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Crime & Safety

Crash Investigation: Driver Tells Cops He Slid on Ice, Despite No Ice

This New Year's Eve was busier than usual for Captain Tim Knutson's patrol team as they were tasked with a wide range of calls throughout the night.

Officer Brad Wubben responded to a property damage crash one night this week involving two vehicles at an intersection. Upon arriving, he found that one vehicle had been stopped at the light and was rear ended by a vehicle coming up from behind. The driver of the vehicle said that he slid on the roadway, but Officer Wubben could find no evidence of ice or packed snow on the roadway. Officer Wubben issued the driver a citation for failure to use due care. 

BUSY NEW YEAR'S EVE

Most years, New Year’s Eve night has actually been quieter than a normal Friday or Saturday night for our officers in Lakeville. Over the years, most people who plan on being out celebrating New Year’s Eve consume responsibly and make arrangements for designated drivers if they are drinking. 

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This New Year’s Eve was busier than usual for Captain Tim Knutson’s patrol team as they were tasked with a wide range of calls throughout the night. In addition to the normal traffic stops, domestic calls and general calls for service, there were a few notable calls, most of which involved alcohol to some extent. 

Early in the night, Officers Josh Berkebile and Shawn McMahon responded to a local hotel on a medical call involving a woman who had fallen and hit her head. When the officers arrived, they found that she was extremely intoxicated and belligerent toward them as they tried to assist her. She was sent to the hospital on a detox hold by the officers. 

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Officer Adam Stier responded to a report of suspicious people loitering in a parking lot by a fast food restaurant. When Officer Stier arrived, he located and identified the two individuals. One of the parties had an active felony arrest warrant out of Goodhue County. Officer Stier arrested the individual on the arrest warrant and sent him off to jail. 

Officer Anna Limbeck responded to a report of an assault. When Officer Limbeck arrived, she found that two “quasi-friends” had gotten into an argument. The victim told the subject that he was “too intoxicated to drive” and the subject punched the victim in the face. The subject had fled the scene prior to Officer Limbeck’s arrival. The victim was not severely injured and was treated by paramedics and released. 

One call during the night that could have turned out really badly involved a group of juveniles that had been drinking. The call came out as a teenager who had been drinking and had been outside for an extended period of time was suffering from exposure and was unresponsive. The outside temperature on New Year’s Eve was about -10 degrees, creating a great risk of exposure. 

Upon arrival at the location, officers found that the subject was extremely intoxicated and cold, but breathing. The victim was transported by the paramedics to the hospital and later it was discovered that the primary medical problem with the victim was not exposure, but intoxication. The officers discovered during their investigation of the incident that the juveniles that were with the victim were also consuming alcohol. All of the juveniles were charged by the officers with underage consumption of alcohol. 

LONG DISTANCE FRAUD INVESTIGATION 

Officer Chris Gartzke took a report from the owners of a small business of a theft of funds or fraud involving the non-delivery of thousands of dollars of materials ordered for their business from China. The complainants reported that they had transferred the appropriate amount of funds for the materials to a bank in China to be forwarded to the company that made the materials, but that the company reported never receiving the funds. Officer Gartzke took all the relevant information from the business owners and forwarded the case to our Investigations Division for continued investigation. 

WEEKLY LPD SNAPSHOT

Sampling of LPD activity for the week of Dec. 27 to Jan. 3, 2013

Traffic crashes: 14 Alarms: 23 Animal Calls: 19 Medical Emergency Calls: 33 Thefts: 11 Traffic Stops: 175.

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