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06 28 13 JTF1   7/8/2013  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 Mendota Heights has experienced an abundance of rain and wind over the past week. There has been a variety of power outages, thankfully most of short dura- tion. Also, as of Monday, the Mississippi River is expected to hit ϐlood stage. The damage caused by the storms has been very localized and the public works crews have only been cleaning up city property. City work crews will not be picking up debris from private property at this time. For resources on disposing of your yard waste/debris, please visit: http://www.co.dakota.mn.us/Environment/FoodYardWaste/Residents/Pages/compost- sites.aspx More than half of all annually reported bicyclist injuries and deaths occur in the summer months . Bicycles on the roadway are, by law, vehicles with the same rights and responsibilities as motorized vehicles. Bicyclists, wear bright clothing, wear your helmet correctly, and stay to a bike path or bike lane whenever possible, or if you must ride in the street, ride with trafϐic, obey trafϐic laws, signs and signals and Look out for your own safety as distracted drivers aren’t looking out for you. For MN Laws on Bike Safety, check out MNDOT or the MN State Statutes. Drivers, pay attention, drive safe speeds and check blind spots for riders, especially when turning. Drivers should also be cautious when opening doors after parking on the road. Drivers should al‐ ways allow, by law, three feet distance from a bicycle rider (as long as you can also drive safely); bicyclists in return should stay as far to the right as is safely possible. SAFE RIDING TIPS Wear a Bike Helmet Avoid Riding at Night Adjust your Bike to Fit Go with the Trafϐic Flow Check your Equipment Obey All Trafϐic Laws See and Be Seen Yield to Trafϐic Control your Bike Be Predictable Watch for and Avoid Road Hazards Stay Alert at All Times Use Verbal and Non-Verbal Communication Look Before Turning Watch for Parked Cars For more information please visit: http://www.nhtsa.gov/Bicycles 2   7/8/2013  AOA/Muddy Roll-Over Friday 0804 hours A cell phone caller reported a car that rolled into the ditch flying 20 feet in the air before coming to a sliding stop in the median. Officer John Larrive responded to a rollover on I-494 near the Delaware Avenue crossing. Officer Larrive arrived to find all occupants standing on the shoulder, covered in mud, cell phones in hand Their car slid for quite a distance before coming to a stop in the median which was full of mud. No one was hurt. Minnesota State Patrol wrote the crash. Parking No –No’s Friday 1758 & 1848 hours Officer Mike Shepard responded to a vehicle that had been parked for four days in front of a residence in Mendota Heights. Vehicle tires had been chalked for several days and multiple attempts made to contact the owner without success. Officer Shepard made contact with Southeast Towing to tow the vehicle. Moments later, Officer Todd Rosse spotted a car at The Village parked against the flow of traffic; a citation was issued. Was it worth $32 + surcharge to save a couple of minutes and park the wrong way? Warm-Hearted Homeowner Friday 2016 hours Reporting party called with concern of a woman and two children sitting in their car on the re- porting party’s driveway. Officer Todd Rosse arrived at the home and spoke with the womanwho advised she and her two young children were afraid from the storm and wanted to seek shelter. The homeowner was very welcoming, letting them in the home until the storm let up. Thanks! Noise Friday 2239 hours Two complaints were received overnight about a loud motorcycle driving down Marie Ave. Fri- day night, Officer Jeff VonFeldt located and stopped the very loud, offending motorcycle. It was a “classic,” (a.k.a. fixer-upper). The teenage driver was advised get it fixed before driving again. Escape Crisis Saturday 0220 hours Officer Todd Rosse responded to a call of a suspicious man sitting behind a building smoking a cigarette. Upon arrival he located an 80-year-old man who was the subject of a KOPS alert placed on him by West St. Paul Police Department. The man had walked away from a Woodbury Healthcare facility and refused to return. A 72 hour Health and Welfare Hold was placed on the man who obviously could not care for himself and has many medical issues. His daughter was notified; the man agreed to go to the hospital, and HealthEast Ambulance transported to him to United Hospital. Random Gunfire Saturday 0730 & 0845 hours Sergeant Neil Garlock met with a resident at the MHPD. The man wanted to report a round from a gun wedged in a picture frame at his home. Sergeant Garlock went with the man to his residence and viewed what appeared to be a handgun round that had gone through a window and some drywall before striking a picture frame. It appeared to come from the direction of I35E just to the east of the residence. The resident knew it happened at 0610 hours. Officer Bobby Lambert responded to a second call just around the corner from the first home about an hour later. Please send us your positive feedback! pdrecords@ mendota-heights.com Your feedback is greatly appreciated and helps boosts the morale of our staff. Officer Mario Reyes received a big Thank You from the Arndt family for all of his help with the funerals of Floyd and wife, Connie. Floyd Arndt was hired as one of the first three Police Officers with Mendota Heights. Floyd lived and raised a family in Mendota Heights his whole life. He retired from the MHPD in 1995. Floyd passed away in 2013. He was a very respected man. Officer Tanner Spicer received a praise letter for being so compassionate, respectful and an understanding demeanor when he issued a citation to them. 3   7/8/2013  Drunk Saturday 1556 hours Officer Bobby Lambert responded to a complaint of a W/M wandering around holding his head. The caller was not sure if it's a medical problem but could not see any blood. Caller described the male as in his 50s wearing a tan shirt and blue jeans. Officer Bobby Lambert located the man and determined that he was a resident of a nearby home and he was in fact very intoxicated. Fortunately there were some sober people at the man’s home and he was left with the sober parties. I thought we said NO-NO Saturday 2055 hours Once again, while on patrol Officer Todd Rosse spotted two cars parked against the flow in The Village. Is there a new change to law we didn’t know about? Both received citations. Manhole Geyser Sunday 1602 & 1705 hours Caller reported that he was driving down Dodd Road approaching Mendakota Drive when a manhole cover rode a geyser into the air and hit the bottom of his car. The man advised that he did not believe there was any damage to his car and stated he was leaving. Officer John Larrive respond- ed to the area where the vehicle had been but saw nothing out of the ordinary. Approximately one hour later another caller advised a manhole cover in the middle of the street had blown up into the air making a popping sound and soon after, smoke or steam was coming out of the hole. Officer Larrive arrived a few moments later to detect no problems other than the manhole cover needed to be repositioned. Referred to city Engineering and Public Works. Gas Drive-Off Monday 0725 hours Officer John Larrive responded to a local gas station on a $75 gas drive off. Unfortunately for the crooks they were driving a U-Haul truck. Under investigation. Shoplifting Monday 1628 hours Sergeant Convery responded to local construction site where materials had been dropped off at the end of the workday Tuesday. By Wednesday morning, all of the material was missing. Discussion was had about setting up surveillance overnight. Follow-up on suspects pending. Crisis Tuesday 1155 hours A concerned mother called for help with her 11 YOA who was out of control. The youth had been kicked out of school earlier in the day for threatening other students and now he has started banging his head against the wall threatening to harm himself. Officer John Larrive arrived to help mediate the situation. 911 Tuesday 1612 hours Officer Steve Meyer responded to a 911 hang up call that the DCC was unable to make contact on call-back attempts. When he arrived Officer Meyer learned the call originated from inside the memory care unit at a local facility. The caller was upset that they had been caught trying to escape and called because the staff was “in kahoots against them.” Treated for minor scrapes from the escape attempt. “Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get” Passerby requested we check on a man near the intersection of Hwy 13 and I35E. Officer John Larrive and Sergeant Neil Garlock had the opportunity to speak with a man who was trying to make his way to I-90. Additionally, they learned that in 1978 his knee parts were stolen from him and used to start a shrimpn’ fleet (sound familiar?). Plus he has fishing line in his left knee that is used to replace his old ligaments and, his heart jumped out of his chest and the government monitors his brain waves. Before he left Officer Larrive also received a lesson on the voodoo economics of President Reagan. 4   7/8/2013  DUI Wednesday 0056 hours Caller reported a lady passed out in a white SUV at a local gas station parking lot. Officer Tanner Spicer arrived and spoke with the caller who advised the lady had come into the gas station and seemed a bit off. She asked about a hotel, made nachos, set them on her phone on the counter and then used the rest room. She then then went outside, got into her car and passed out. Officer Spicer checked on the woman and he eventually manage to awaken her; the conversation was pretty tough as her speech was very slurred. The driver denied drinking alcohol or taking drugs but did say she was diabetic. Officer Spicer called an ambulance to the scene, even though he could smell the alcohol. During the conversation he spotted a nearly empty 750ml bottle of vodka. The ambulance determined her blood sugar was normal but she failed all the SFST’s. When read the MN Implied Consent Advisory she decided to call an attorney, but only after she was convinced that Officer Spicer didn’t have an iPhone charger she could use. After talking with the attorney she refused to test and was transported to jail. Crash Wednesday 1219 hours Party stopped at MHPD on the advice of her insurance company to report a crash that occurred on private property. Officer Jen Fordham began looking into the involved party’s allegations of harassment at the time of the crash. The reporter advised that the damage from the crash did not match the circumstances of the crash. The party reported that the interaction was very inappropriate based on what happened. An insurance investigator has been assigned and Officer Fordham’s investigation continues. Where Did I Park? Wednesday 2014 hours Caller requested to speak with an officer about a missing U-Haul truck (maybe the same one involved in a gas theft earlier in the day). Officer Shepard stopped at the business where the call came from and found it empty; two phone calls were not answered. At 2132 hours the renter of the missing truck called again, this time he told the dispatcher he parked a U-Haul truck somewhere near Hwy 13 and Pilot Knob Road and now can’t find it. Officer Shepard called 5x without making contact with caller. No idea if he found the truck or lost his phone. Liquid Burn Thursday 0655 hours Sergeant Neil Garlock was dispatched to a work site in which there was some sort of explosion of liquid rubber. Upon arrival, he encountered a male party in extreme pain on his face and arm due to this explosion. He was transported to Regions Hospital for burns. 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, 5   7/8/2013  6/21‐6/28 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! Submitted By: Emergency Manager Mike Aschenbrener Q: WčĆę ĉĔĊĘ Ďę ĒĊĆē ĜčĊē I čĊĆė ęčĊ ĔĚęĉĔĔė ĜĆėēĎēČ ĘĎėĊēĘ? A: Please, go inside and turn on the TV or radio to ϔind out what is occurring! The City of Mendota Heights owns and maintains ϐive outdoor warning sirens located strategically around the city to provide sound warning coverage for our residents. In 2012 we activated them 10 times; #11 would have been added except the storm moved too fast for the National Weather Service (NWS) to get the warning out. In Mendota Heights the sirens can be activated for storms or other disasters (natural or man-made). The message is always the same: turn on the TV/Radio and ϔind out what to do. The sirens were originally put in place as part of the civil defense network across the country. The sys- tem has evolved over time to the current uses. If an activation is storm related it will be for a Severe Thunderstorm Warning (based on a NWS advisory) or a Tornado Warning (as indicated by NWS radar) or if a trained SkyWarn weather spotter from the Police or Fire Department calls for the activation. The best weather resource is NWS: http://www.crh.noaa.gov/mpx/ The sirens are part of a system called the Emergency Alert System (EAS). The EAS is a national public warning system that requires broadcasters, cable television systems, wireless cable systems, satellite digital audio radio service (SDARS) providers, and direct broadcast satellite (DBS) providers to provide the communications capability to the President to address the American public during a national emergency. The system also may be used by state and local authorities to deliver important emergency information, such as AMBER alerts and weather information targeted to speciϐic areas. The system has been tested and now is in use nationally. Have you ever received a text message for an AMBER ALERT? If the answer is yes, your device is in the system. For more information go to: http://transition.fcc.gov/pshs/services/eas/