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.
THAT CAT IN THE TREE? SHOVE OVER
When a man in Natick learned that his neighbor’s cat was stuck up in a tree on a recent Wednesday morning, he did the gentlemanly thing and attempted to rescue the feline. But the task proved to be far more difficult than he imagined. As he kept ascending, the cat remained elusive. Too late, our hero realized he had reached a point that now he, too, was stranded. Left with no other options, he called 911 for help. Police officers and firefighters responded and helped get him — and the cat — back to terra firma.
HEY, LOOK AT ME
At 3:30 p.m. July 21, a motorist called Hingham police to report that the driver ahead of him was standing through the sunroof while driving. Police pulled the vehicle over and questioned its 6-foot-7 driver. He was arrested, but not for reckless driving. You would think someone calling attention to himself in such a way would know better: He was driving with a suspended license.
ATTENTION, SHOPPER
At 10:18 p.m. July 6, Melrose police received a 911 call from a shopper who reported that he’d gotten locked in at the CVS on Main Street. Apparently, he wasn’t aware the store closes at 10 p.m. every day. Police were quickly able to rectify the situation. “We contacted the store manager,’’ Lieutenant Mark Decroteau said. “The manager responded and unlocked [the] door.’’
WHY NOT AN EVEN HUNDRED?
Stocking up on essential clothing can make sense, but there are limits, and it’s always better to pay. A 52-year-old Somerville woman was charged with stealing 96 pairs of panties from the Natick Mall earlier this month. According to the Middlesex district attorney’s office, the woman admitted to the crime when confronted by police. She was charged with receiving stolen property and trespassing and is due back in court Aug. 19. The underwear was worth $784, according to the DA’s office.
THE YES AND NO OF POKEMON GO
Police departments across the state are getting lots of calls about Pokemon Go, the augmented reality game that’s all the rage these days. The smartphone app is like a virtual scavenger hunt that draws people out to all sorts of random places, at all hours of the day and night. As a result, police are receiving many reports of suspicious activity and people wandering around places where they shouldn’t be. (In Southern California, two men fell off a cliff while playing the game; both survived). It’s almost impossible to pick out the most notable game-related sightings in our neck of the woods. The guy in a brown GMC pickup on East Main Street in Norton playing the game at 2:19 a.m July 14? The four people found sitting in a gray vehicle at the rear of Oak Grove Cemetery in Peabody July 18? (The woman who called that one in feared they were using or dealing drugs.) The large gathering found playing the game at 10:10 p.m. July 15 at the Breakheart Reservation in Saugus? Police had to disperse that crew. On the flip side, Pokemon Go players who are out and about have also alerted police to several incidents. For example, one Pokemon Go player earlier this month stumbled upon the body of a man floating in a brook behind the New Hampshire Holocaust Memorial in Nashua. Another player in Sandwich discovered a fire in a nail salon and notified the fire department. If he hadn’t been outside to notice it, the fire might have spread and caused more damage, officials said.
Emily Sweeney can be reached at esweeney@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @emilysweeney.
