Resident asks officers for help removing raccoon from car grill

Friday, November 15th

Cat in the wall

6:06 p.m., 3800 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Animal problem: A resident called 911 and asked for help getting a cat out of a wall. A Longboat Key police officer called the resident and said the department does not respond to animal calls like this. Luckily, the caller said the cat got free from the wall.

Fishermen are fishermen

9:07 p.m., Firehouse Lane

Suspicious person: An officer responded to a report of a group of people milling about in the local area. Upon arrival, the officer spoke to the group of men who were legally parked on the side of the road and were retrieving fishing equipment from their vehicle. The officer did not observe any suspicious activity and the group was able to go fishing unhindered.

Sunday, November 17th

Raccoon stuck in car grill

12:35 p.m., 6700 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Support other agencies: While on patrol, an officer was flagged down by a concerned citizen who said he was traveling on Gulf of Mexico Drive when he encountered a raccoon running into the road. The man said he stopped in a safe place and found the raccoon behind the grille of his car. Manatee County Animal Control was requested to assist and arrived on the scene to recover the raccoon, which was miraculously unharmed. According to the animal control officer, the raccoon was later released.

wedding celebrations

11:04 p.m., 4000 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Civil servant: An officer on patrol noticed a man tripping in the middle of the southbound bike path and Gulf of Mexico Drive bike path. The officer approached the man, who said he had left a wedding at a nearby resort. The man was able to call a friend, who arrived shortly afterwards, and the two were given a free ride back to their hotel.

Monday, November 18th

Debris clearance in progress

6:18 p.m., 2800 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Civil servant: A resident called to report a suspicious person bulldozing debris behind a property and dumping the debris on the beach. An officer arrived on scene and spoke with the man who was operating a Bobcat machine. The man said he was cleaning up for a hotel owner and the officer did not see any debris dumped on the beach. No further police action was necessary.

Tuesday, November 19th

Car out of service

11:31 p.m., 400 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Suspicious vehicle: During a night patrol, an officer noticed a car parked in a gated commercial lot. The officer checked to make sure the vehicle had not been reported stolen or abandoned and checked to see if anyone was inside. There was no one inside, but a note taped to the windshield said the car would be towed the next morning because of a flat tire.

Wednesday, November 20th

What’s in the water?

12:17 p.m., 4400 block of Exeter Drive

Suspicious incident: Dispatch assigned a Longboat Key officer to investigate a call where a citizen said something was in the water, but it was not an emergency. The caller hung up and said it was not an emergency. However, in the background of the call, a woman could be heard disagreeing. An officer responded to the scene and searched the nearby body of water but was unable to locate anyone in distress or anything else that would require intervention. Bystanders said they didn’t hear or see anything unusual.

Thursday, November 21st

Suspicious railroad ties

9:17 a.m., 600 block of Cedar Street

Suspicious incident: A resident called Longboat Key police for help because she may have illegally dumped two railroad ties in front of her home. When the officer arrived, the homeowner said about a week earlier that she had been disposing of furniture and other trash after her home was devastated by the hurricanes. At that time there were no railroad ties on their property. After the furniture was removed, she noticed the large railroad ties and believed her neighbor was responsible, although she had no evidence. Without witnesses or evidence, the officer said it was most likely her responsibility to remove the railroad ties, not the neighbor’s.