. The officer pointed the man in the right direction.

May 25

IMPROPER STORAGE
2:05 a.m. — 240 block of South Links Avenue
Suspicion General: A man reported that there was a bicycle left on the side of his house, an ongoing issue he has been dealing with. An officer recognized the bicycle, which led him to check the bushes in the area nearby, where he found the owner of the bike. The owner said he left the bike there so nobody would steal it. The officer told the owner not to leave the bike on the property again, and the owner left the area with the bicycle.