Every day, police officers respond to reports of all sorts of events and nonevents, most of which never make the news. Here is a sampling of lesser-known — but no less noteworthy — incidents from police log books (a.k.a. blotters) in our communities.
MEET MANCHESTER-BY-THE-SEA’S NEWEST OFFICER
Seems like more and more police departments are adding comfort dogs to their rosters, and Manchester-by-the-Sea is among the latest. Police Chief Todd Fitzgerald recently announced the arrival of Daisy, a five-month-old female yellow Labrador retriever who’s the department’s newest officer (and first comfort dog). She arrived on April 17 and has been assigned to work with School Resource Officer Andrea Locke. Daisy’s duties include providing support to the town’s senior population as well as students, faculty, and staff of the Manchester Essex Regional School District, and serving as a department ambassador downtown and at Masconomo Park and during community events. “While a comfort dog can create positive interactions within a community, it also can greatly assist with our public safety work,” Fitzgerald said. “A dog can be a calming influence when we meet with a child victim or witness, provide a sense of comfort during a mental health intervention, and reduce the stress felt by residents during a critical incident.”
GROSS HOTEL ROOM CRASHERS
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On April 20, two wedding guests who were staying at an inn in Sandwich returned to their room after attending the nuptials and discovered “two strange men passed out in their beds,” police wrote on Facebook. The women were unable to wake up the sleepy duo, so they called police and met the officers at the front desk, and gave them a description of the two suspects, who were taken into custody. “Officers went to the room and observed a pair of men’s Nike shoes outside the door, nip bottles on the desk and a vomit covered bathroom,” the Facebook post said. “It was confirmed all of it was the result of the men’s bender, not the registered guests. While investigating, the Ripped Van Winkles returned to the room. They could not explain how they ended up in the wrong room and blamed the innkeepers for their situation. Because of their level of intoxication and demeanor, the men were provided accommodations at 255 Cotuit Road [Sandwich Police Department]. We will also be giving them a lousy Yelp review because their level of behavior did not improve at our fine establishment.”
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OUT OF BOUNDS
At 11:01 a.m. April 29, Stow police received a complaint from a resident of Wheeler Road who reported that his neighbor was hitting golf balls into his yard. Police spoke to the golfer, and no damages were reported.
PARENTING ADVICE
On April 22, Sandwich police officers were called to help mediate a dispute over parental discipline. “A teen failed to clean his room so Dad decided to ground the kid by taking the license plates from their vehicle,” police wrote on Facebook. “Mom did not agree with the punishment and contended Dad had committed a crime by removing the plates of a vehicle not registered to him. She did not want her husband charged with the crime, but wanted officers to convince him to return the plates. An officer passed along her request to her spouse.”
ARCADE ARGUMENT
At 9:54 a.m. April 13, Bridgewater police received a 911 call from someone in Central Square who reported a dispute over an Asteroids arcade video game. Apparently, the argument didn’t escalate any further, because police reported that peace was successfully restored.
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BEAR BEWARE
On April 23, Wrentham Police Chief Bill McGrath posted a photo of a bear on Facebook that was taken two days before on Foxboro Road. “This bear was trying to get to the bird seed in a feeder which was hanging from someone’s porch window,” the Facebook post said. “I suggest anyone with bird feeders to take them down and to be cautious when leaving trash/food outside. Try to avoid doing so if possible.”
Emily Sweeney can be reached at emily.sweeney@globe.com. Follow her @emilysweeney and on Instagram @emilysweeney22.