Every day, police officers respond to reports of all sorts of events and non-events, 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 suburbs.
AS THE DAY HE WAS BORN
Just before 10:30 p.m. Nov. 21, Quincy police were told a naked man was running around outside an apartment building on Des Moines Road. A woman officer sent to the scene soon spotted the guy, punching and kicking another fellow, who was, thankfully, fully dressed. She separated the combatants; the guy in his birthday suit, she would report later, was "reeking of alcohol and unsteady on his feet." She soon learned the reason for his behavior: He was celebrating his birthday, drinking, obviously to excess. His friend deduced as much, he told the officer, when the birthday boy stripped and decided it was a good time for a little fresh air. The friend said he tried to head that move off by blocking the door, but the guy simply climbed out the window. When the friend tried to get him back inside, the fight started, and the friend became the victim, punched and kicked. His 24-year-old pal — happy birthday! — was charged with domestic assault and battery and open and gross lewdness. At this station, he was afforded a change of clothes.
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MIND YOUR WEAPON
There are firearms stolen under cover of darkness and those brazenly snatched in the full light of day. The latter was apparently the case Dec. 3 in Mansfield, when someone target shooting at the Mansfield Fish & Game range off East Street told police his firearm was taken as he was down range setting a target. He said he saw it happen from a distance and chased the thief into nearby woods, but lost him. Police entered the stolen gun into the National Crime Information Center’s database.
THE POLS WERE AT HIS FEET
At 4 p.m. the same day in Melrose, police received a call from a contractor trapped up on the roof of City Hall. How’d he manage that? Apparently he’d stepped outside to do some work and the door locked shut behind him. Police notified the fire department and City Hall officials, and the contractor was soon back on terra firma. It could have been worse: He might have been without a cellphone.
I'D LIKE AN EARLIER TEE TIME
Meanwhile, in Peabody, getting trapped seems to be something of a cottage industry of late. On Nov. 8, a woman called police to say she was locked inside the Sports Medicine North building on the aptly named Orthopedic Drive. She managed to find her way out on her own. Not so the woman who called two days later who needed help getting out of the Meadow at Peabody Golf Course on Granite Street. In that case, responding officers tracked down a key to open the gate. Three days later, it happened again at the same golf course: A man stuck inside the parking lot was let out and the gates again secured. But the Meadow holds no monopoly on such incidents: Late on the evening of Nov. 19, a woman reported being trapped behind a golf course gate — this time that of the Salem Country Club on Forest Street.
TOO BIG TO FAIL? NOT THIS BANK
If it’s not golf courses, it’s banks. Over in Norwood, a Bank of America ATM on Walpole Street started playing the no-escape-for-humans game Dec. 10. Just before 1:30 a.m. that day, someone flagged down an officer to report that the ATM’s door was locking improperly. Police notified the bank’s security offiicials, but whatever fix they implemented apparently didn’t take. At 6:30 a.m. police were told someone was stuck inside the bank. Officers responded, propped the door open, and notified bank security a second time.
GET ME TO THE CHURCH, EVENTUALLY
At 3:11 p.m. Dec. 12, a man called Norwood police to report that his wife had left the house five minutes previously, and now he couldn’t find her. While the dispatcher was taking down the information, the caller stepped outside and — Wait! Never mind! His life partner was sitting in their car, waiting patiently to go to church.
DO AS I SAY, NOT AS I DO
Just before 10 p.m. Dec. 14, a motorist called police to report a southbound Toyota being operated erratically on Route 24 in Brockton. Not just any Toyota, mind you: This one belonged to a driving school and bore student driver placards. State Trooper Brent Pereira followed the car’s erratic path onto Route 106 into West Bridgewater before pulling it over. The driver, a 62-year-old Brockton man, was arrested and charged with operating under the influence of alcohol and committing a marked lanes violation.
Emily Sweeney can be reached at esweeney@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @emilysweeney.