Police rescue an owl from a soccer net
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.
WHAT A SAVE
On the morning of Feb. 22, Littleton police Officer Jared Richard got to lend a helping hand to a feathered friend that was tangled up in a soccer net. The owl appeared to be uninjured once it was freed from the netting, but was taken by the animal control officer to be evaluated by a wildlife specialist as a precautionary measure, police wrote on Facebook. The animal control officer also reminded residents to remove any kind of sporting nets when not in use, to prevent owls and other wildlife from getting hurt.
GERMOPHOBE WITH A TEMPER
At 7 p.m. Feb. 24, MBTA Transit Police officers arrested a 34-year-old man after he attacked an employee at McDonald’s at South Station in Boston. According to Transit Police, the unruly customer allegedly struck the employee several times with his fists because he “became upset when the employee touched the lid of his drink.” The McDonald’s staff member was treated at the scene, and the patron was taken to Transit Police headquarters for booking.
ESCAPING WAS A PIPE DREAM
A man who was running from police after he was allegedly involved in a domestic incident chose an interesting place to hide in Worcester. On Feb. 28, the Telegram & Gazette reported that the man was taken into custody near the Worcester Arts Magnet School after he tried to make his getaway in a sewer drain that runs underneath the roadway at the intersection of Erie Avenue and Country Club Boulevard. (When we asked if it was an actual sewer drain, Lieutenant Sean Murtha said, ‘Based on the descriptions it was more like a culvert,’ which makes more sense). As a result of that unsuccessful jaunt in the pipe, the suspect and several officers got wet, and the wanted man ended up in handcuffs.
SLOW MOTION CRASH
At approximately 5:17 p.m. Feb. 24, police responded after a 61-year-old Winchester woman crashed her vehicle into a utility pole in front of 371 Park Ave. in Arlington. According to the police report, witnesses said they saw the driver “slumped over” the wheel as if she were asleep or unconscious while the vehicle was traveling less than 5 miles per hour, then mounted a curb and hit the pole. The vehicle came to rest on the sidewalk with its engine running. Several bystanders approached and helped turn it off before police arrived. The airbags had not deployed and the woman in the driver’s seat didn’t appear to be injured, but she was arrested for suspicion of operating under the influence. Police said they would also be seeking charges of leaving the scene of property damage for an incident minutes before, negligent operation of a motor vehicle, and marked lanes violation.
CHOCOLATE MILK MISHAP
On Feb. 7, Bourne police contacted their counterparts in Sandwich after receiving a call from a man in town who reported that he’d swallowed a chocolate milk cap. “The man was a past [Sandwich Police Department] customer and was not satisfied with the service we provided so he instead contacted Bourne,” police wrote on Facebook. “That’s not how things work in law enforcement so Sandwich dispatch made contact. He was not receptive.” The man opted to drive himself to get medical care, and a relative explained in more detail what happened. “Officers spoke to a family member who reported the man was not choking and had not actually swallowed the cap, but rather the ring that goes around the cap,” police wrote. “The man drove himself to a healthcare facility to be evaluated.”