The following are actual police reports as written by Longboat Key Police Officers. They are edited for length, punctuation and to protect privacy.
July 14
Citizen assist
9:51 a.m.
Officer Miklos responded to Yardarm Lane in reference to a citizen assist regarding a complainant who said two men were digging in his yard. Upon arrival, Officer Miklos came into contact with two men who did not speak English. Officer Miklos spoke to their supervisor via telephone who advised they were contracted by Comcast to replace main line and cables for the internet. The supervisor advised the men were on the public easement. Officer Miklos contacted the complainant and advised him that the workers were there contracted by Comcast and on the public easement. Case clear.
July 15
Juvenile problem
2:11 p.m.
Sgt. Puccio was dispatched to the Longboat Pass Bridge in reference to six juveniles jumping off the bridge into the water reported by the bridge tender. Upon arrival a check of both sides of the bridge by both road patrols and a check via the water was made by the marine unit which met with negative results. Sgt. Puccio made contact with the bridge tender who advised they had departed. Sgt. Puccio requested the marine unit stay in the area and conduct patrols in the event they return. Additionally, a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Marine Unit was also in the area on patrol. Case clear.
July 16
Traffic citation
2:28 a.m.
Officer Ferrigine while on patrol observed a gray vehicle in front of him with Florida temporary tags. Officer Ferrigine conducted an NCIC/FCIC check and it came back to no driver’s license assigned to the vehicle. Officer Ferrigine conducted a traffic stop in the 100 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive and made contact with the driver. The man handed the officer a Mexican Identification card. The man said he was aware he was not allowed to driver with his Mexico ID card. The driver was issued a notice to appear and was advised to park his vehicle until his friend came to take control of it. Case clear.
July 17
Boating
12:21 p.m.
Officer Connors while on marine patrol, was dispatched to Sarasota Bay, north of the John Ringling Bridge, for a report of an overturned personal watercraft with two occupants in the water, attempting to upright the watercraft. Upon arrival, a good Samaritan had picked up the female occupant from the water with the male occupant attempting to upright the personal watercraft. Officer Connors pulled the marine vessel alongside the overturned watercraft and assisted the man with up righting the vessel. The watercraft appeared to have taken on water making it unstable. Officer Connors assisted the woman over to the marine vessel from the good Samaritan’s vessel and continued to assist the man. Eventually, the man was able to get the personal watercraft stable enough and make its way to the 10th Street Boat Ramp. Officer Connors escorted the watercraft and transported the woman without incident. Case clear.
July 18
Suspicious vehicle
12:15 a.m.
Officer Montfort while conducting a property check of the CVS Store, observed a vehicle parked in the rear of the business in an unlit area. Officer Montfort exited his patrol vehicle and observed the vehicle which was unoccupied and cold to the touch. In plain vehicle, Officer Montfort observed several grocery bags and construction tools in the back seat. The area was checked for any subject matching the description of the registered owner with negative results. Case clear.
Citizen assist
1:00 p.m.
Officer Ramsaier was flagged down for a citizen’s assist at the 4000 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive in regards to the use of golf carts they drove in to get to Bayfront Park. Upon meeting the two individuals, they stated they were renting a house through AirBNB and as part of the agreement, they are allowed use of the homeowner’s golf carts. They flagged this officer down because they were concerned that they were not supposed to operate the golf carts this far down Longboat Key. Registered owner of golf carts and AirBNB, was contacted and said she was aware that the golf carts were in use and said that she may not have explained thoroughly enough of where the renters can operate golf carts. The two made arrangements with a towing company.
Citizen dispute
3:05 p.m.
Officer Ramsaier responded to Longboat Club Road for a call of a disturbance. Upon arrival, Officer Ramsaier met with the complainant who stated the approximately 10 people who were on the beach who were not supposed to be there. Upon arrival, Officer Ramsaier met with the complainant who stated they were guests of a tenant. Case clear.
Suspicious person
11:19 p.m.
Officer Martinez was dispatched to Bay Isles Parkway in regards to a report of a suspicious persons. The complainant advised that she saw a man inside a tractor trailer and that she was unsure if the man was allowed to be there. The address stated that the complainant is an active construction site for Publix with multiple persons operating in the area. The complainant refused to make contact with law enforcement for further questioning. No criminal nature involved, no further incident. Case clear.
July 19
Trespassing
1:58 p.m.
Officer Martinson responded to Longboat Club Road on a call of trespassing. Upon arrival, Officer Martinson spoke with the property manager outside in front of the condominium building. The manager stated there was a woman approximately 40 years old, 5’5” tall, medium build with short black hair and wearing a turquoise top with a striped bottom swimsuit sitting on a private beach chair on their property. The manager said when she asked the woman to leave since she is not a resident or a guest, the woman said no one was using the chair and refused to leave. Officer Martinson then walked out to the beach and the woman was gone. Case clear.
Noise from land
5:41 p.m.
Officer Martinson was dispatched to Buttonwood Drive on a call of a noise complaint. Upon arrival, Officer Martinson saw a construction crew cleaning up a bunch of debris. Officer Martinson did not hear any power tools being used or any music being played. Officer Martinson spoke with a man who stated they are a window instillation crew out of Miami and were not aware of any of the Town’s noise ordinances. The man was given a verbal warning. The man apologized and said they would be installing more windows tomorrow and will make sure not to work past 5 p.m. The construction crew was contracted by the window company. Case clear.
Suspicious incident
9:00 p.m.
Officer Smith was dispatched to the 3200 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive for a report of subjects using white lights on the beach. Officer Smith made contact with the man on the beach and informed him of the town ordinance regulating white lights during turtle nesting season. Case clear.
July 20
Injured bird
1:45 p.m.
Officer Miklos while on patrol, observed a white bird, possibly an egret, fly in front of a silver SUV. The SUV was unable to stop and struck the bird. Officer Miklos observed the bird attempt to fly away but was unable due to injuries to its wings. Officer Miklos called Save Our Seabirds and advised them of the injured bird. Save Our Seabirds advised they had someone en route to pick up the bird and gave an estimated arrival of 30 minutes. Case clear.
