- December 5, 2025
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8 p.m., 4900 block of Village Gardens Drive
Family dispute: Complaining that her son had locked himself in the guest room of her home, the complainant wanted officers to have him removed from the property. Officers were told the son had returned to the home between 6 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. that evening, having been absent for three days following a previous dispute.
Officers convinced the man it was in his best interest to step out of the bedroom and have a conversation with them. Both parties agreed they had been arguing over the efficacy of a substance abuse program he had recently been attending and, given the events of the rest of the call for service, mother knew best.
The man was reported to be having trouble following the gist of the conversation, had visceral emotional responses to statements made by his mother, had trouble modulating the volume and tone of his speech and was unable to sit still.
The collective observations prompted officers to draw the logical conclusion that the man was, at that moment, under the influence of unknown narcotics. Once officers requested the man leave the premises, the situation changed upon learning the home was also his residence. At that, the complainant was advised of the civil eviction process. As no criminal action had occurred, no further action was taken.
3:30 a.m., intersection of Main Street and Indian Place
Disturbance: Officers on downtown patrol responded to a call in reference to an unknown subject who allegedly threatened the complainant with a butcher knife. Upon arrival, they were unable to locate either the caller or the subject, but while canvassing the area made contact with a male and a female on a bench near the intersection of Main Street and Osprey Avenue.
Asked if they had witnessed anything unusual in the area, the man advised that only a few minutes prior an unknown black male approached and made multiple threats to kill them. The man said he brandished a small pocket knife in the event he needed to defend himself.
He advised the unknown subject walked away from the area and described him as a bald-headed black male wearing shorts and dark T-shirt, carrying a grocery bag. A man matching that description was located by an officer shortly afterward a few blocks away, learning he was the original caller.
The subject was described as verbally aggressive toward officers and did not wish to speak with them regarding the call. He said the man officers previously spoke with pulled a butcher knife on him and then, according to the incident report, his statements became nonsensical and he began to spit in officers’ direction. That earned him a set of handcuffs and placement in custody under the Baker Act.
After being placed in the back seat of the patrol vehicle, the man began spitting several times on the partition glass that separated officers from the subject. That earned him a spit shield placed over his head and a ride to Sarasota Memorial Hospital. Once there, he continued his erratic behavior and was administered sedation medication by hospital staff.
1:46 a.m., 1400 block of Main Street
Battery: A security guard at a downtown establishment told a responding officer he witnessed a white male subject yelling across the street at a black male and white female couple who were traversing the sidewalk. He said the white male was the instigator in the incident as he crossed the street and a fight broke out.
The black male told the officer the combatant had been harassing him and his wife, then followed them from across the street to the point of the physical conflict. He said the white male had been shouting racial slurs and was threatening the couple, His wife confirmed the account of the incident, adding that her husband was first punched in the face and he countered the blow by striking the man with what was described in the incident report as a hammer.
Upon being interviewed, the white male subject said he was yelling at them because they were “junkies” and he didn’t want them around.
Burying the lead, deep in the incident report was the fact that the black male was in a wheelchair and, video surveillance provided to the officer showed, stood up from the chair and made first contact with the white male by pushing him to the ground before beating him about the head and neck with the blunt instrument.
While EMS tended to the white male’s facial lacerations, the officer watched the provided video, noting that he did not punch the black male first, contradicting the couple’s story.
The conclusion drawn that the incident was mutual combat as the white male declined to press charges for the beat down.
