NO PROBLEMO: An officer working extra duty at Ybor City's Club Fuel approached a Jeep blocking traffic on E. Seventh Avenue and instructed the driver to pull over to the side of the road. Per the report, the officer then "began to walk toward the front of the Jeep to get out of traffic himself." The driver of the Jeep started to pull to the side, but then deliberately accelerated toward the officer, struck him and knocked him onto the hood. The banged-up officer managed to push himself out of the way of the Jeep as it sped off. The Jeep was soon spotted a few blocks away, and the two passengers were taken into custody. In addition to the assorted drugs found in the vehicle, the two men made "incriminating statements" indicating they intentionally hit the cop with the jeep "to escape any 'problems' with the police." Good job.
GOD BLESS THE CHILD: Upon arrival at the Revealing Truth Ministries in Tampa, the defendant in this case placed her children with daycare workers who look after parishioners' kids while mom and dad are off praising the Lord. Per the report: "During the service, the defendant was advised by workers that her 2-month-old child was sick and could not remain in the custody of the workers." The woman retrieved her daughter, went to the parking lot and placed the child in the backseat of her car. The woman then returned to the service, leaving the sick child unattended in the car for over an hour before employees of the church found her. Fortunately, the child did not appear harmed. Mom was arrested and charged with child neglect; the kids were placed in the custody of their aunt.
SPEAKING OF THE KIDS: This week, I think I've got two cases of kids running amok. In the first, two boys living at Riverside Academy in Tampa, a juvenile rehab facility, decided to ring in the new year by making a clean break. On Jan. 1, the boys unscrewed the air conditioner from the wall of their room and escaped the facility through the remaining hole. Perhaps attempting to alleviate any worry on the part of the staff, the conscientious young men left a note "saying that they were leaving." Great last line of the incident log: "They were last seen in the Sulphur Springs area running from DOJJ personnel." In the second case, someone broke into Robinson High School during the Christmas break and damaged the vending machines. The incident log provides no indication the perpetrator of the crime was a kid. Just call it a hunch.
From the files of the T.P.D.
