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 suburbs.
AND NOW, TICKLING THE IVORIES . . .
Just before 4:30 p.m. Feb. 3, Winchester police received a call from a woman who reported a surprise musical guest at her house — a squirrel inside the piano. By the time an officer arrived, however, there was no sign of the critter. “The officer couldn’t find a squirrel in the piano,’’ said Lieutenant Peter MacDonnell, “or anywhere else in the house.’’
DUDE, THAT’S NOT COOL
Problems with hoverboards — which don’t really hover, but are actually more like two-wheeled motorized scooters — have been reported all over the country. From Dec. 1 through Feb. 17, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission received reports of 52 hoverboard fires resulting in over $2 million in property damage, including the destruction of two homes and a car. Fortunately, that was not the case in Hopkinton not too long ago. A few minutes after 9:30 p.m. Feb. 10, Hopkinton police received a call from Eastview Road reporting that a hoverboard was sparking outside in the snow. Someone — police weren’t sure who, exactly — threw the overheated toy into the snow, which apparently did the trick. When police and firefighters arrived at the scene, they found that the sparks had subsided and the emergency had passed.
THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT?
At 11:14 p.m. Feb. 20, Salem police responded to a report of a disturbance at a pizza parlor on Essex Street. An employee there told police that a man smelling of alcohol entered the pizza shop and ordered a sub, and when his order was presented to him in a way he didn’t like, he became irate and “attempted to throw a napkin holder at the staff.’’ Thankfully, he couldn’t quite manage that, so no one was hurt. By the time officers arrived, the angry customer was long gone. The staff was advised to call the police if he returned.
YET ANOTHER UNHAPPY CUSTOMER
At 1:30 p.m. Feb. 21, Saugus police were sent to Madrag, a women’s clothing store at the Square One Mall. The manager told police that a female customer hit her and threw hangers at her, and then left the store. The responding officer was unable to identify the customer from surveillance video; once again, store personnel were asked to contact police if she paid a return visit.
WHAT WOULD ELVIS DO?
At 7:55 p.m. Jan. 18, Saugus police received a call from the Red Roof Inn on Route 1, where a patron in room 231 reported that his shoes had been stolen. Not just any shoes, mind you: blue suede shoes.
SHOE THIEVES STRIKE AGAIN
Another theft of footwear was reported in Brookline on the morning of Feb. 8. At 9:40 a.m. a caller on High Street reported that a pair of shoes — no indication in the report that this pair was tune-worthy — had disappeared from the hallway outside the resident’s unit.
WELL, WE ALL END UP THERE EVENTUALLY
At 6:20 p.m. Jan. 20, Bridgewater police responded to a report of a driver who, while following a GPS signal, mistakenly drove into a cemetery on Cross Street, knocking over several gravestones. The vehicle was towed.
MODERN-DAY TREASURE HUNT
At 5:23 p.m. Feb. 16, Milford police received a call from a woman who said her daughter saw two men put what looked to be a package under the base of a light post between Panera Bread and Jo-Ann Fabric. Police responded and reported it was a clue for a geotracking game.
OFFICER, THE TURKEYS MADE ME DO IT
On the morning of Feb. 10, Beverly police pulled over a driver for speeding on Dodge Street. The officer reported in the log that the driver was “extremely argumentative’’ and “initially claimed turkeys in the road caused her to speed.’’ No dice, though: She got a citation. Wrote the officer: “I did not observe any turkeys on the road.’’
PRIVATE EYES ARE WATCHING
At 9:27 a.m. Jan. 26, Burlington police received a call about a suspicious person in a blue Honda Civic who appeared to be shooting video of a house for 45 minutes. This report proved quite accurate: The videographer was a private investigator.
THE GLOBE’S HERE!
At 4:06 a.m. Jan. 28, Walpole police received a call about two suspicious-looking people in a Kia on Clear Pond Drive. Officers located the Kia and spoke to its occupants, who turned out to be delivering copies of The Boston Globe.
Emily Sweeney can be reached at esweeney@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @emilysweeney.
