Ride Along

New Toledo police motorcycle unit

Timing is always a weird thing.

Just this morning, Nolan (Blade education reporter) was asking me if the new motorcycle unit was out because he'd seen officers in uniform riding bikes around Erie Street. News to me, I said. I hadn't seen anyone out let alone heard they were officially in action.

As I was leaving the Safety  Building this morning, I saw a few motorcycles parked out back, so, naturally, I scoped them out looking for TPD decals or anything to indicate that they might be for the new unit.

Nothing.

Then I saw a man in a Toledo police jacket standing near a bike, wearing a helmet, and so I asked him if he knew where any of the bikes were.

This is one, he said.

Ah ha!

The officer, who I learned was Sgt. Tyson Coates, said the officers in the new unit were out training and that it wouldn't be too long before they are fully functional and seeing serious road time. They're waiting to complete training and for some additional equipment to be put on the bikes.

Ironic crime: Fast Cash

Just for the record: just because the crime is ironic doesn't mean it's funny.

Even though I would be lying if I told you I didn't giggle when I saw a robbery filed at a place called Fast Cash on Glendale.

A man, who police describe as black, 18 to 20 years old, about 5 feet, 8 inches tall, who weighs about 150 pounds, pushed his way inside the store when the clerk unlocked the door.
The man took an undetermined amount of cash from the 5055 Glendale Ave. store about 9:10 a.m. Wednesday.
He was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, white pants, white tennis shoes, and a black ski mask. He was carrying a black handgun, police said.

Anyone with information should call Crime Stoppers at 419-255-1111.

Proactive criminals?

It would seem that a few criminals are trying to be proactive in planning for the upcoming winter months. Now, I've never been through a Toledo winter, but I'm sure I'll be able to handle it. (Cleveland lake effect snow, anyone? And Cincinnati gets a lot of ice.) Maybe these folks are new to the area and afraid of what's to come. Who knows?

Sometime on Sept. 24, a red 8 feet snow blade was stolen from a parking lot in the 1600 block of Brownstone Boulevard. Police say both suspects are white men. One has long hair and a long beard. The police report, filed with the Toledo Police Department, does not include a further description. Luckily, the owner of the snow blade has video surveillance.

Another report, filed Sept. 26 with the Toledo Police Department, says that, sometime between Sept. 6 and Sept. 7, someone broke into a garage in the 1100 block of Monterey Court and stole a snow blower. No suspect descriptions are listed.

It's as if displays of Christmas decorations -- which have been up in some stores for weeks -- wasn't bad enough. Mother Nature has my vote for 65 and sunny with a breeze for the rest of, well, forever.

Oddities from Chief Navarre's file

As you might be able to imagine, a Toledo police chief with more than 30 years on the job, 13 as the top cop, means reporters, such as myself, have a lot of material to work with when something big happens. I'd classify Toledo police Chief Mike Navarre's retirement announcement as pretty big.

READ: After 13 yeras as top officer, Navarre gets ready to retire
Diggs to be Toledo's top officer

When I first thought the announcement was going to happen, I went through the chief's personnel file -- same with Deputy Chief Derrick Diggs' file -- to see if there was anything interesting to write about. I also went through The Blade's clip file and through our electronic database. I, literally, read more than 1,000 headlines of stories that mention Chief Navarre.

 

Blade photo of Chief Mike Navarre

With only so much space to cram so much information, a lot had to be left out.

I guess that's the beauty of the blog. Unlimited space on the interwebs.

If you haven't gotten enough of Chief Navarre, this blog post is totally for you. (By the way, chief's birthday was yesterday -- Sept. 18. Happy 56th birthday, Chief!)

-- In 1988, Chief Navarre, then a lieutenant, was named 'officer of the year' for "directing and supervising the search and evacuation of elderly residents and individuals from a burning Locust Street apartment building" the previous June.
-- In 2002, a man posing as Chief Navarre called a Toledo resident and tried to get the resident to cough up bank account information.
-- In 2003, while the chief was on a half-day vacation, he was listening to his police scanner when he heard the description of a vehicle that just left the scene of a burglary. Driving on Talmadge Road he saw a van, and person behind the wheel, matching the broadcast description. The chief was able to follow the van, verify the license plate number, and place the man under arrest.
-- In 2005, a fax cover that was sent to the media by the investigative services bureau, listed Capt. Jack Smith as the chief of police. Although Smith went on to serve a six-year tenure as chief in 2006, Chief Navarre was definitely still the man in charge at the time.
-- In 2006, the Toledo Police Department tied for "most fashionable in the "Best Dressed Law Enforcement Competition" for their snazzy uniforms. Chief Navarre really didn't have anything to do with this, but it's still cool.

Have favorite Chief Navarre moments to share? Please do. I'd love to hear what you think of his tenure, what you want to see with Chief Diggs in the coming months, or if you've ever met/worked with either Navarre or Diggs.

New note-taking pen

I bought my squirrel pen today. Well, actually, I bought 11. Mostly I got them to distribute around the newsroom, but a few for myself. They're hilarious.

 
Passing them out makes me feel a little bit like Santa Claus. It's cool. Making people happy and giddy. I was thinking about sending one to NPR's Morning Edition because 1) they read the story on air and 2) I love NPR and Morning Edition.

Thieving squirrel memorabilia for a good cause

I was at the Safety Building today, dropping off newspapers and picking up police reports, when I saw a sign on the third floor advertising a Toledo police Honor Guard fundraiser.

They are selling pens. For $1. A bargain.

The sign, I noticed, had the picture of the thieving squirrel I wrote about last month. What does the squirrel have to do with it?

Everything.

The pen actually has the picture of the squirrel on it. Seriously. It's brilliant.

 
  
I'm buying one -- or, you know, a few -- tomorrow. I'll post the picture of my new pen tomorrow, but if you want one, I bet you could get one at the Safety Building.

The almost witnesses

It was probably 12:01 p.m. Saturday. I was driving; Nolan (Blade education reporter) and his girlfriend, Caryn, were in the car. We were headed to Ann Arbor for a day of shopping and shenanigans.

We were at a red light on Islington Street and Collingwood Boulevard when we saw a black, unmarked police SUV take a very fast, very sharp turn right onto Delaware Avenue.

"What was that?" I asked and we continued on.

As we were at the corner of Islington and Detroit Avenue, marked police cars with their lights flashing turned onto Delaware. I knew something was up. This was just too weird.

I asked if we should stop and check it out -- my friends declined so, instead, I turned on my police scanner (which I take with me everywhere). Just after getting on I-475 we saw a helicopter hovering overhead and heard the radio traffic crackle something like 'Tell fire the gun is secure, they can come up.'

This was no ordinary CCW call. My gut told me so. Nolan called it all into the newsroom and we drove on.

Later we found out that what we saw and what we heard was the end of a chaotic morning involving Brian Lipp, who took police on a two-county chase that left one innocent man dead and, ultimately, resulted in authorities shooting and killing Lipp.

The shots that were fired at Lipp rang out at 12:03 p.m. We just missed it. Really. That close. I knew I should have turned down the street. Here's a lesson: Always follow  your gut, especially if it's your news gut.

We are the witnesses that almost were.

Read all of The Blade's coverage of the Brian Lipp saga:

Man wanted for robbery of Rite Aid
Manhunt underway for robbery suspect
Manhunt fails to find suspect in N. Toledo robbery
Toledo police cruiser crashes during manhunt for robbery suspect
Robbery suspect, 2nd person killed during manhunt
Lengthy chase ends in death of suspect
Drugs led to crime, family says
Friend says fugitive went out the way he wanted

Overheard: "Get a gun"

Overheard on the Toledo police scanner about 3:45 p.m:

Officer says he stopped a juvenile wearing a red shirt who, he thought, had a gun. Turns out the kid had a BB gun.

Another officer: "Come on, man, you've got to get a gun!"
Officer responds: "I got one, it just doesn't fire any bullets!"

Apologetic bandit

A little late on this one, but is it really ever too late for a little shenanigans?

A Toledo man was robbed on Elm Street in North Toledo last month while unloading groceries from his car. Four men ganged up on Michael Wyant, 59, about 9 p.m. on July 31 and demanded money, according to a Toledo police report.  One of the the men grabbed the 59-year-old by the arm and forced him to walk from his front steps to a tree near the street while the other men dug through his pockets, taking his wallet, and running away.

One of the men turned back and returned Mr. Wyant's wallet, saying "Sorry, man, I didn't have anything to do with this."

Despite the apology, the men still took $85 from the wallet.