- May 5, 2024
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12:39 p.m., 600 block of Marbury Lane
Citizen assist: A resident contacted police to report his personal watercraft had come loose during Hurricane Ian and was drifting in Sarasota Bay. The officer told the resident the town’s policy prevents police from towing drifting boats back to their owners. The resident acknowledged that and said he wanted to check first before engaging the services of a commercial towing company that could charge several hundred dollars. The officer also said the bay was full of debris from the storm, making navigation even more tricky.
5:18 p.m., 500 block of Juan Anasco Drive
Alarm: A resident told a responding officer that his home’s intruder alarm had been tripped accidentally, and there was no cause for concern.
5:48 p.m., 2200 block of Harbour Court Drive
Fire assist: Police and fire-rescue personnel came to a home on a report of a gas leak. The leak was cut off and the gas supplying utility was alerted.
8:19 a.m., 6300 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive
Fire assist: An officer was flagged down to alert him to the smell of gas in the boiler room of a building. Fire personnel responded and ascertained the pilot light on one of the boilers had gone out. The fire department shut off the gas and recommended a professional examine the equipment before returning it to service.
3:36 p.m., 700 block of Hideaway Bay Drive
Boating: The town’s marine patrol officer, while assessing damage from Hurricane Ian, found a boat hanging nearly vertically from a boat lift, its stern and engine underwater while its bow was pointing up. The officer found the adjacent home unoccupied and left a message with the owner via phone in regards to the boat’s condition. The officer reported that commercial assistance was standing by to help. No fuels or fluids were found to be leaking from the craft.
2500 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive
Traffic: An officer directed traffic at Bay Isles Parkway for a period of time, taking over for a signal with faulty timing. A town Public Works crew arrived to reset the timing of the traffic signal.
5:23 a.m., 6200 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive
Fire assist: An officer on patrol witnessed the explosion of an electrical transformer and called in help from the fire department. As a result of the explosion, a power line fell into a wooded area, followed by the sight of smoke. Fire personnel arrived, along with an electrical utility crew and took over the scene.
8:12 a.m., 4600 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive
Welfare check: Police went to the home of a resident with which a relative could not contact. The resident told the officer there had been a power failure during the storm and her cell phone’s battery had run down. The officer allowed the resident to call a family member with his personal phone. The resident later said she was fine and needed no police assistance.
10:48 a.m., 500 block of Bay Isles Road
Citizen assist: Police went to the Public Tennis Center to check out a report of a extension cord connected to a receptacle on town property leading over the fence into an adjacent community. Following the cord back to its end, the officer found a resident who said he was concerned about the refrigeration of his insulin and saw that the tennis center power had been restored. The man immediately unplugged the cord, but regained power shortly thereafter. The man was advised to seek permission first before again seeking to use publicly financed utilities.
10 p.m., 6900 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive
Citizen assist: Police encountered a small vehicle with fishing gear inside parked in the driveway of a residence under construction. Upon the officer’s inspection, a man from Sarasota walked up and said he could find no other place to park before heading to the water’s edge to fish. The officer responded that the driveway was private property, and that he should move the vehicle, which he did.
5:45 pm., Longboat Pass bridge
Traffic hazard: Police on both sides of the bridge directed traffic away from the span while the bridge tender looked into the cause of a malfunction that caused the drawbridge to stop operating. Within a few minutes, the bridge was back in normal operation.
12:15 p.m., police headquarters
Found property: A man came to police headquarters carrying a ballcap and an apron bearing the insignia of a popular, bowl-based Mexican grill restaurant. The man tried to present a theory on how they ended up on the Longboat Pass Bridge for him to find, but a police evidence specialist was not able to substantiate any of it. The cap and apron remain in police custody as found items.
5:24 p.m., 1200 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive
Fire assist: A police officer and fire-rescue personnel came to a condominium community on a report of a person stuck in an elevator. Firefighters were able to gain entry to the elevator and free the stuck person. The officer departed the scene after receiving another call for assistance.
10:28 p.m., 700 block of Broadway Street
Suspicious vehicle: A resident alerted police to a vehicle in the neighborhood driving up and down the main road while the driver yelled out the window. No description was offered, and police could not find the loud-mouthed driver upon arrival in the neighborhood.
12:36 p.m., 2000 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive
Traffic hazard: An officer arrived to find traffic signals operating normally following a report of lengthy red light timing that prompted drivers to proceed without waiting for a green light. The officer reported no traffic at the time, but witnessed the lights changing as normal.
4:17 p.m., 4200 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive
Citizen assist: Incensed that his dark colored and recently detailed pickup truck, a man who works at a construction site called police inquiring about dust-abatement rules and what could be done. The man said the concrete dust likely originated from another nearby construction site, and that the president of the company performing that work refused to pay to have the vehicle washed. The officer reported the dust did not appear to be intentionally applied and that it likely was carried by the breeze. As to the truck owner’s inquiry about dust-abatement regulations, the officer referred the man to the town’s code enforcement officer.
