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 blotters in our communities.
Tragedy struck back in May when a mother deer was hit by a car on Graniteville Road in Westford. Thankfully, the baby deer at her side wasn’t injured. Soon after the accident a second fawn was found nearby. The two babies, who still had their umbilical cords attached, were taken to a wildlife rehabilitator, according to Westford Animal Control. The following day, a woman was working at the community gardens when she heard an animal crying in the woods. “She immediately recognized that this was a fawn in distress and began to follow the cries until she located the little one,” Westford Animal Control wrote on social media. “She did exactly as she should have, not touching or interacting with the fawn and called for assistance.” The woman had heard about of the death of the mother deer the day before, and happened to be in the right place at the right time to hear the cries of the third orphaned fawn. “Had it been any other day of the week, those cries likely would have gone unheard,” the post said. “We notified the rehabilitator that another sibling was found, just feet away from the road where the collision occurred, also with the umbilical cord attached. This little guy would now be joining his siblings!”
At 7:44 p.m. June 26, Medfield police received a complaint that a driver allegedly “threw a Big Gulp Slurpee” at the windshield of another vehicle that was stopped at a set of traffic lights and then took off toward Metacomet Park. Police checked the area, as well as the address on the registration of the vehicle, and they spoke with a parent of the driver, who was on his way home. According to the log entry, police were going to wait to speak with him when he got home and take a report.
When you serve on a suburban police force or fire department, you never know what kind of calls you’ll get. On July 1, Lincoln police got a call from someone who needed help “moving an appliance that became stuck in a doorway” at a home on Weston Road. “An officer responded and was able to free the appliance,” the log entry stated.
At around 7:30 a.m. on July 12, Bourne police dispatch received reports that a black bear that had been seen wandering around Buzzards Bay had made its way into Bourne Scenic Park, a campground near the intersection of routes 6 and 28 by the Bourne Bridge. Officers and members of the town’s Department of Natural Resources responded and watched as the bear returned to the woods. But given how close the animal was to such a densely populated area — and heavily traveled roadways — authorities ultimately made the decision to move it to a safer place. With the help of the police, MassWildlife officials, and Massachusetts Environmental Police, the bear was sedated and successfully relocated to a forested area without incident. “Young bears often wander this time of year as they leave their mothers and search for new territory,” MassWildlife officials later wrote on social media. “Wishing this bear safer summer adventures ahead!”
Emily Sweeney can be reached at emily.sweeney@globe.com. Follow her @emilysweeney and on Instagram @emilysweeney22.