Longboat Key Cops Corner: Throwing beans on a car

Dec. 2

Middle of the road

2:09 p.m., 1100 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Traffic: A car-hauling truck, parked in the middle of the highway, was issued a verbal warning and instructed to move the rig immediately. It was.

Dec. 3

The (blue) lights of Broadway

7:43 a.m., 500 block of Broadway Street

Traffic: A resident of Longbeach Village was stopped and ticketed for driving 29 mph in a 20 mph zone. According to a police report, the driver disputed the notion he was speeding.

Making a report

9:02 a.m., police headquarters

Property damage: A person arrived at the police department to report damage done to his car on Nov. 30  at a resort parking lot and filed a report. Because of the time lapse, there was no way to investigate how the damage might have been done.

Slow down

9:25 a.m., 5500 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Traffic: While backing up another officer on a traffic stop, an officer watched as another vehicle drove past the scene without slowing. The southbound vehicle was pulled over and its driver warned about the violation of the state’s requirement to slow to 20 mph under the posted speed limit while passing a first-responder on the side of a road. The driver was also given an informational brochure.

Throwing side dishes

10:14 a.m., police headquarters

Suspicious circumstance: A man came to the police department to tell officers about an odd experience the previous day while on the road. The person said he was stopped in southbound traffic and waiting to turn left from Gulf of Mexico Drive when the driver of a truck pulling a wood chipper, also heading south, hurled red beans on the windshield of his car. He said no damage was done, and the beans were washed off. The man said he did nothing to provoke the hurling of beans and that he simply wanted to file a police report. There was no information on the identity of the truck driver.

All is well

10:35 a.m., 500 block of Ranger Lane

Alarm: An activated residential alarm resulted in a police officer investigating. Once on the scene, the officer discovered construction work was underway there. The owner of the property was notified by a worker of the alarm activation.

Not really a crime

2:25 p.m., police headquarters

Disturbance: A man arrived at the police department to report a civil matter. He told officers he had paid for three sailing lessons, had taken part in two of them and arrived for his third when he was told there was not a boat available. He said he has attempted to resolve the situation numerous times, with no success. He said he wanted to make a police report of the situation.

Dec. 4

They’re OK

7:58 a.m., 3000 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Traffic: Police were called by a citizen who reported construction vehicles were illegally parked near a sidestreet intersection. The officer who responded inspected the vehicles and found them to be safely positioned and not blocking Gulf of Mexico Drive, the nearby sidewalk or the bike path.

That worked out

10:17 a.m.,  500 block of Harbor Point Road

Traffic: Police received word of a parked car blocking a driveway. When an officer arrived, he learned the vehicle had been moved to a new position in the driveway. The vehicle belonged to someone working on the property, but the caller was not immediately aware of the circumstances.

No more driving today

1:46 p.m., 1000 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Traffic: While on patrol, an officer received word from the town’s traffic-monitoring system that a car owned by a driver with a suspended license was southbound on Gulf of Mexico Drive. The officer stopped the vehicle and spoke to the driver, who said he was not aware of the suspension, which had taken effect in September for failure to pay a traffic fine. The driver was issued a citation, a notice to appear in court and his license was confiscated. A passenger took over driving duties.

Opening doors

6:51 p.m., 3200 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Rescue: An officer was sent to the scene of a malfunctioning elevator. Fire-Rescue personnel were able to open the doors and get the individuals out.

Dec. 5

Just making sure

10:18 a.m., 700 block of Hideaway Bay Drive

Suspicious circumstance: While on patrol, a sergeant noticed a home’s garage door off its track and ajar. He called for backup and inspected the area to ascertain if a crime had been committed. The officers learned work was being done at the home and one of the workers had inadvertently caused the problem with the garage door. The homeowner had been notified and a garage door technician had been scheduled to make a service call.

We’re practicing

10:58 a.m., Longboat Pass Bridge

Boating call: The police department’s marine patrol officer responded to a call about a water rescue in the area of Longboat Pass Bridge. While on the way, he was informed there was no emergency, but rather water training was underway with agencies from the surrounding area.

Helping out again

5:46 p.m., 500 block of Bayview Drive

Public service: An officer who had previously helped a resident experiencing a telephone-service outage recognized her flagging him down and stopped. She told the officer her phone was out again and was seeking police help. The officer gave her a ride home and spoke to a family member via phone to relay the situation.

Nothing unusual here

8:44 a.m., 6300 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Alarm: An officer and sergeant responded to a home with an activated intruder alarm. A check of the perimeter found no signs of forced entry, and all appeared secure. The alarm appeared to have been reset.