Man Says ‘Hi’ – September 3, 2012
• Friday, August 3 9 a.m. A jacket that said “Robert” on the back, a floppy topper described as “a Gilligan hat” and loudly announced anger issues set one man apart from the crowd at an I Street store, and from credibility. Two callers reported his torrid tirade, tracking his tempestuous trail to the Plaza, where he may have located the Skipper and the rest.
9:56 a.m. A mailbox was stolen and a golf cart pulled off the roof of a South G Street scrapyard.
11:01 a.m. In another harsh exchange of consonant-artillery at 17th and G streets, someone threatened to kill Big Al’s dog.
12:10 p.m. The interplay of vehicles at a four-way stop usually works out OK in terms of turn-taking, and the vehicles wait for each other and then proceed in a sensible succession. But if the delicate ballet breaks down, rage may ensue, and did when two motorists thought they had the right of way near the Plaza. When one went first, the vanquished driver addressed this injustice by following the other, clinging to his tail as he proceeded into traffic. The stalkery ended when the first car pulled into the APD parking lot.
2:05 p.m. A man was reported asking children to get into his van and turn the ignition key for him in the Library parking lot. He was warned about a penal code statute about soliciting photographs relating to an accident that hurt or killed someone. He said his van was disabled.
3:12 p.m. After evicting tenants from an Antoine Avenue house, a landlord found multiple bike frames and bikes inside. Thinking they may have been stolen, he called police. He was asked to get their serial numbers and call back.
3:38 p.m. Sidewalk wallowers lounged obstinately outside a Plaza tavern till an officer showed up and changed the energy balance.
4:19 p.m. APD assisted Ferndale Police with a search warrant served in Blake Court.
• Saturday, August 4 2:23 a.m. Residents at a Hallen Drive address are well-skilled in the obnoxious arts, noisemaking division. Activities unenjoyed by a neighbor include loud talking, running water, banging and crashing about the house.
11:19 a.m. A woman called about two skunks running around in the 1900 block of 11th Street, one with a jar on its head. As she spoke with the dispatcher, the SkunkGyver broke the jar and liberated itself from its jam.
12:59 p.m. A man at a Uniontown shopping center yelled about racial profiling, then moved along.
2:39 p.m. A restraining-ordered person reportedly said “Hi” to someone to whom he was not supposed to speak. He denied making any illegal greetings.
4:35 p.m. An L.K. Wood Boulevard resident complained that his neighbor was strewing trash in front of his house and drizzling milk down the windows, actions which he interpreted as possible harassment. An officer spoke to the neighbor, who said he would strive to get along with the neighbor, presumably sharing no more cream of garbage soup.
8:40 p.m. A man said that he had beeen punched in the face and head five times, thrown to the ground and had his knife stolen in Redwood Park two nights previous.
8:40 p.m. A woman said that she had been kidnapped on the 11th Street side of Redwood Park around 3 p.m. then driven around in Valley West for four-and-a-half hours by a man who she named. Three other men and two women were involved, some of whom had been snatched and thrown in the van. She said she was beaten up and robbed of $900 during the ordeal, which ended only when the victims hit the kidnappers with beer bottles to get away. Freaked out, she said she hitchhiked home to Fairhaven rather than call police right away. Arcata Police are investigating the matter, with kidnapping and assault charges potentially in the works, and more details to come.
9:46 p.m. A Lewis Avenue resident complained that an embittered ex-girlfriend had sprayed water through his open window and torn his Internet cable off his outside wall after leaving messages threatening to do just that.
• Sunday, August 5 5:49 a.m. A Courtyard Circle resident was also tormented by her neighbor’s career as a household noise enthusiast. Among the annoying emanations from his upstairs apartment were sounds of him entering and leaving, slamming the door, throwing shoes in the closet, jumping on the bed and opening and closing his dresser drawers. She confronted him about it, and he said he had been moving the bed. An officer went and stood outside the apartment for several minutes, but all was silent.
9:52 a.m. A lower H Street resident complained of a tow truck parked in front of his house, but was told that as long as it was parked in the street, there was no violation. He called back to report that he had confronted the tow driver about parking there, and that their bellies had touched, making him uncomfortable.
3:03 p.m. A red van in a blue zone, a $330 ticket and the distinct possibility of bulging purple neck veins on Alliance Road.
• Monday, August 6 8:25 a.m. Someone reported a man near a bridge somewhere in town, exact location unknown.
11:09 a.m. An Earth First! operative – this would be the one who is a white male in his late 20s/early 30s with long brown hair – hung a sign described as “Pacific old growth.” Unfortunately, the sign was taken down before the environment’s salvation could be assured.
