Longboat Key Cops Corner: The smell of something dangerous

May 5

Deep search

8:54 a.m., 5300 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Fire/gas leak: Police and fire-rescue units responded to a shopping plaza on a report of a gas leak. Police blocked the entrance of the plaza while fire-rescue personnel evacuated the businesses and looked for the source of a reported odor.

May 9

Ticket, no ticket

8:10 a.m., 100 block of  Gulf of Mexico Drive

Parking: An officer on patrol spotted a vehicle parked improperly near town property on the south end of the island. As the officer began to write a ticket, a man approached and said he was a contractor for the town, hired to spray for invasive plants. The ticket was destroyed.

Making sure

11:06 a.m., 300 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Alarm: Police responded to a report of an activated intruder alarm at a condominium community. Upon investigation, two officers found a sliding door to the residence unlocked. They announced their presence, went inside and found everything in order, with no sign of a forced entry. As they left, the sliding door locked behind them. A community security guard supplied the officers with a name and telephone number, but they were unable to contact the owner.

That’s us

2:13 p.m., 500 block of Neptune Avenue

Parking: Police received a call about unauthorized parking inside a private condominium community. The caller said several people parked vehicles, then walked across to a closed-to-vehicles public beach access point in the 2800 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive. Officers spoke to several groups of people on the beach about the situation. Two groups gathered up their beach gear and left.

Matter of degree

3:40 p.m., off the key

Disturbance: A complaint of loud music was registered with police, and the marine patrol unit was sent to investigate. Once at the scene, officers reported the music volume did not seem excessive and was consistent from several sources.

Two + two + dog

4:41 p.m., 2800 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Animal complaint: A police officer called to the scene of a reported problem with an animal on the beach encountered two women with two small children and a dog. The group was informed only bonafide service dogs were allowed on the beach. The women said they were not aware of such a town rule and agreed to leave.

A little help

5:36 p.m., off the key

Assist other agencies: Longboat Police was called on to help the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officer with a suspect in  custody. The police department’s marine patrol unit made contact with the FWC officer on Jewfish Key and transported the officer and the person in custody to the Coquina Beach boat ramp without incident.

The wheels came off (really)

8:51 p.m., 6000 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Disabled vehicle: While on patrol, an officer encountered a truck and boat trailer combination pulled off to the side of Gulf of Mexico Drive. The driver of the truck told the officer the wheels had fallen off the boat trailer’s passenger side, and he had steered the rig off the road the best he could. The officer marked the disabled trailer with traffic cones. The driver later contacted the officer to say he had been able to move the trailer. The officer retrieved the traffic cones.

May 10

Didn’t look both ways

9:09 a.m., 6600 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Animal: An officer was advised there was a dead animal on the road. Once there to investigate, the officer determined the possum had likely been hit by a vehicle. He moved it to the side of the road for the town’s Public Works Department to remove.

No leash, no good

12:31 p.m., 100 block of Seabreeze Avenue

Animal: An officer spoke with a woman accompanied by an unleashed dog near a beach access point. The officer made clear the woman understood that dogs were not allowed on the beach, and they should be leashed. The woman asked where the nearest dog beach was, and the officer referred her to a spot in Bradenton.

Tale of the tape

7:45 p.m., 100 block of Broadway Street

Parking: A vehicle was found parked in a closed-to-vehicles beach access parking lot. The officer who cited the vehicle for parking in violation of town rules, noted that tape used to block off parking space was found on the ground alongside the out of state vehicle.  

May 13

Technology assist

9:45 a.m., 6900 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Traffic: The town’s license-plate recognition system signaled to officers that a vehicle with an expired registration was heading northbound through town. An officer performed a traffic stop and explained to the driver what the situation was. The driver said the vehicle belonged to her husband. The officer cited the driver and said the registration was more than six months overdue.

No parking, part I

6:16 p.m., 6300 block of Gulfside Road

Parking: A vehicle parked within 20 feet of a No Parking sign was cited. The vehicle was parked on the roadway near a beach access point, closed because of the town’s regulations connected to the COVID-19 pandemic.

No parking, part 2

11:25 p.m., 100 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Parking: A vehicle parked along the southern end of the island was ticketed for improper parking on a bridge.

May 14

Lighter load

11:36 p.m., police headquarters

Lost property: A cyclist stopped in to the police station to report losing a small, blue lunch box while riding on the north end of the island. The lunch box contained a sport drink and a car key fob.