Police Beat

by Noell Wolfgram Evans

Fore!

Sept. 10 – A Broadview Heights couple was enjoying a quiet evening on the patio when they were abruptly interrupted by a flying golf club. The home sits next to a golf course. The golf club in question sailed over their fence and into the side of the house. The female resident ran to the course but only found golfers driving away. And at that, a golf cart vs. angry resident race commenced, but she was unable to catch the perpetrator. Eventually remorse set in and the golfer returned to the home to retrieve the club and discuss how to help with the damages caused.

Off to the races

Sept. 1 – Drivers on I-77 found themselves unwilling participants in an Indy 500-style race. The lead cars were a Broadview Heights patrol car and a dark blue Mazda. The officer in the patrol car was observing traffic on the 60-mph stretch of highway when the Mazda zipped by at a tidy 98 mph, and they were off! The patrol car hit 80 mph, but the Mazda was up to the challenge, topping out at 120 mph in the stretch. The driver of the Mazda pulled one out of the playbook and exited at state Route 18, crossed four lanes and got right back on I-77. The officer had seen that trick before and kept pace. When the suspect vehicle reached a construction zone, the officer was able to get close enough to get a strong look at the lead-footed driver. The pursuit was eventually called off, but based on the visual information and the information obtained from the license plate, police have issued a warrant for the driver’s arrest.

Oh, you meant drinking?

Sept. 2 – A Broadview Heights police officer approached the passenger side of a car he had just pulled over for speeding when the officer detected a faint smell of alcohol and asked the driver if he had been drinking. The driver’s “No” response was still hanging in the air when a half-opened bottle of tequila rolled out from under the passenger’s seat.

The not-so-secret dumper

Sept. 22 – The property manager of a Broadview Heights apartment complex asked for help with a mystery dumper. The manager had observed a nonresident dumping trash into the complex’s compactor. Using security footage, the trash-ridden driver was identified and an officer advised her that she would need to stop taking her trash on a joyride across town and would need to find a different way to dispose of it.

Who tracks the tracker?

Sept. 14 – A Broadview Heights resident stopped at the police department because she thought she was being tracked. She told the officer she had her car serviced the day before and the mechanic asked if she was aware that there was a tracking device attached to her OBD II port. The resident was shocked and went to the police for help. When the officer got into the car to try and retrieve the tracker, he discovered it was gone. To add to the mystery, the mechanic has gone silent and has not answered any calls.

The paper (?!) scam

Sept. 14 – At a time when so many scammers are using digital outlets, such as phones and social media, to try and trick their victims, there is something almost quaint about the scam attempted at a local pharmacy. A pharmacist alerted the Broadview Heights Police Department that someone tried to fill a prescription using a piece of paper. The woman who dropped the prescription off said it was for her uncle. The pharmacist recognized the prescription was illegitimate, so when the uncle called to check on it, the pharmacist told him it had to be special ordered and to check back later. To date, the uncle has not attempted to pick it up.

A man of his word

Sept. 17 – The manager of a Broadview Heights company called police to share a voicemail he received from an angry customer. In the message, which was directed at an employee, the customer said he was “A man of his word” and he has been “living to kill.” To show the urgency of his anger, he then threatened to “come up there next week or the week after.” The police called the customer who admitted to leaving the message and then said the one thing you always want to say to the police: “I’m not afraid of burning that whole building down.” After the customer hung up, a warrant was written for his arrest.

Nothing legal

Sept. 22 – A Broadview Heights officer patrolling I-77 caught a car passing by with dark tinted windows. The officer decided to follow and, in doing so, ran the car’s plates only to discover that the driver had an open warrant. The officer pulled the car over and visually identified that the person behind the wheel was, in fact, the wanted individual. After putting him in the cruiser, an inventory was made of his car in preparation of a tow. That’s when a glass pipe was discovered. The officer asked the man what it was. His response was simply “it is nothing legal.”