Traffic stops and threatening phone calls top the list
IMLAY CITY — It was a busy week for the Imlay City police department last week, as officers responded to 72 calls for assistance.
The number of calls further reinforces Chief Brett Selby’s contentions that this year is on pace to be a record-setting one.
The Chief, in a report to the city commission, said this year is proving to be an unusually busy one with increased types of calls and more citizens requesting police
assistance.
Chief Selby
The number of traffic stops and blight violations also continue to be among the leading types of calls officers are responding to.
“We continue to be extremely busy, with little time to do investigative work in cases where it needs to be done,” Chief Selby recently told the commission. “We are handling the criminal situations as best we can, but there are some that we don’t get to until a later time.”
Last week. Imlay City officers responded to 80 calls according to the weekly log, with 27 of those being traffic stops and another six calls were for ordinance violations, mainly blight.
The six ordinance violations were all written on the same day, on August 21. The hot spots for traffic violations continue to be along a corridor of S. Cedar, Borland, Blacks Corners and Newark.
Extra patrols by officers will be visible in the areas near school zones as motorists are being encouraged to use extreme caution and slow down, now that school is underway.
Four responses by officers were to reports of a telephone being used for harassment or threats calls. Two of the incidents came from an address on Handley Street while two others came when police responded to a location on S. Cedar St. According to police records, the calls started on August 21 with subsequent calls being made on August 22 and August 23.
Officers handled two operating under the influence incidents, both on August 21 and assisted citizens four different times including twice on August 21.
Commenting on the past week’s calls, Chief Selby said, “The four calls for harassment were all connected and regarding a civil dispute between individuals.
Sergeant Leathers arrested an intoxicated driver who struck a building and attempted to flee the scene. Sergeant Leathers located the vehicle northbound on Pennell Road a short time after the incident. Road side sobrieties indicated that the driver was over the limit, had open intoxicants and no valid driver’s license.”
The Chief went on to report, “Officer Scigel and Detective Hadfield located a missing male with cognitive health issues that was reported missing on August 24. The male was located after his cell phone was pinged and showed his location on the Polly Ann Trail with the assistance of K-9 handler Deputy Frank Ruzicka of the Lapeer County Sheriff’s office.
Chief Selby said as of August 28, the Imlay City Police Department has responded to 2,612 calls for service.
This number is up from last year at this time which was 1,702 calls for service, an an increase of 910 calls up from last year.
Officers will be on hand for the annual Woods-N-Water News Outdoor Weekend at the Eastern Michigan State Fairgrounds September 8-10.
