Cops Corner: Have we got a deal for you . . .

Deal or no deal? Around 1:30 p.m. on Jan. 31,  a woman called police after buying electronic equipment from a pair of men who approached her at an bank ATM. She told an officer the men, one of whom had a neck tattoo, offered to sell her a surround-sound system for $300 and assured her it was not stolen -- and produced paperwork to that effect. They said it was left over from a job they had recently finished. She paid the $300 and they placed the box in her car. When she arrived home, she called police to report the transaction. An officer checked the system, which appeared new, and confirmed its serial number was not in a database of stolen goods. A check around the area of the ATM yielded no sign of the men or their tan Ford Explorer.

Jan. 26

Bustin’ loose

10:53 a.m., 5500 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Animal call: Police were called to Joan Durante Park on a report of a dog running loose. When the officer arrived, there were no dogs off the leash in the park.

Can’t park here

7:18 p.m., 100 block of North Shore Road

Parking: A car without a proper license tag or placard was cited for parking in a handicapped spot on North Shore Road. 

Gotta stop

8:30 p.m., 600 block of Broadway Street

Traffic: An officer on patrol watched as a car rolled through a stop sign at Broadway Street and Gulf of Mexico Drive. The driver was stopped, and the Bradenton man was checked for a valid license along with any record of wants or arrest warrants. With all paperwork in order, the driver was given a verbal warning. The driver said he wasn’t paying attention after a long work shift.

Jan. 27

Mystery woman

11:10 a.m., 700 block of Bayport Way

Suspicious circumstance: A man called police in the morning to report a parking-lot encounter with a woman who he said accused him of nearly hitting her with his car. The man said he had returned to his condo parking lot the night before and was approached by woman who said she had nearly been hit by his car while riding her bike. She photographed him, his car and his license plate before riding off. The man said he didn’t recognize her, hadn’t seen anyone riding a bike while driving and didn’t know what she was talking about. The man wanted to file a report in case she returned.

Stopped up

11:21 a.m., 500 block of Chipping Lane

Public service: A homeowner reported a possible sewage backup to police in their neighborhood. Once the officer arrived, he was told the town’s Utilities Department had already been notified of the problem.

Jan. 28

Move over or slow down

9:15 a.m., 5600 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Traffic: The driver of a car registered in Virginia was given a written warning after failing to slow down for a patrol car on the side of the road. The patrol car’s officer clocked the car at 45 mph while working on a traffic stop with another driver. The officer made contact with the Virginia car’s driver and issued a written warning in connection with Florida’s Move Over law, which requires drivers to slow to 20 mph when passing a first-responder on the side of the road, if changing lanes away from the shoulder is not possible.

Helping out

6:21 p.m., 600 Companion Way

Assist other agencies: Two Longboat Key officers were sent to assist the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office with the apprehension of a man on a felony arrest warrant within the town limits. The man, wanted on a charge of grand theft, was taken into custody without incident.

Jan. 29

Grandson is safe

11:51 a.m., 600 block of Emerald Harbor Drive

Phone scam: A man notified police to report a phone call he received an hour earlier regarding his grandson being in jail. The man said the caller asked for a large sum of cash and requested a return call when the money had been arranged. Instead, the man called his grandson, to confirm his safety, and police to report the attempted scam. Police recommended the man no longer engage with the callers, if they called back. Also, the armored truck the caller said would be by pick up the cash never arrived.

High-flying complaint

1:46 p.m., 100 block of Sand Point

Suspicious circumstance: Police were called to a condominium community about a drone flying in the neighborhood. The caller said she had seen the drone and its operator nearby and learned it was involved in an aerial photography session for the unit, which was on the real estate market. Police told the caller such a use of a drone to make photographs for a property sale was allowed.

Alarming

2:23 p.m., 600 block of Halyard Lane

Alarm activation: Workers with Florida Power & Light, while replacing an electrical meter at a home, inadvertently set off a home’s intruder alarm. An officer sent to investigate the alarm found the home secure.

Enlightening law

6:24 p.m., Linley Street boat ramp

Boating violation: Five days after an initial investigation, an officer returned to the Linley Street boat ramp to check on a sailboat. Previously, the boat displayed no functioning anchor light. Upon his follow-up investigation, the officer found the boat still was without an illuminated anchor light. The anchor lights were illuminated on all the surrounding vessels at anchor. Based on the boat’s registration numbers, a citation was mailed to the boat owner.

Jan. 30

Who’s calling, please?

7:09 a.m., 3500 block of Fair Oaks Court

Abandoned 911 call: An officer responded to a community clubhouse in response to a dropped 911 call. When he arrived, he found no one nearby. The officer reported responding to a similar call two weeks earlier and surmised there might be a faulty phone line at that address.

Hurt on the job

2:18 p.m., 700 block of Binnacle Point Drive

Rescue: Police and Fire Rescue responded to a report of an injured man at a job site. The man had been working in a ditch removing a water pipe, which he was told was not pressurized. Once he began removing the pipe, pressurized water drove the pipe at him, hitting him in the abdomen. He was taken to Blake Memorial Hospital.

Welcome to Longboat Key

11:45 p.m., 3300 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Suspicious person: A woman standing in the 3300 block of GMD told police she had a reservation at a nearby gulf-front resort and had no way to get there. Police gave her a ride and assured she successfully checked in.