After my experiences during a police car ride-along early Saturday morning, I don’t understand why anyone would want to impersonate a police officer.

One man apparently thought the risk was worth it on Sunday. Around 3:30 p.m., a 55-year-old transient man allegedly approached a child downtown, stating that he was a police officer, Lawrence police spokesman Sgt. Trent McKinley said.

The man allegedly showed the child a badge and handcuffs, while “carrying a bucket of money” and panhandling, McKinley said. This all is alleged to have happened in the breezeway behind the Antique Mall at 830 Massachusetts St.

The kid was able to walk away from the “cop,” and called police. Officers responded and arrested the man on suspicion of impersonating a police officer.

He was in the Douglas County Jail overnight on a $100 bond, but was released the following day without paying by authority of the judge, according to booking logs.
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Friday, 2:23 a.m.

Someone calls police to report that people are fighting inside an apartment in the 2400 block of Ousdahl Road.

After arriving, an officer goes inside and sees two women “actively fighting” on a futon in the apartment, McKinley said. One woman is allegedly pulling the other one’s hair, and the officer tells her to stop.

She doesn’t. She allegedly continues yanking away despite the officer’s commands.

The officer approaches the woman and is eventually able to “control the suspect” and handcuff her, McKinley said, and ultimately, both women were arrested.

According to booking logs, they were booked into the Douglas County Jail around 3 a.m. on suspicion of disorderly conduct. They were both released on own-recognizance bonds — meaning they don’t have to pay their bonds unless they don’t comply with court directions — on Friday afternoon.
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Thursday, 6:52 p.m.

This one makes me kind of sad, just because of the items allegedly stolen.

Someone at the Dillons at 3000 W. Sixth St. calls police to report that a shoplifter had just left the store. The grocery store’s employees report that a man was seen “concealing several items in his pants,” McKinley said.

When he allegedly tries to leave the store with the items in his pants, loss prevention personnel confront him near the exit.

The man then allegedly reaches into his pants and pulls out two packages of ham worth $2.99 each, as well as two peanut butter snack cakes taken from a $3.99 multipack box. He then allegedly throws the goodies on the ground and walks out of the store, McKinley said.

Police respond, and find the man across the street outside a room at the Lawrence Suitel, 2907 W. Sixth St., McKinley said.

The thing is, his clothing is different than what Dillons employees had described, McKinley said. However, an officer reviewed store security footage and was able to determine the Suitel man was the same one accused of trying to steal the food.

After further investigation, officers find the clothing the man had been wearing inside the hotel room, McKinley said.

Officers arrest the man on suspicion of theft, and also find out that he had an unrelated warrant out for his arrest, McKinley said. But according to booking logs, he was only booked on suspicion of failure to appear for a pending Douglas County theft case, and another hold from a different county — the theft charge does not appear to have been filed.

He remains in the Douglas County Jail Tuesday without bond.
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Thursday, 9:23 p.m.

A woman calls 911 to ask police to deal with a transient man who refused to leave her home, McKinley said.

The woman told officers that she had allowed the man to stay at her home “for several days.” He’d previously been living at the Lawrence Community Shelter.

But the man apparently wore out his welcome. The woman told officers that “because of the (man’s) intoxication and disturbances” he caused at the home, she wanted him to “leave and not return,” McKinley said.

An officer responded to the home and told the man “multiple times” to leave the residence. He allegedly refused, despite being told that he would be arrested if he did not leave on his own, McKinley said.

The suspect then allegedly told the officer, “I am not leaving, just take me to jail,” McKinley said. And the officer did just that.

He was booked on suspicion of criminal trespassing and was released on an own-recognizance bond the following day.
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And now, I’ll leave you with our regular roundup of police calls. As always, I’ll remind you that this is a list of noteworthy calls I pulled from the Lawrence Police Department call log. Not all calls yielded police reports, and many may have gone unsubstantiated. The list is meant to give you an idea of what kinds of calls police are responding to within a given time period.

This list is a collection of calls that police responded to between Friday and Tuesday mornings:

Violence

• Disturbance (verbal or physical arguments): 4

• Domestic disturbance: 4

• Domestic battery: 3

• Battery: 2

• Criminal threat: 2

• Fight in progress: 1

Person crimes

• Sex crime report: 2

• Harassment: 1

Traffic

• Noninjury accident: 16

• Injury accident: 1

Medical

• Suicide threat: 4

Miscellaneous

• Suspicious activity: 5

• Suspicious activity with weapons: 1

• Sound of gunshots: 2

• Noise or Nuisance: 8

• Alcohol complaint: 1

Welfare

• Child welfare check: 2

• Adult welfare check: 6

• Animal welfare check: 6

• Runaway: 2

Drugs

Drug activity: 1

Property crimes

• Burglary: 2

• Theft: 7

• Criminal damage: 1

• Trespassing: 4

• Stolen vehicle: 2