Now this is prompt service with a smile! Early last week, Port Orchard Police took a report on a stolen Jeep at 4:00 in the morning. Half an hour later, our dispatch center received a report of a suspicious vehicle at an apartment complex here in Bremerton. The description matched the stolen vehicle. The Jeep was gone by the time officers got there, but they began checking around the area. A short time later, less than an hour after the vehicle was originally reported stolen, Officer Sara Felty located the Jeep in East Bremerton with the suspect inside, who was arrested. Three guesses what was found in the car: yes, meth, pills, and vehicle theft tools. The suspect was arrested and jailed on $250,000 bail for a panoply of charges, including having switched out the license plates.
Officer Frank Shaw responded this week to investigate a reported missing 5 year old girl. The mother was understandably frantic and calling everyone she knew, including some family friends who had just left the house. When the friends got home to Port Orchard, they searched their car and found the child hiding under some blankets. Seems the friends have a 4 year old and a 7 year old who convinced the 5 year old to hide under the blankets and stay quiet for the car ride so they could play at their house. Good ending for a stressful situation.
Later in the week, Officer Bill Prouse responded to a neighbor calling in a possible domestic violence incident. Officer Prouse could hear a male voice talking loudly and sternly to a female, who sounded like she was crying. Officer Prouse repeatedly pounded on the door and identified himself as police, but nobody came to the door. Officers determined that the situation was an emergency and immediate entry was necessary. Officer Prouse gave the door two kicks and the home was entered. As it turned out, the male and female were indeed having a verbal argument, while in the shower. Seems strange, yes, but there was no assault. Both had been drinking, and officers made sure everyone was safe.
Our Bike Team continues to do great work. An example this week was when Officer Greenhill was in the area of 6th and Naval when he observed a Dodge Challenger turn at high speed onto Naval Avenue, skidding sideways and then zip off toward Burwell Street. He radioed out the reckless driver and Officer Samantha Ortona caught up to him out on Highway 304 where she saw him attempt to pass cars on the shoulder while spinning his tires. That guy went to jail where, as report states, "hopefully the Judge sentences him to drive a Prius from now on."
We ended the week with Officer Trevor Donnelly actually viewing a motorcycle crash occur in front of him at Callow and Burwell. It looked like the person driving the car who caused the crash was going to take off, but saw the officer there immediately and reconsidered her decision. Officer Donnelly reported the car driver was dressed up as a witch, as Corporal Schaefer wrote, "hopefully because she was going to a costume party and not because that's just how she rolls." The State Patrol assisted and arrested her for DUI. Her broom, I mean car, was impounded and thankfully the motorcyclist was not seriously injured.
Finally, this week the Kitsap/Pierce/Thurston/Mason Counties Chapter of "Project Linus" delivered 65 blankets to the department on October 9th. Project Linus helps children in need, and as they state in their mission statement: "it is our mission to provide love, a sense of security, warmth and comfort to children who are seriously ill, traumatized, or otherwise in need through the gift of new, handmade blankets and afghans, lovingly created by volunteer "blanketeers." Claudia Post, one of the local Project Linus coordinators, said in a note to our Department: "our chapter is thrilled to be providing blankets for your patrol vehicles. This delivery contains 65 blankets - more on the way!"
Project Linus has 400 chapters nationally, and have donated more than 4,000,000 blankets to children.
