Every day, police officers respond to reports of all sorts of events and nonevents, most of which never make the news. Here is a sampling of lesser-known — but no less noteworthy — incidents from police log books (a.k.a. blotters) in our communities.
YET ANOTHER BEAR SIGHTING
A black bear that was strolling around the streets of East Bridgewater on Sept. 27 caused a bit of a stir. The hulking creature was seen sauntering down Spear Avenue, which is near the middle school and also not that far from the high school and elementary school. “We had a black bear roaming around while the kids were getting out of school for their half-day,” police wrote on Facebook. “We kept him in our sight the whole time.” Police said everyone was safe, so there was no cause for alarm, and the best thing to do would be to let the bear be. The black bear population in Massachusetts has been growing and expanding eastward since the 1970s, and when a count was taken back in 2011, there were estimated to be about 5,000 of them — and as you’re probably aware, they’ve been making their presence known. State wildlife officials say black bears will spend more time in residential neighborhoods when they find food there, so it’s important to secure your trash and remove bird feeders and other potential food sources. And if you do see a bear, follow the advice of the police and wildlife experts: Stay away and leave it alone.
FALLING FOR WRONG GUY
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On July 29, a woman in Watertown reported that she was the victim of a Facebook scam — one of the romantic, will you please marry me (but send me money first!) type. She told police she had been corresponding with a man who claimed to be serving in the Army and currently stationed in Syria. They exchanged messages for months and she was apparently smitten, because she told police they planned to wed when he returned to the United States. But then, as always happens in these scams, he began to ask the woman to send him money. He told her that he needed money to fly out of Syria, and the only way he could get out of there would be on a private jet. Sadly, she believed him and sent money seven times to a Bank of America account in Virginia. After she sent the money, which totaled about $17,000, she realized that her fiancé was not who he said he was, and it was likely a scam.
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GETTING TURNED AROUND
Police in Franklin recently pulled over a car before it embarked on a wrong-way adventure on Interstate 495 — a jaunt that very well could have turned deadly. On Oct. 3, police shared a photo of the vehicle on Facebook as a warning to others. “While you were sleeping … A fast-acting evening shift officer caught this vehicle while patrolling the area and stopped it before a potential crash,” police wrote.
BIRD BATHS
Remember those gulls that were found covered in cooking oil? They’ve been getting cleaned up at the Cape Wildlife Center in Barnstable. “Our first batch of gulls was finally strong enough for a feather wash, and we are happy to report they did great!” Cape Wildlife Center officials wrote Sept. 27 on Facebook. “This group is now oil free and resting comfortably. They will stay indoors for a couple more days as they dry off and begin to preen and redistribute their own natural oils to their feathers.” Getting grease off birds has been no easy feat. The staff at the wildlife center plucked a few feathers from one of the gulls that didn’t survive and tested different concentrations and combinations of washing solutions to find out what would work best. As it turned out, they got the best results when they added more cooking oil to the feathers just before washing them in three graduated concentrations of dish soap. “This means we added the step of massaging each gull with cooking oil before they are washed, really giving them the full spa treatment,” the post said. They followed up with a high-pressure wash of hot water and then each bird was put in a cage with a warm blower to help dry off. “We are very happy the first group is done, but we are not celebrating yet as we have about 19 more to wash. It’s gonna be a long week but we are so grateful for all of the support we have received to care for these gulls and for all those who offered kind words of encouragement. We’ll keep you posted as the process continues!”
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Emily Sweeney can be reached at emily.sweeney@globe.com. Follow her @emilysweeney and on Instagram @emilysweeney22.