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02 28 14 JTF1     The latest from the Mendota Heights Police Department SUPPORT STAFF Kim Henning Trista Miller Becky Pentel POLICE OFFICERS Jerry Murphy Scott Patrick John Larrive Bobby Lambert Tanner Spicer Todd Rosse Jeff Vonfeldt Steven Meyer Denise Urmann Michael Shepard Peyton Fleming SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICER Jennifer Fordham INVESTIGATIONS Mario Reyes Chad Willson SERGEANTS Neil Garlock Brian Convery Eric Petersen RESERVES Randy Pentel Jim Knox Jeff Parker George Castillo CHAPLAINS Frances Cuenca Joel Detlefsen Lynn Liberman Butch Millett Sue Plucker John Snider David Wick Lenny Andrie CHIEF Mike Aschenbrener FEBRUARY 28, 2014 When Is Ice Safe? To be quite honest, there really is no answer as to whether or not the ice is safe. You cannot judge the strength of ice just by its appearance, age, thickness, temperature or whether or not the ice is covered with snow. Strength is all based on all these factors: The depth of water under the ice, size of the body of water, water chemistry and currents, the distribution of the load on the ice and local climatic conditions. Again, there is no such thing as 100% safe ice. Click Here for more information on ice safety Submitted By: Investigator Chad Willson The Mendota Heights Police Department is entering its 25th year of teaching the D.A.R.E. program. MHPD Ofϐicer/Investigator Mario Reyes has been teaching the program the entire 25 years! D.A.R.E., which is short for Drug Abuse Resistance Education is an international education program founded by the Los Angeles Police Chief, Daryl Gates in 1984. D.A.R.E. seeks to prevent the use of controlled drugs, membership in gangs and violent behavior. The program is taught by police ofϐicers who undergo 80 hours of special training in areas such as classroom management, teaching techniques and communication skills. In 1989 the Mendota Heights Police Chief, Dennis Delmont sent an ofϐicer to Springϐield, IL for two weeks to learn the D.A.R.E. program. When the training was completed, the Mendota Heights Police Department in cooperation with District #197 began teaching the D.A.R.E. program at Somerset and Mendota Elementary and also at Visitation school. All three schools welcomed the program and in 1990 Mendota Heights graduated its ϐirst D.A.R.E. class. The D.A.R.E. program has continued in Mendota Heights but is now only taught at Visitation school. The D.A.R.E. curriculum has undergone several changes in an effort to keep up with the times. The program has gone from 17 weeks to a 10 week program adding topics such as cannabis, volatile substances, bullying, anti‐social behavior, Internet safety, prescription drug abuse and over‐the‐counter drug abuse. Via the D.A.R.E. website, 36 million children around the world ‐ 26 million in the U.S. ‐ are part of the program. The program is implemented in 75% of the nation's school districts and 43 countries around the world. D.A.R.E. was one of the ϐirst national programs promoting zero tolerance. The D.A.R.E. program has received numerous accolades and awards for delivering the message to “keep kids off drugs and violence" and remains widely popular. 2     Theft Wednesday 1500 hours SRO Jennifer Fordham was made aware of a theft by a student that occurred inside the locker room. The victim stated his wallet was left inside the locker room by accident and a short time later he realized he did not have it so went back to the locker room to find the cash from the wallet was missing. Officer Fordham reviewed surveillance video to find a suspicious suspect inside of the locker room at an odd time when no one else was in there. In speaking with another teacher at the school, it turns out this suspect was waving around cash to other students. It was determined the suspect was the culprit and was issued a citation. Property Damage Accident Wednesday 0713 hours Officer Denise Urmann was dispatched to the intersection of Diane Road and Douglas Road on a school bus vs. vehicle property damage accident. In speaking with the driver of the vehicle, he stated he was not in- jured and had front left side damage to his vehicle. In speaking with the bus driver, she stated there were 4 children on the bus at the time, no injuries and there was a long scratch on the left side of the bus. The vehi- cle driver stated he was at a complete stop at the stop sign when the bus turned in front of him and ran into his stopped vehicle. The bus driver stated the vehicle must have been in her blind spot. Cleared. Theft Thursday 1539 hours Officer Scott Patrick was dispatched to the middle school on a report of a stolen cell phone. In meeting with the complainants, a father and son, they stated the phone was accidentally left in the locker room after gym class and when he went back to retrieve it, the phone was gone. Under investigation. Property Damage Accident Thursday 1929 hours Sergeant Eric Petersen responded to the intersection of Hwy 110 and Dodd Rd on a property damage acci- dent. Upon arrival, he met with the caller who said she had been rear-ended by another vehicle but as she started to speak with the other younger adult female, she said, “I’m not supposed to be out” and then left the scene without exchanging information. The caller was able to retrieve a license plate number and vehicle description. Pending contact with the driver of the suspect vehicle. DWI Friday 0118 hours While on routine patrol, Officer Steve Meyer observed a vehicle that was off the road and lodged in the snowbank. Officer Meyer stepped out of his vehicle to take a closer look and found the vehicle to be unoc- cupied yet still warm so clearly it hadn't been there long. He then noticed a pair of fresh footprints coming from the vehicle. Officer Meyer then followed the prints to find a man walking on the side of the road. The man stated he was coming from Walgreens and that he had left his vehicle there. Walgreens had been closed for quite some time so his story seemed fishy. The man said he did own that type of vehicle but hadn't driv- en it in awhile. The man agreed to go check out the vehicle. The smell of alcohol was prevalent and the man had slurred speech and poor balance. In searching the man, before allowing him in the squad, a key fob was found that matched the type of vehicle that was in the snowbank. In arriving to the vehicle, the key fob activated the abandoned vehicle therefore making the man guilty of the vehicle abandonment. The man was then given SFST’s which were all attempted yet he was unable to perform. The man was arrested for DWI and the vehicle was towed. 3     Mental Health Sunday 1741 hours Officer Michael Shepard was dispatched to location on a possible drunk driver who had just left the caller’s home. Upon arrival, he heard a very involved and convoluted story. Evidently the caller’s daughter had been dropped off by her live-in boyfriend and the daughter did not trust him. Past history with this daughter has shown her to be highly reactive and this incident was no different. The daughter shifted between being hysterical in her story-telling, to changing her story and becoming calm. When all was said and done, the story of the boyfriend appeared to be unrelated and non-criminal, but the daughter required crisis care as it appeared that she may have become overstimulated by medications and had no control over her behavior. She was taken in for observation. Theft Monday 1550 hours Officer Tanner Spicer took a report from a resident who suspected a former patient of committing credit card fraud. Suspect now lives out of state. Report to be forwarded to suspect’s jurisdiction where activity occurred. Lost Wallet Tuesday 1200 hours Complainant came in to report her wallet, accidentally left on a local gas station counter, was no longer there and believed to be stolen. She had cancelled all her cards but had identity theft concerns. Officer Bobby Lambert provided her with resources and report taken. Accidents: Isn’t all this snow and ice something else? Remember, slow down and take your time, especially as you ap- proach intersections and crosswalks and respect other vehicles on the road. We all need plenty of time and space to maneuver safely. Bus vs. Car Tuesday 1456 hours Officer Tanner Spicer took a car vs bus crash report. A car had attempted to pull over in order to ensure the bus could pass, but it wasn’t far enough. The bus and car did scrape sides and both had some damage. No charges, no accident report. Theft of Gas Wednesday 1719 hours Officer Bobby Lambert responded to an after the fact report of stolen gas. Employees reported that the young, tall and skinny suspect driver pumped the gas while the female passenger, wearing sweats, hoodie and hot pink trimmed shoes, had a smoke in the vehicle. Video showed helpful suspect info; pending contact from RO/suspect. Burglary Wednesday 2103 hours Officer Todd Rosse responded to an after the fact residential burglary. The homeowners had left the home accessible for cleaners and were gone most of the day. At some point, entry was made, but only their large TV was stolen; no other items in plain view were stolen. Forwarded to investigations. Kids vs Dangerous Temps! Within the past 10 days Officer Lambert was dispatched to separate calls involving cold children. Both were called in by passers-by who each observed a child walking, outside of school hours, in the cold. Thanks to these callers, one child received a warm ride home and the other a warm ride to school. We are grateful to those who summoned help! Be sure to discuss plans B & C with your child, no matter their age, in the event they miss their bus or a ride in extreme cold and heat! A few extra minutes of planning and reinforcement can prevent tragic consequences. 4     Every year, the City of Mendota Heights and neighboring cities offer Safety Camp thru Parks and Recreation. This is a summer camp for youth entering 3rd & 4th grade. To help fund this great program, the South St Paul VFW hosts a fabulous fish fry and a meat raffle fundraiser. Volunteers from all the city departments work this event. We hope you will come and join in the fun on Friday March 7 @ 5:00 pm! Please send us your positive feedback on our staff to: pdrecords@ mendota-heights.com Your feedback is greatly appreciated and helps boost the morale of our staff. Have a Safe Week! If you are a Mendota Heights resident and you are going out of town or on vacation, you can notify MHPD of your outing and we will be more than happy to keep a watchful eye on your home while you are away. Make your House Check Request online at www.mendota‐heights.com, visit us in the MHPD lobby to complete a form or call us and we will take your info over the phone. MHPD offers monthly Car Seat Safety Checks. To schedule an appointment, call 651.452.1366 to contact Ofϐicer Jennifer Fordham. MHPD has a Medication Disposal Box in the lobby of the PD where Dakota County residents can safely and anonymously dispose of their prescription drugs and over‐the‐counter medication. 2/21—2/27 2014 YTD Calls for Service 143 1336 Citations 32 362 Warnings 8 150 Police Reports 15 139 Response Time Average 6.25 5.95