Selected items from the Bainbridge Island Police Department blotter
Wednesday, July 15
7:08 p.m. Police responded to an assault in which the reporting party told police that he had been attacked by an older male at a party in the 4500 block of Crystal Springs Drive. Officers contacted the male victim as well as a group of individuals who were standing outside a residence just down the road from where the party was occurring.
The victim told police that he was not involved in the party but came across it when he was driving down Crystal Springs Drive. According to the police report, as he approached the location of the party, he observed a group of about 20 people standing in the roadway. The victim said he was expecting the group of people to clear the roadway, but they did not.
He told officers one male approached him from the side of the car and started yelling at him for speeding, even though he stated he wasn’t speeding and couldn’t be speeding because of the speed bumps present in the roadway. Another male, 68, approached the suspect from the driver’s side of the vehicle and allegedly punched him in the forehead. The victim stated he then got out of the car before being punched again by the 68-year-old man in the chest but says he was not injured in the incident.
The suspect later told police he had observed the victim going what he suspected was 35 mph in a 20 mph zone. The suspect said he confronted him about his speeding, but the victim was “belligerent and started cursing at him.” Upon the victim stepping out of his vehicle, the man said he pushed him back in the chest with an open hand and told police he was justified in pushing him because he was cursing and because “pedestrians had the right of way in the roadway.”
Police then explained to the suspect that it was not illegal for the victim to be swearing and that even if he was speeding, he could not put his hands on him. He also explained to the 68-year-old man that pedestrians do not always have the right of way in the roadway and in the current scenario, the pedestrians had a legal duty to clear the roadway when a car was traveling through. Police explained to him that what he did was assault, to which he said he understood. No arrests were made.
Monday, July 20
3:46 p.m. Police received notice of a theft at Seabold Church where a church employee stated that an unidentified male removed a Pride flag from the cross on the front lawn of the church and stated he would take it down if it was put back up.
The church employee told police she was sitting outside with two of her clients when a middle-aged man approached them with the Pride flag, which had been hanging on the cross on the front lawn of the church overlooking Highway 305. The church employee stated the suspect folded up the flag, placed it on the ground, and told her “if it gets put back up, I will take it down,” stating the flag was offensive to him.
At this time, the suspect is unknown and no leads have been identified to locate him. It was unclear whether the suspect’s intentions were to steal the flag or remove the flag, police said.
Tuesday, July 21
10:24 a.m. Police responded to a possible trespass at Manitou Beach Drive NE and N Madison Avenue. The call indicated that the owner of the property thought a transient individual might be living on the property. The male property owner told police he noticed items on the property (tires) had been moved in the last couple of days and approximately a month prior, an abandoned junk shuttle bus had all the windows smashed out of it.
The property owner also stated that he believes that someone, may have discovered the property and is concerned that they will cause more damage or steal items. He stated the replacement cost of the windows is valued at around $3,000. At the time of the report, there was no suspect information available. Police told the property owner that the department would conduct patrol checks of the area when possible.
