Longboat Key Cops Corner: Something fishy's going on here

July 20

Too fast

11:30 a.m., off the Key in the Gulf

Boating violation: A pair of personal watercraft operators were issued verbal warnings for motoring too fast through a slow speed zone.

Concerned husband

11:11 a.m., 100 block of North Shore Road

Missing person: An officer on patrol was flagged down by a man who was concerned about his wife walking to their hotel along the beach. The man said the woman didn’t have medical concerns, but he was worried because of the heat of the day. Three officers began to look for the woman and found her after 30 minutes. The man was notified and came to pick up the woman and drive her back to the hotel.

Helping the helpers

12:49 p.m., 1100 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Illness: Police responded with fire-rescue to the scene of a reported choking. As the officer arrived, the patient was being loaded aboard a town ambulance for treatment at a Sarasota hospital.

Too much rockin’

3:06 p.m., Jewfish Key

Noise: The on-duty marine patrol officer was dispatched to Jewfish Key on a report of loud music coming from a boat. Once on the scene, the officer found the boat from which the music was playing. Once told of the complaint, the boat operator turned down the music without incident.

All secure here

5:21 p.m., 3200 block of Bayou Road

Alarm: An activated security alarm prompted a police visit to a home. Once at the home, the officer noted it was secure, but no key holder was present. The officer also noted that severe weather had recently moved through the area, which likely was the cause of the alarm actitvation.

No harm

5:47 p.m., 5200 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Rescue call: A report of a stuck elevator attracted fire-rescue and police units, but the call turned out to be unfounded.

Live wires

10:19 p.m., 4000 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Traffic: Police were called to help manage traffic to assist a Florida Power and Light crew trimming tree branches entangled with live electrical wires. The job took about 90 minutes to complete.

July 21

Happy birthday. Now, pipe down

12:19 a.m., 3800 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Noise: Police were told about a loud pool party involving about 12 people. When an officer arrived, he noted about 10 people on hand, some of whom were getting into cars in preparation to leave. The officer spoke to a man about the noise, and he told the remaining guests to keep the noise to a reasonable level while they were leaving. The party broke up without further incident.

Can’t do that

3:28 a.m., 200 block of North Shore Road

Traffic: A car parked in a no-parking zone along North Shore Road was ticketed.

Paperwork needs doing

8:06 a.m., 5600 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Traffic: The town’s traffic monitoring system detected a car on the island with an expired registration. The car was pulled over and the driver advised of the reason for the stop. The driver said he thought a family member had taken care of renewing the registration and told the officer it would be taken care of online as soon as possible. A verbal warning was issued.

Who, me?

9:27 a.m., 5400 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Traffic: The town’s traffic monitoring system detected a car on the island owned by a person with a suspended drivers’ license. Once an officer found the car and initiated a traffic stop. The owner, who wasn’t driving, told the officer he was unaware of his suspended license and that he would take care of the issue when he returned to his out of town home.

Right is wrong

1:01 p.m., 5400 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Traffic: A driver was issued a written warning during a traffic stop for passing on the right. The driver had no wants or warrants and held a valid drivers’ license.

OK to park

3:32 p.m., 6300 block of Gulfside Road

Traffic: An officer was sent to a beach access parking area in connection with a report of two vehicles parked in handicapped spots without proper documentation. An officer arrived to find two cars with proper documentation parked in those spaces. No other investigation was performed.

Who called, then?

6:04 p.m., 500 block of Schooner Lane

Alarm: A medical alarm was activated, sending fire-rescue and police to a residence. But when they arrived they found no one home. Further investigation confirmed the fact the home was empty.

July 22

No cause for alarm

2:41 a.m., 700 block of Marbury Lane

Alarm: A resident who heard an alarm at home called 911 thinking an intruder was trying to break in. The alarm, in fact, was a fire alarm, though authorities who responded found no sign of fire or smoke. The resident said batteries had recently been changed in the smoke detector and that the alarm company would be contact to examine the system.

All is well

9:38 a.m., 200 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Business alarm: Police checked a restaurant for signs of a break-in after intruder alarms were activated. Everything at the business appeared in order.

He’s OK

10:35 a.m., 500 block of Harbor Cove Circle

Suspicious person: A report of a suspicious person at a residence turned out to be an exterminator hired to work at that location.

Not much damage

11:12 a.m., 6800 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Traffic crash: The driver of a truck told police he had struck a car while backing up at a shopping center parking lot. The owner of the car was not present, so driver-exchange information and a police officer’s card were left on the windshield. Damage to the left rear of the car was reported to be minor. The truck was not damaged.

Stemmed from steam

11:41 a.m., 600 block of Longboat Club Road

Alarm: A smoke detector signaled trouble, but firefighters determined the source of the alarm was steam used in hanging wallpaper.

July 23

Something fishy

12:31 p.m., 500 block of Hibiscus Way

Suspicious circumstance: A resident called police to say the U.S. Postal Service advised him there was a dead redfish in his mailbox. The resident had been away and said he suspected a nearby work crew of leaving the fish.

He knew . . . 

7:54 a.m., 6800 Pine Street

Traffic: A truck owned by a driver with a suspended license was detected on the island. Police found the truck and spoke to the driver, who said he knew his license had been suspended for failure to submit to a DUI breath test, but that he “had to get to work.” The driver was cited for driving on a suspended license with knowledge.

. . . So did he

8:45 a.m., 500 block of St. Judes Drive

Traffic: A truck owned by a driver with an expired license was detected on the island. Police pulled the truck over, and the driver told the officer he knew his license had expired. He was cited.