Bangor PD's Facebook feed is your friend

Let it not be said that some of Maine's police officers do not possess a sense of humor or humanity. If it's not Detective Napijalo finding stolen mascot plushies and most recently writing a comic book for all ages, then it's the anonymous and quirky officer who is currently running the Facebook feed for Bangor Police Department.

If you have been missing the sidelong wit of Maine's old Police Blotter columns in local newspapers (gone the way of the birds, mostly), you will be delighted. If you have yet to check out their feed, then YOU ARE MISSING OUT!
https://www.facebook.com/Bangor-Maine-Police-Department-227432866078/

For instance:
1) One police officer was able to save a tiny chihuahua from a fire last week in spite of a biting from the nervous young lady pup. He tells the story better than I do:

In a celebration of National Puppy day we share the following information.

A structure fire on Hammond Street was discovered by Officer Jordan Bragan while on routine patrol. Bragan alerted folks to get out of the adjacent apartments by pounding on doors and waking those in danger.

Bragan also was able to enter an apartment in order to grab a 6 pound Chihuahua named either Bella or Stella. The pooch refused to come out. Nice save, Bragan. "Don't drop the Chalupa." It is unclear if he will add that slogan to his new tattoo. The dog is fine. He would have done it even if it was not National Puppy Day.

Bragan was bitten by Stella/Bella while carrying her from the building. He was wearing his gloves and was not seriously injured. We could hear him verbalize "doooohhhh" from his cruiser camera audio recording. We are putting it on Sgt. Bushey's mix-tape.

Bangor Fire arrived at the scene and put out the fire. Nice work ladies and gents.

Otherwise, several arrests for various illegal activity and someone dropped off donuts. They are all gone.

Have an awesome Thursday. We will be here!

Or how about
2) The way they handle reminding us all (duh) to lock our doors:

Please folks, if I gave you advice on financial decisions, food selection, roofing materials or what kind of flatware you should buy, ignore it. I know very little about those things.

My idea of a good investment is one which returns just fifty percent of my initial outlay. Flatware pulled from the McDonald's bag has been used on many a night in my little world and I think discarded street signs look pretty cool as a stopgap measure on the camp roof. I am not promoting taking street signs. I said discarded. Read all the words before contacting my supervisor.

I rethought my first paragraph and have decided that my food selection skills are superb. Add a half a cap of apple cider vinegar to your drawn butter when using it dip your steamed clams or lobster. You will be thanking me soon after the meal, possibly naming your next child after me. This child will be well behaved, a heck of a pool player and will move out of your house after his or her 36th birthday. I was a late bloomer as well. Trust me. I work for the government. Get it right. Capital T. Capital C. Sounds like "easy", and rearing him/her will be just that. Their middle name should be, Tangy-Goodness.

What does all that rambling have to do with police work. Nothing. You expect too much from me.

I need you to lock your stinking car doors. All over Bangor, we are dealing with a roaming dipstick or dipsticks that are ransacking your belongings, dropping your registration paperwork on the floor of the Civic and taking things of value. How hard is this for us? Obviously, it is tougher than I think.

Lock your doors. Just use the little button on the remote, hold down the mushroom looking thingie on the door, push forward or backward on that tab near the handle. They even make it easy by marking it with orange. Lock it. Lock it. Lock it.

Some of us might even remember next time as a result of this.

I would be remiss if I neglected to mention Westbrook Police Department's feed, which is regularly updated with useful and helpful info, including major traffic updates when roads are closed due to crashes, links to confidential victim support services, historic photos from the force archives, pics of new and outstanding personnel, photos of suspects they are trying to identify, etc.
https://www.facebook.com/WestbrookPD/

Portland Police Department is online on Facebook as well, and they seem to be trying to up their game in recent weeks in an effort at matching Bangor's outreach. Let's hope they continue! We need it here, guys. I'm serious!:
https://www.facebook.com/Portland-Maine-Police-Department-121900037821056/

NOTE: For those wanting to know more details, Portland Police Department Detective Andjelko Napijalo's comic book, Nightmare Warriors, is being launched by a Kickstarter campaign (47 hours left and it's just over its goal). If you want to check it out, here it is:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/34629306/nightmare-warriors

Here's to all of Maine's women and men in blue, and especially to those who handle such a difficult and frustrating job by finding a way through all the stress to help us with a smile on their face or by offering a helping hand in the worst times of need and distress. Thanks for doing a job that would drive me into a straightjacket. Thanks for being on the other end when we call. Thanks for having a sense of humor when you hear things like, "Oh, nope -- he just dropped the bullhorn out the window." We're glad to have you here beside us in the light AND the darkness before the dawn.

If you love your Maine PD's Facebook feed or have a favorite weekly Maine police blotter that's still running, please feel free to recommend it in the comments, and I will post it! :)

BOOM! Timing is everything!

Portland Daily Sun's Bob Higgins points out the timing of Maine Legislature's unexpected attempts to re-legalize fireworks in the Pine Tree State looks almost as though they were trying to shoot themselves in the foot. Why else would they time the debate to occur during Portland Firefighters Children’s Burn Foundation “Burn Awareness Week”?

Yep.

If properly used under adult supervision, fireworks are no more dangerous than sparklers. But everybody forgets that last part about adult supervision. Adults have a hard enough time supervising themselves in this state, evidence being on the weekly police blotter. Let’s not add to the number of folks nicknamed “Lefty.”

Read the full run-down here:
http://portlanddailysun.me/opinion/story/burn-notice-fireworks-issue-timing

Photo by Michelle Souliere. July 4th, 2007, fireworks on the Eastern Prom in Portland, ME.

Bludgeoned by truck!

I popped onto the Mount Desert Islander newspaper website to check their police blotter (thanks to Nicole, who gave me the link and recommended the site back in October). And what rewards!!! Right off the bat, I was greeted by this bizarre headline:

Island Police: Driver bludgeons building with truck
Tuesday, February 24, 2009

BAR HARBOR — Police across Hancock County are on the lookout for a GMC pickup that allegedly struck the building housing the closed Nakorn Thai restaurant on Cottage Street Saturday evening. A witness to the events described seeing a maroon pickup stop at a stop sign on Federal Street, at the intersection with Cottage Street across from the restaurant. The driver of the truck then reportedly squealed the truck’s tires on the ground, flew across Cottage Street, went up and over the sidewalk, across the Nakorn Thai parking lot, and slammed into the building. The vehicle then backed up and drove up Kennebec Street, according to the report.
[...]
A woman reported seeing a broken window with a curtain blowing in and out of it on an upstairs floor of the Ledgelawn Inn Feb. 13. Police notified a contact person for the inn.
[...]
A blue “snowflake” flag was reported stolen from in front of a Main Street business Feb. 13. A number of similar flags, which announce that a business is open during the winter, have been reported stolen from downtown locations within the past weeks.
[...]

Mount Desert

A 15-horsepower Mercury outboard motor was reported stolen Feb. 13 from a boat at the Bartlett’s Island Landing.

That same day, a Seal Harbor woman complained about two men who came to her door wanting to talk about religion. She told police the men were aggressive and that she became frightened. The men left when the woman asked them to leave. The incident is under investigation.

[...]

View the complete blotter report here: [Source]

In Maine, it's easy to remember the adage that "Truth is stranger than fiction"!

Cat spat erupts on coast!

Okay, once again we return to the fertile ground of police blotterdom, with a lively entry on an otherwise quiet week, as printed by the Ellsworth American earlier this month:

Police Called to Mediate Cat Spat
Written by Jennifer Osborn
Tuesday, February 03, 2009

ELLSWORTH — Maine State Police Trooper Greg Burns responded to a dispute between an East Machias couple who had been arguing over having too many cats.

Burns said the man became upset because it was his birthday and he felt that his wife cared more about the cats than him. At one point during the argument, the man chased one of the cats out of the room with a hammer.

The trooper referred the couple to family support agencies.

Read full blotter report here: [Source]

A week later, the suspicious disappearance of a can of tuna was reported to authorities. What do you think, gentle reader? Did the dread cats do it???

Woman Reports Can of Tuna Stolen
Written by Cyndi Wood
Tuesday, February 10, 2009

BUCKSPORT — A Main Street resident reported someone had been in her apartment Jan. 29.

Reported missing was one can of tuna valued at $1. There was no sign of forced entry.
[...]
Suspicious Person

A man reportedly yelled and kicked at passing vehicles on Route 1 Jan. 27 when the drivers would not give him a ride. An officer gave the man a ride to the town line.

Read full blotter report here: [Source]

Yep. Dig it!

Police blotter cornucopia!

Kudos to the Gazette Editor who runs the Gab with the Gazette blog, which archives the Police Blotter returns each week in the area. I've read a lot of police blotters, and the best editors really go the distance in titling their entries, making the reading all the more entertaining. These guys really take the cake! (You can read other culled police blotter reports that Strange Maine has stumbled across before here.)

DON’T SHOOT THE MESSENGER
A caller reported being harassed while delivering newspapers.

ATTACK OF THE GERMS
A caller reported they had a sneezing spell, drove off the road, and hit a sign with their vehicle on County Road.

[Source]

SO IF I PAY, DO I KEEP THE ORANGE JUMPSUIT?
A caller from Main Street requested to speak with an officer regarding their bail conditions.

BRITNEY SPEARS IN MAINE? PART TWO
A caller from Ossipee Trail reported a suspicious female carrying an infant that was not properly attired.

WATCH OUT FOR MY KID
A Ridgeway Drive resident requested to speak to police in regard to their child’s driving behavior.

[Source]

The Gazette Newspaper serves Gorham, Buxton, Hollis, Limington and Standish.

Police blotter bonanza

I wound up with a copy of the Biddeford-Saco-OOB Courier from January 18, 2007, after working on the Emptyhouse Film zombie movie "2" (the Courier had run an article about the production). I was getting ready to dispose of the rest of the issue when I noticed they have a great blotter on page 25, "Police Notes." This is some priceless stuff! The staff is to be commended for their excellent efforts in titling each item of interest.

For your enjoyment, I will transcribe the best of the bunch.

Police Notes
Biddeford
Lost laundry
Police received a call about a basket of laundry in the roadway. The caller said he picked up the laundry and moved it to the McDonald's parking lot. Officers were unable to locate the laundry.

Not a bank robber
Police responded to a call about a man that was pacing in front of the Biddeford Savings Bank for more than 10 minutes. Police approached the subject and learned he was simply waiting for a bus.
[I wonder if they offered him a ride? --M]

They're all going to laugh at you
A woman called police and claimed harassment after she alleged that a group of people were laughing at her at Common Connection.

Saco
Big money
A vehicle on Ura Street was burglarized. The owners reported $1 worth of items stolen.

Bah Humbug
The baby Jesus in a nativity scene in front of Notre Dame Church was stolen. It was valued at $100.
[Maybe it was time for him to move on? --M]

Darn teenagers
A 13-year-old girl was reported as a runaway shortly before being recovered in front of city hall on Main Street.

For those who, like myself on slow nights, enjoy the mild entertainment factor of unambitious crimes and confused call-ins about suspicious activity, the Courier has kindly made available the text files of their issues online, which you can search for Police Notes, and come up with a bumper crop of your own reading material. Here's the link:
Search the Courier for more Police Notes material!

The latest addition, as of the writing of this post, was from August 21st, and included such fabulous items as:

NIGHT SWIMMERS

Police took a report of people swimming in a resident’s pool at 2:30 a.m. The caller reported at the time they thought it may have been an animal that made a splash in the pool, but upon waking they found a table broken by a person who stepped on it.
[What?!! --M]

HOW DO YOU LIKE THEM APPLES?

A person called police to report area juveniles had thrown apples at her vehicle. When police spoke with the woman, she said she was angry and admitted to making up the story about her vehicle being struck by the apples.

What are you waiting for?! Go read more!

Some Police Blotter Shenanigans

Courtesy of the Police Log from the Kennebec Journal Morning Sentinel's Saturday, July 14th edition, an assortment of tidbits from south of Portland:

IN CARATUNK, Thursday evening, a caller reported a dog bit someone on Main Street. (Ow.)

IN WATERVILLE, Friday at 12:36 p.m., an Elm Street caller reported that her estranged husband called and told her he was sending another woman to beat her up.

8:29 a.m., a Leighton Street caller reported that two strange men were near his home. Police warned a man for trespassing. (If police got calls every time someone saw strange people near their home in Portland, they'd never get any rest!)

8:14 a.m., an Elm Street caller said he believed his neighbor broke his car antenna during the night. (I bet he met with a poor reception.)

7:41 p.m., a Water Street caller told police that someone was in his house taking his food, but he did not wish to file a report. Police warned the caller about misusing the 911 emergency line.

11:49 a.m., a Rice Rips Road caller said he had a video of his neighbor committing indecent exposure. (...and he just happened to be filming?)

IN WINSLOW, Thursday at 6:16 p.m., police received a call from a woman who said she was on probation and had just hit someone. (Whoops!)

BLOTTER: Who's Serving Who?

The October 5, 2006, issue of the Windham Independent reported in their Police Scanner column the following:

Sept. 26, 7:11pm -- A 17 year old was charged with furnishing alcohol to a minor. He has been released to his parents. Officer Robert Hunt and Sgt. Michael Denbow made the arrest.

Our question is, was he serving himself?

But Did They See Who Did It?

Revisiting the theme of local police blotters, we find ourselves perusing the Biddeford/Saco/OOB Courier's blotter to read:

Security issues
A local business reported that a security camera had been stolen.

A tip of the hat to the New England Anomaly's own Amos Quito for pointing out this treasure trove.

Like other favorites of ours, the Courier excels at their police blotter in part because of fabulously amusing title headings customized to each report. More examples follow:

Making a deposit?A beagle named Buddy was reported lost on Main Street near City Hall. The wayward dog was located a short while later at the Pepperell Savings Bank.

Being proactive
A man called to report that he had suddenly come upon a stopped school bus on West Street and, because it was just around a corner, was unable to stop in time, so he passed the stopped bus as it was discharging children. At that time, police had not received any call from the school department.

Who won?
A caller advised that the second-floor tenants were making a lot of noise, and that it sounded like they were wrestling. Police responded and interviewed a man and his wife, who said they had been wrestling.

Too realistic
A caller reported the neighbors next door were having an argument and throwing things around. Police discovered that the neighbors were watching wrestling on television with the surround sound turned up. They were warned about the noise.

Stop the presses
A Fortunes Rocks resident reported seeing a suspicious vehicle stopping at every house in the neighborhood. Police located the vehicle and determined the driver was delivering newspapers.

Don’t worry, be happy
Police were dispatched to River Road for a report of a young male lying in the roadway. Two passersby parked their cars in the road to prevent anyone from running over the man, but said they were too afraid to check on him. Police arrived and found the man to be “conscious, alert and extremely happy.” The situation was resolved without need for a rescue.

Another commuter
Police received a report of a moose running down Alfred Street toward Sanford. County and state police were notified.

But was he Italian?
An employee at a local restaurant called to report a male customer acting intoxicated and unruly. He was described as wearing a white buttoned-down shirt with blue stripes and that he “appears Italian with a long face and strong, bold chin.” The employee thought he had left in a vehicle, and police stopped that vehicle, only to learn the man in question was not there. An alert was issued to Maine State Police.

Skunky Revenge

Beth Pulsipher of Damariscotta noticed a strange item in the local police blotter, and blogged about it at Red Moon Antiques - the Vintage Blogger:

An officer had issued a summons to a local man for applying skunk scent to the front steps of the village hall. Skunk scent is usually made from skunk musk gland, and is extremely difficult to remove from fabric - like carpeting.

[snip]

It didn't take too long for the village officials to determine who the likely suspect was, and after an investigation by the police department, a summons was issued. No mention was made of why this individual was so mad at the village officials, but he certainly found an unusual way to get even.

A Traveling Lord of the Flies

In my pursuit of community newspapers and their police logs, I stumbled upon the Windham Independent. While their police call column could not compare in pure strangeness to "The Blotter" in the Gorham Times, Windham's community newspaper did carry a column called News of the Weird. While this isn't about a local incident, it's bizarro factor compells me to share it. It's really inexplicable.

"Long Island, N.Y., bus driver Michael Cianci, 38, was chareged in April with child-endangerment for allegedly setting up a hierarchical social structure to enforce discipline among the Tottenville sixth-graders who rode what he called his "Death Cheese Bus." Cianci, who was the "Emperor" had a 12-tiered ranking system, from "Lord" to the low-end "Speds" ("special education"). Police said Cianci permitted his high-ranking enforcers to rough up misbehaving kids."

Wow. Not much you can say about that, except I really wish I knew how and why he came up with the name Death Cheese Bus.

Crimes of Education

Almost as much fun as the Forecaster's police blotter on some weeks, the USM Free Press reports on crimes occurring on their campuses. The April 10th issue had a motley assortment of these, including:

March 21 -- Someone burnt a wall poster in Upton Hastings Hall. (Incendiary censorship, or just the result of our recent dry climate conditions? Poof!)

March 22 -- Someone reported a subject throwing fireworks at the windows of Portland Hall from the rear parking lot. (And what subject would that be? Surely not gentle Sociology. More likely that rowdy subject, Statistics. Ha!)

March 23 -- Someone reported cash was taken from her purse while it was in the Continuing Education Center. Ther have been several similar incidents recently. (The high cost of education. Not content to leave us all in debt, now they are taking petty cash from our belongings.)

March 24 -- USM Police had a Portland Hall resident's car towed becuase of unpaid fines. The police have also charged the owner of the car with theft of a parking boot. (Wait... did they place the boot on the car, have it towed, and then charge the owner with theft of the boot? Much akin to the practice of banks charging overdraft fees on top of overdraft fees.)

March 24 -- On the same date, someone reported a group of intoxicated underage people harassing the residents of Dickey Wood Hall on the Gorham campus. (If you live in a hall called "Dickey Wood," you're bound to be harassed sooner or later, liquor or no liquor.)

Odd Police Calls

After Michelle's May 2nd post about the Police Beat column in the Forecaster, it seemed like the perfect time to put in a plug for the Gorham Times and their police call log entitled "The Blotter." When viewing The Blotter you can always count on two things: 1) there are some very odd calls; and 2) cows are roaming the streets. Here are my favorite odd items from the first part of the year.

School St. caller wanted to know if it was okay to show dirty pictures from a cell phone. Her neighbor came over, entered the apartment without knocking, and showed her the pictures, which she believed were pictures of his anatomy.

Maple Drive caller wanted police to keep an eye out for her cell phone which she lost somwhere between Gorham and Bangor.

Vehicle ran over a shopping cart several times in a Main St. parking lot, and then the driver got out of the vehicle and threw the cart. There was no damage to the cart but the driver was issued a ticket for parking in a handicapped spot.

Brackett St. caller reported a suspicious man standing in the yard for the past twenty minutes. Officer confirmed it was a neighbor.

Clerk reported a male threw a burrito at him. Suspect had left the store. Burrito had been paid for.

Eight to ten cows were loose on Cummings Road and this time were eating the neighbors trees and shrubs and were up against the house doing damage.

Caller reported man dressed in all black standing on the sidewalk by a Main St. store. Man was waiting for a ride from his father.

Beech Circle caller reported he had brought a friend over to his house for a visit and they had been drinking. Friend was now urinating all over the house. Office responded to the scene to do an evaluation of level of intoxication.

Suspicious activity on Ossipee Trail was a family looking for a new car.

Files Road caller reported that a male had forced his way into the residence through the door. Caller then decided maybe she dreamed the incident because she thought she let him in but now realized she is still in bed.

Wood Road caller reported gate at farm was open and a herd of cows was loose, running towards Route 25. Officer advised he had called owner of the approximately 50 loose cows and owner was coming to help gather them up.

All Manner of Fuss

The Forecaster has some interesting and often seemingly minor events mentioned each week in its Police Beat. In its April 13th issue I found a few that for one reason or another caught my eye (my commentary in red):

Where's the Dirt? 4/7/06 at 3:56am -- Someone requested to see an officer about a confrontation in a lot while he was sweeping. No complaint was filed.
Now... these people are very busy at 4:00 in the morning, no? Gives new meaning to the Maine work ethic. I wonder what the confrontation was about?

Argument. 4/8/06 at 3:25am -- A mother and daughter were arguing over usage of a computer.
Again, I am wondering what in the world these people are doing in the wee hours of the morning. Apparently, arguing over computer use. Iiiiinteresting.

Thirst for Knowledge. 4/8/06 at 10:14am -- A 16-year-old who was reported missing was seen walking to the library where he was located and taken home.
No, you will not be allowed to read books. NO! A thousand times no.

Other times, the titling of the articles is the funnest part of the deal.
Bad delivery. 4/9/06 at 9:05am -- A mailbox was smashed on East Main Street.

Then again, sometimes the language used to write up the incident provokes unwonted hilarity and/or confusion.
Suspicious. 4/2/06 at 12:48am -- Two men were at the rear of a residence on Durham Road. Police couldn't locate them.

The Forecaster has a wonderfully individual take on the police blotter action that always entertains while informing, and I've enjoyed it for years. The paper is available on a weekly basis in a handful of localized editions in most newstands. I get mine at the Back Bay Hannaford's in Portland, or at Granny's Burritos on Fore Street.