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Village Police Reports – 2018 highlights
- Published: December 27, 2018
We appreciate the hard work of the Yellow Springs Police Department throughout the year to keep the community safe. But in the weekly Village Police Reports, there are usually a few items that are “head scratchers.” Here are some of our favorite colorful and unusual items from the past year’s YSPD reports.
Oh, never mind…
On Christmas Day, Monday, Dec. 25, 2017, police were called for a welfare check to a local residence. The officer deduced that, while all present were intoxicated, there was no injury observed, and the officer left.
At 5:46 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 3, a caller on West North College Street reported having returned home from vacation, but was unable to get into his house, as the front door and garage door seemed to be frozen shut. After investigating, the responding officer found that house cleaners had locked the deadbolt on the front door without the residents’ knowledge. The officer unlocked the door and got the residents inside.
About 8 p.m. Monday, Feb. 26, a caller reported that her vehicle had been taken from the laundromat parking lot sometime after 3 p.m. Police checked in with the Greene County Sheriff’s Office, which had no report of a repossession, as well as the laundromat owner, who said the vehicle had not been towed. The car owner called back about 9:22 p.m. to report that her vehicle had “suddenly showed up with the keys in it.”
On March 29 at 8 a.m., a caller reported that men were stealing the tires off his truck. Police contacted the caller and found he was confused about the vehicle’s ownership.
At about 3 a.m. Monday, May 28, officers observed a subject who appeared to be passed out in a vehicle on Railroad Street. A welfare check confirmed that the subject, the vehicle’s owner, was merely sleeping and all was in order.
About 12:35 a.m. Saturday, July 28, a caller reported witnessing a vehicle, either an SUV or a Jeep, hit a light pole at the corner of Corry Street and Xenia Avenue. The caller said the driver got out, looked at the damage, then got back in and left the area.
About 2:15 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 2, a caller reported a suspicious vehicle in a parking lot on Kahoe Lane. The caller said that two men were lying low in the vehicle, “as to go unnoticed,” and the license plate was out of state. The responding officer found two men in Terminex work shirts reclined in their vehicle with hats over their faces. The men said they were on break and taking a nap. Their explanation checked out, and the officer asked them to move and park somewhere else.
About 12:35 p.m. on Oct. 27, police were called to check on a white male with a bike sitting near the Hyde Road covered bridge, as he appeared distraught. An officer found the man wheeling a presumably discarded air conditioning unit on his bike. He stated he was fine — just hungover — and needed no assistance.
Around 1:30 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 4, a patrol observed individuals “hanging out in the vehicle listening to music.” Officers checked to make sure everything was okay. All was in order.
On Monday, Nov. 26, about 12:24 p.m., a caller reported a suspicious person inside the UPS truck with the UPS driver. The other person turned out to be a seasonal employee.
On Tuesday, Dec. 4, about 10:12 a.m., a caller reported hearing a noise in their home, but could not find where it was coming from, or tell if it was inside or outside. The responding officer found the noise to be coming from a child’s computer game.
Critters…
On Sunday, Feb. 4, about 2:30 a.m., an officer was flagged down by a pedestrian to report a possible deer strike in the 900 block of Dayton Street. The officer found a “dazed,” but otherwise seemingly uninjured animal at the intersection of Dayton and Wright streets. The deer was guided to a nearby yard and seemed to be recovering.
An animal complaint on Monday, Feb. 5, resulted in this conclusion from the responding officer: “no large wild cat seen in the area.”
Another caller later that day reported a different complaint: a brown bulldog, off its leash, had startled a deer in his yard.
Just before 2 a.m. on Sunday, March 18, a caller reported people hanging out in her backyard. The responding officer spotted a raccoon.
About 5:45 a.m. Wednesday, April 25, a cow was reported in the roadway on Polecat Road at the Little Miami Scenic Bike Path spur. A contact for the adjacent farm was notified.
A caller at 5:25 p.m. Monday, June 11, reported a live animal in her wood stove, inside the house. The responding officer suggested she call a “critter getter” for a quote, and assured the resident that the animal couldn’t get out.
Two dogs were chasing cows in a nearby pasture according to a caller from Polecat Road near North Walnut Street around 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 3. The caller told police the dogs may belong to the “cow owners” because a Gator is out there with them. Police found the Gator and the cows did belong to the property owners.
A Northwood Drive caller told police at 6:17 p.m. on Oct. 4 that a cow was on the loose in the area and was headed toward Polecat Road. By 6:38 p.m. the cow was back in its pasture and the owner promised to repair a section of fence.
A caller reported five pigs were running loose on Cemetery Street about 1:50 p.m. on Oct. 25. An officer went to Flying Mouse Farms to notify the owner of the pigs, who returned them safely to the farm.
Friends and Neighbors…
On Dec. 29 a villager reported to police that while her friends used her car over the past week, they had received about $200 in toll fines that she was responsible for. She asked police to help her remove the fines, and was advised to complete necessary paperwork.
Jan. 13, a caller on East Whiteman Street reported a suspicious person on her property. The responding officer found a known man gathering wood; there seemed to be a misunderstanding concerning the caller’s property line. The man agreed to return the wood.
The resident on East Whiteman Street who reported the previous week that a local man had taken wood from her property, called about 11 a.m. on Jan. 18, to report that the man, who had said he wasn’t aware of the property line and agreed to return the wood, did not bring it all back. The resident called about 3 p.m. to say she was still waiting for return of the remaining bundles.
A local resident called 911 at 8:41 p.m. May 8, to report that she couldn’t find her cell phone and suspected that her landlord took it in retribution for losing a court case against her that morning. On Saturday, May 12, about 3:36 p.m., the landlord called to report that the tenant, who had since moved out, had taken his microwave oven.
Around 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 17, a caller told police that she heard noises and was concerned a neighbor may be harming themselves. Police found the person was frustrated over a can opener.
The wild life…
At 1:15 p.m., Friday, Jan. 5, a person came to the police station to file a report about an incident that happened at a bar. The complainant said that an unwanted male sat down at a table where he, his wife and two other people were sitting. The man grew upset and aggressive, pulled down his pants and exposed himself to the group. The complainant said the man also said lewd and disturbing things to his party, so they left.
A report at 7:40 p.m., Feb. 27, of a suspicious person brought an officer to the area, where the officer found a vehicle that was leaving and a strong odor of marijuana coming from the Glen. Further exploration located no source for the odor.
Just before 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 6, a caller reported the sound of someone, potentially intoxicated or high, singing at the skate park. Police checked the area but did not locate a singing individual.
Just past 10 p.m. on May 27, a caller from Miami Township Fire-Rescue station told police they had spotted a naked man. Police found the man at the corner of Corry Street and Xenia Avenue, naked. For walking in public naked, police cited him for disorderly conduct, a minor misdemeanor. He was also cited for public indecency, a misdemeanor of the fourth degree, for recklessly exposing his private parts.
A caller at about 2:40 a.m. Saturday, June 9, reported that four empty kegs that had been placed to block off the Peach’s Grill parking lot for Street Fair had been stolen.
About 3:30 a.m. Friday, June 15, police investigated a suspicious looking vehicle at Railroad and Dayton streets and found two people asleep in the back seat with the vehicle running. According to one officer’s narrative: “Both [subjects] admitted to have been drinking earlier in the night at the Gulch, however I did not smell any alcoholic beverage. Both individuals seemed oriented with no slurred speech. Both subjects were valid drivers with no warrants. Both were asked to get out of the vehicle once they were clothed.” Officers drove the female home, and the male said he would walk to a nearby friend’s home.
On June 29 at 2:42 p.m., a caller told police that two teenagers on the grounds of Mills Lawn Elementary School might be engaged in intimate behavior in the “blue tube.” Police spoke to the teenagers, who were not being intimate, and gave them advice.
Small town life…
A person entered a downtown business through a side door after hours on March 18, indicating to police that he did not know the business closed at 3 p.m. Police contacted the business’ key holders.
At 8:20 p.m. May 3, a caller at the inter- section of East Enon Road and Dayton St. reported a child riding a bike westbound on Dayton-Yellow Springs Road. An officer caught up with the six-year-old at Snypp Road. In the process of returning the boy home, the officer stopped first at the Antioch School “to return a borrowed bike.”
About 7:20 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 29, a caller requested a “tall” officer’s help in turning off a fan the caller couldn’t reach. The woman’s daughter then called immediately after and said she would go to her mother’s home and take care of the fan.
At 2:21 p.m. on Oct. 6, a West Limestone St. caller complained of loud music and voices. They were told the source of the music was Porchfest.
A woman called on Oct. 31 to report that she was house- and pet-sitting, and took the dogs for a walk, but locked herself out of the house. At around 4:30 p.m., police assisted by entering through a bathroom window.
About 5:17 on Nov. 22, a caller reported that her neighbor’s front door was wide open, and that her dog was loose. The car was in the drive, but nobody was visible inside. An officer checked to find the door was closed, the dog inside and the resident present. She said the turkey she was cooking had been smoking up the house, so she had opened doors and windows to vent the smoke, and the dog got loose.
Just plain weird…
On Thursday, April 12, at 7:30 p.m., police went out to Corry St., where witnesses reported that a vehicle had been struck twice by two different cars. Police took pictures and left a note on the damaged vehicle.
At 8:30 a.m. Thursday, May 10, a caller in the 300 block of Corry St. reported that she had found flour scattered across the sidewalk and a patch of grass that looked to have been burned.
Police were called to a Wright St. address at 10 a.m. Friday, Aug. 17, on a report that a neighbor was in the caller’s driveway taking pictures of cars driving by and checking license plates. The person in question was gone when police arrived.
An Antioch student reported at 4:40 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 18, that he had tried to purchase a vehicle online. The funds were taken but no vehicle had been delivered.
At 11:37 p.m. on Nov. 23, a caller reported a suspicious vehicle with North Carolina plates outside the library. On arrival, the caller told police the vehicle had been driving up and down Davis St. and appeared to be lost. The officer spotted the vehicle and pulled it over to find the driver had been playing Pokemon Go.
On Wednesday, Dec. 5, around 5:57 p.m., police received a report of a trespasser. The caller said someone broke into their home and washed his clothes in their bathtub. The clothes were still in the tub when the resident placed the call.
On Dec. 6 around 9:57 a.m. a caller reported that she had been a victim of identity theft. About 10:47 a.m., she reported receiving a text alert from MasterCard that an unusual transaction at UGG.com had been charged to her card.
One Response to “Village Police Reports – 2018 highlights”
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Again this year I see an article entitled Village Police Reports – 2018 highlights. I wish the YS News would do straight reporting of police incidents in town. And report all incidents, without any flourishes to make them sound “funny” or “cute”. (Some incidents and crimes we need to be aware of never appear in the police report at all).
Laughing at someone is bullying, and no one should ever fear being ridiculed for calling for help. A call for help should never be considered funny. I am thinking back to a resident that was having a medical emergency that involved privacy due to the nature of his disease in 2017 (which eventually resulted in his death)and the series of police reports during his medical crisis calling for help, where the YS News not only inadvertently outed him, but ridiculed him, because the calls sounded bizarre. The only necessity I could see for how it was reported was either to be “funny” or to appear in a future column or book. It may have been unintentional, or innocent, but the result was public humiliation at a time of devastating crisis for him and his family.
Quit making fun of people. Do you think the person on the such & such block of such & such street might not think twice about reporting a real emergency after being laughed at? People’s confusion, disabilities, inabilities, fears, or suspicions are not funny. Laughing at them IS bullying. Funny things do happen, but we can discern them on our own, without emphasis or a spotlight.