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 log books (a.k.a. blotters) in our communities.
YEEHAW
A wayward horse recently got a police escort home after wandering the mean streets of Littleton. Officer Adam Zaferacopoulos “responded to an unusual call about a loose horse taking a scenic tour of the town,’’ police wrote on Facebook on Feb. 23. “With patience and teamwork, this four-legged traveler was safely guided back home. Who knew that wrangling horses would be part of the job?’’
UNLIKELY FIREFIGHTER
A squirrel made a surprise visit to the Dedham public safety building last month and decided to try out the fire pole. Photos of the furry intruder were posted on the Dedham Animal Control Facebook page. “We’ve all seen them . . . squirrels being quite proficient at scaling utility poles. Well, late Friday, this little inquisitive adventurer decided he was going to kick it up a notch by sneaking into Dedham’s Public Safety Building to scale a fire pole!’’ the post said. “Once the fun and games came to an end, the weary uninvited visitor found himself trapped in the stairwell between the third and first floors. It didn’t take us long to corner the furry firefighting enthusiast, gather him up and put him back outside where he belongs. No offense to Dedham’s finest, but we might’ve witnessed the fastest fire pole descent to date. . . and wait, didn’t the application period for the 2025 Massachusetts Firefighter exam begin just this past week?’’ A video showed the squirrel being released from a cage back into the wilds of Dedham.
CINNAMON CAPER
In the wee hours of the morning of March 5, Beverly police received a report of suspicious activity on Wallis Street. The caller told police that someone opened her window, and a “jar of cinnamon’’ had been tossed into the room. Police checked the area and made sure the window was secured.
HIDDEN HOOCH
On Feb. 21, a man walking his dog in Sandwich noticed a small white SUV parked on the side of a dirt road, and watched as a man got out of the vehicle and threw “5-6 quart sized containers filled with socks into the woods,’’ before speeding off. What were these mystery items, you may wonder? Police soon found out. “Investigating officers located the stockings and found they were filled with liquor bottles,’’ police wrote.
FOR THE BIRDS
At 12:38 p.m. Feb. 17, Cohasset police heard from a resident who was complaining that her neighbor was “feeding wildlife by spreading food all over the ground’’ and the buffet she was providing was “attracting too much wildlife.’’ The caller was worried the animals would become aggressive when the food ran out. Police spoke to the neighbor, who admitted to scattering food to feed ground-feeding birds. Police informed her that she was also unintentionally feeding other wildlife whenever she did this, and she would need to stop. She “was not happy with being told the feeding needed to stop,’’ the log stated. Police advised her to get a ground feeder for birds, and cease her DIY efforts.
COMMUTER BLUES
Talk about a rough start to the morning commute. Shortly after 5 a.m. on Jan. 9, Bridgewater police received a call from someone on the commuter rail who reported that there was an unruly customer on the train. Police learned that it was a disagreement over a train fare, and thankfully it didn’t escalate any further, as ultimately the fee was paid and peace was restored.
DOORED
At 7 p.m. Feb. 21, a driver of a 2019 Toyota opened the car door at the worst moment, just as an MBTA bus was passing by. The accident happened on the 1500 block of Blue Hill Avenue in Boston, and resulted in “substantial damage’’ to the car door, according to Transit Police. “Thankfully, no injuries were reported,’’ police wrote.
Emily Sweeney can be reached at emily.sweeney@globe.com. Follow her @emilysweeney and on Instagram @emilysweeney22.
