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07 03 13 JTF1   7/3/2013  The latest from the Mendota Heights Police Department SUPPORT STAFF Kim Henning Susan Donovan Trista Miller Becky Pentel POLICE OFFICERS Jerry Murphy Scott Patrick John Larrive Bobby Lambert Tanner Spicer Todd Rosse Chad Willson Jeff Vonfeldt Steven Meyer Denise Urmann Michael Shepard Peyton Fleming SCHOOL RESOURCE OFC. Jennifer Fordham INVESTIGATIONS Mario Reyes Chad Willson SERGEANTS Neil Garlock Brian Convery Eric Petersen RESERVES Randy Pentel Jarrod Spicer Jim Knox Jeff Parker George Castillo CHAPLAINS Frances Cuenca Joel Detlefsen Lynn Liberman Butch Millett Sue Plucker John Snider David Wick CHIEF Mike Aschenbrener ”..And the rockets’ ‘red glare, the bombs bursting in air….” Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the signing of the Dec- laration of Independence on July 4, 1776. John Adams declared the signing of the Declaration would be “the most memorable epoch in the history of America….It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade...from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward, forever more.” And so, we give honor to this day in history, to honor “the land of the free, and the home of the brave.” Shake the hand this weekend of those who protect our freedom and safety. MENDOTA HEIGHTS FIREWORKS DISPLAY The Mendakota Country Club will be having July 4th ϐireworks for their members; non-members can also view the display at nearby streets & parking lots. The ϐireworks start at 10 p.m. on July 4th at: Mendakota Country Club, 2075 Mendakota Drive, Mendota Heights, MN 55120. PRESS RELEASE FROM MN STATE FIRE MARSHALL JERRY ROSENDAHL AĜĆėĊēĊĘĘ Ćēĉ PėĊĕĆėĆęĎĔē CĆē PėĊěĊēę FĎėĊĜĔėĐĘ IēďĚėĎĊĘ. Flying or exploding ϐireworks are illegal in Minnesota, but legal ϐireworks like sparklers , can burn up to 1,200 degrees and can be just as dangerous and cause injury. Fireworks injured 55 people (many of them children and teens) in Minnesota last year in June and July. 40% of those injured were under age 19. 60% of those injured were male. More ϐires are reported on the 4th of July than any other day and 40% of those are related to ϐireworks. Make sure your July 4 holiday fun doesn’t ϔizzle. Stay safe and only purchase and use Minnesota‐legal ϔireworks. Firework Safety Tips: Read instructions on each device. Always provide adult supervision and keep ϐireworks away from small children. Use ϐireworks far from animals, buildings, storage tanks, brush and other combustibles. Keep a bucket of water nearby to cool spent sparkler wires and extinguish other ϐireworks. Forbid anyone under the inϐluence of alcohol or drugs to use ϐireworks. Light one device at a time, and never attempt to relight a device that doesn't ignite the ϐirst time. If it looks damaged, don't use it. Legal Fireworks Illegal Fireworks Wire or wood sparklers Any size ϐirecrackers Snakes and glow worms Sky rockets Smoke devices Bottle rockets Snappers and drop cans Roman candles For a complete list of legal and illegal ϐireworks, please visit: https://dps.mn.gov/divisions/sfm/programs-services/Documents/Fireworks/FireworksList.pdf 2   7/3/2013  Medical Hold Up Friday 1412 hours A passerby called in stating an elderly male was being held up by some people. Officer Scott Pat- rick reported to the scene along with State Patrol and this was definitely not the case. The man had a medical issue and was transported to United. Medical Friday 1412 hours Officer Bobby Lambert responded to a local business on a man who passed out. The caller stated the man hit his head when he went down. Assisted in the transport and notification of family. Dog Attack Friday 1809 hours Caller reported his dog was attacked by another dog that was out on a walk with the owner. The dog suffered a broken leg in the attack. Officer Todd Rosse responded to the call and learned of the attack and the $500 vet bill. The owner of the attacking dog was advised of the situation and Officer Rosse assisted with ensuring the victim’s owner received reimbursement. No citations as the attacking dog’s owner is not a resident of our city. Recreational Fire Complaint Saturday 2037 hours Caller reported her neighbor had an unattended recreational fire in the neighbor’s fire pit. Officers Meyer and Shepard were busy assisting SPPD at an address in MH. The caller was advised the officers would clear when able and check the fire. The caller called back approximately 20 minutes later and screamed at the 911 dispatcher about the problem; Officer Meyer arrived on scene moments later after clearing with SPPD and spoke to the homeowner, who had allowed his recreational fire to rekindle. Officer Meyer dragged the hose to the fire, put it out and warned the homeowner, who suffers from a medical condition. The caller was advised of the action, but she was still not happy and took Officer Meyer’s business card. Clear-fire out. Noise Saturday 2054 hours Officer Shepard responded to a disturbance. Upon arrival he found a graduation party with a live band. In talking with the homeowner he learned they were playing the last song of the night. Jealous Feud Saturday 2236 hours Officer Tanner Spicer was dispatched to a home for an assault that happened earlier. Two young men had been disputing for a couple of weeks over a girl. After the one broke up with her, the other began to date her, driving the other to send threatening text messages and drive by the home. The two were encouraged to fight it out by friends and soon thereafter, the one male at- tacked the other, causing bruising and scrapes. Case under investigation. Medical Sunday 1217 hours Officer Bobby lambert responded to a passed-out spectator at Mendakota Park. While en route, he learned a doctor was on scene had already taken the person’s pulse and reported the patient had likely overheated. HealthEast ambulance transported the person to the hospital AOA Medical Sunday 1041 hours Officer Scott Patrick responded to a man down on the side of the freeway. After some confusion the vehicle and man were located in Eagan. Assisted EPD and HealthEast ambulance with party suffering from heat related injuries. Please send us your positive feedback! pdrecords@ mendota-heights.com Your feedback is greatly appreciated and helps boosts the morale of our staff. Officer Denise Urmann... received a note of thanks from the Parkview Plaza staff and residents for educating them on crime prevention They were all impressed and have agreed to make some changes that will make their building safer. Officer Steve Meyer The Chief received an emailed “thank you” to Officer Meyer for stop- ping and spending some time with a group of kids in the street. Dad en- joyed watching the kids hang out with Officer Meyer and check out the police car! 3   7/3/2013  Stolen Car/Runaway Monday 0053 hours Officer Spicer arrived a residence to speak with parents reporting their fifteen year hold had driven away in their vehicle without permission. An ATL was put out and about two hours later, while checking possible locations for her, the father flagged down Officer Spicer and informed him the child and car had returned, but their child fled again on foot and had taken off with her boyfriend, an adult. Child has been entered as a runaway and is still missing. DAS/No Insurance Monday 1425 hours Officer Rosse stopped a vehicle with a badly broken windshield. When he asked the driver for his license and insurance, he also learned the driver had a suspended license and did not have the car insured. The driver received a few charges on his citation and the vehicle was towed. Reckless Driving/AOA Monday 1950 hours Officer Shepard responded to complaint of a driver smashing into guard rails repeatedly, now head- ing into St Paul, which is currently a barricaded area. Witnesses provided a good description of the driver and vehicle, and as he approached the area, it came back into our jurisdiction and passed him. He initiated a traffic stop and upon greeting the driver, caught the familiar whiff of marijuana. St Paul PD was en route and Officer Rosse arrived to assist. He approached the passenger side and from that viewpoint spotted what appeared to be a rifle in the backseat. When the driver was asked why he had been smashing into the guard rails, the driver said he just wanted to make sure his doors had matching damage. He did offer up the marijuana and stated he had a gun in the car, along with a permit to carry. However, the permit’s expiration was conveniently missing and the gun he men- tioned was not the one in the back, but a handgun. It was soon learned that the driver did not have a valid permit to carry, was in possession of a handgun, BB gun, knife and more marijuana and para- phernalia. St Paul decided to take the case; officers cleared. Clicking Noise Monday 2012 hours Neighbor reported a loud fan in the front door. Officer Todd Rosse responded and found a fan in a window making a clicking noise. The homeowner agreed to turn the fan off. Fire Monday 2156 hours Neighbor called because his neighbor has a huge blaze in the back yard. Officer Jeff VonFeldt arrived and found a legal recreational fire. The fire homeowner said they would be heading inside soon and the fire would be out. Confetti report Tuesday 0408 hours Caller reported burning paper falling out of the sky but the information was erratic and the 911 dis- patcher was unable to figure out what was truly occurring. Officer Tanner Spicer arrived and found the call had been initiated from inside of a memory care unit and the real problem was that the bat- tery in the smoke detector had quit. Officer Spicer confirmed that staff was handling the problems. Change your clocks, change your batteries…. BURGLARS ARE BACK IN THE ATTIC... . Caller states that the burglars have lived in the home for the last year and a half and cannot get them out. RP states it is a man and his girlfriend who cut the roof and got in. ROOT BEER SUSPICION Complainant called in stating they are visiting from out of town and when they arrived at their house-sitting desti- nation, they found the garage door open and a 6-pack of Diet Root Beer on the front step. Turns out the homeowner left the garage door open. However, the Diet Root Beer remains a mystery…. 4   7/3/2013    FRAUD ALERT! Callers Misleading Public, Claiming to Represent DVS in Insurance Pitch Minnesotans should not be fooled by telemarketers claiming that information from the “DMV” shows they’re paying too much for car insurance. The Minnesota Department of Public Safety (DPS) is alerting consumers after receiving several reports of people receiving this call. The claims are false and misleading. The information about the solicitations has been forwarded to the Minnesota Attorney Gen- eral for review. The calls begin with a recorded message that says something to the effect of “according to recently released information from the Minnesota DMV you are paying too much for your car insurance.” The caller does not identify the company he or she represents. Consumers should know that: There is no Minnesota DMV – it’s the Driver and Vehicle Services Division at the Min- nesota Department of Public Safety. DVS is responsible for driver testing, driver licensing and maintenance of driver rec- ords; driver evaluation and compliance; motor vehicle title and registration; com- mercial vehicle registration; motor vehicle dealer licensing and regulation; and en- forcement of no fault insurance requirements. DPS/DVS does not collect or maintain data that would indicate what consumers are paying for insurance, therefore DPS/DVS has not and could not release the infor- mation claimed by the telemarketers. DPS/DVS does not engage in telemarketing, nor does it allow the name of the agency to be used in a manner that would mislead consumers. DPS ofϐicials warn consumers use caution when dealing with such telemarketers. How to Deal with Telemarketers: According to the Federal Trade Commission, the law says telemarketers must tell you it’s a sales call, the name of the seller and what they’re selling before they make their pitch. If you don’t hear this infor- mation, say “no thanks,” and get off the phone. The FTC says, “everyone is a po- tential target.” IF IT SOUNDS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE, IT PROBABLY IS. Do not provide personal information over the phone or by email. It’s better to find a solid second opinion than to take any risks that could harm your identity or financial well-being. Official Registration Forms are online: www.mendota- heights.com Registration Deadline is: 7/26/2013 Get your neighborhood united; To ensure that Police Officers, Firefighters & Paramedics make it to your event, plan your block party today! Sponsored and Supported By: Mark your calendars! Tuesday, August 6, 2013 5   7/3/2013  6/28‐7/05 2013 YTD Calls for Service 227 4,252 Citations Issued i.e., DUI, Domestic, Etc. 52 773 Warnings 34 714 Police Reports 52 533 Response Time Average 5.74 5.03 Have a Safe Weekend! Looking Back…. In 1962, the Mendota Heights Police Department was brand new to the city. The department started with three staff members: two Ofϐicers, who made approximately $500.00 a month, and one Chief of Police. The department had one black and white 1962 station wagon style squad car that also doubled as an ambulance. Ofϐicers lived in the city and at night they would bring the squad car home with them, just in case something happened over night that they needed to be called out for. Times have really changed since then for the police department. Since 1962, the department has gone through four different uniform patches, three different uniform badges, and 6.5 police chiefs. You might be asking, “Six point ϐive?” Well, in 1962 when the city was looking for their ϐirst Chief of Police, the city council agreed upon a man from North Dakota. However, they received numerous citizen complaints and were informed about a state statute that states, “A police ofϐicer must be a registered voter in the state of Minnesota for at least six months before they can be licensed as an ofϐicer.” So, the city council had to dismiss the ϐirst new chief, and selected one from South Saint Paul Police Department. Since 1962, the department has employed thirty-eight male and female police ofϐicers. Some have gone to other departments, many have retired and, sadly, some have passed away while serving the city. Ofϐicers no longer take home a squad car at night since there are ofϐicers on duty twenty-four hours a day. They also no longer have to have their squad cars double as ambulances since our city is now covered by Health East Ambulance who we are all proud to have as our emergency response partner. As for our squads, we are going back to a four door, black and white SUV, often described as a modern day station wagon. After the department celebrated its ϐiftieth anniversary last year, we wanted to maintain the original 1962 door graphics. MHPD will continue to change with the times and progress. Our names and faces may change over time, but the quality of service to the public will always be top notch and priority one. Submitted By: Police Ofϐicer Jeff VonFeldt