Fed up with Harborview construction, he blocked the heavy equipment with his truck
Editor’s note: This blotter is compiled from recent Gig Harbor police and Gig Harbor Fire & Medic One reports.
The Harborview Drive resident had had enough.
Irritated with construction noise, he parked his truck on part of the road that was being worked on and blocked in construction vehicles about 11 p.m. March 17.
When one of the workers asked him to move, he refused and argued, and the worker called 911.
When an officer arrived and asked the man to move, he refused again.
That’s when the cop gave the man a choice. He could move, or he could be arrested and his vehicle would be towed.
The man said he was upset with nighttime construction and couldn’t sleep.
The officer’s report describes him as irrational, yelling over the officer at times.
Meanwhile, the cop tried to explain that the city decided to give the construction crew an incentive to work nights and weekends to try to finish early because of complaints about how the project is affecting local businesses and traffic.
Instead of listening, the man used a bit of profanity and accused police of being “communist pigs.”
When he poked the officer’s chest and called him a communist, the cop told him to never touch him again, and he didn’t.
The officer told him the proper, legal way to raise his concerns was to go to city leaders the next day.
After a few more minutes and one more threat of arrest, the man backed his truck into his driveway.
The officer told him that was the only time they were going to have that conversation.
Next time, his truck will be towed and he could be arrested.
Chainsaw heist
A burglary alarm went off about 5:30 a.m. March 20 at a business in the 3300 block of Hunt Street.
Police arrived, and, when the manager got there, they looked at surveillance footage.
It showed a truck back into the front of the building, smashing the door and windows. Then the driver grabbed a chainsaw, eight replacement chains, a leaf blower and a cutting wheel and took off. The items totaled more than $1,500.
The incident took about a minute.
The business had to hire 24-hour security for a few days because there wasn’t a way to secure the building. It was closed, pending repairs, and there were concerns that it might collapse.
Electronics thief flees with iPhone 13s
Two people went to the phone kiosk about 1:30 p.m. March 16 at the Costco at 10990 Harbor Hill Dr. They looked at phones, and one started an application for a phone, then left when asked for an ID.
One of them returned about 8 p.m. and said he forgot his ID at the kiosk. As an employee went to look for it, the person used wire cutters to snip security wires on two iPhone 13s, then fled with the phones in a getaway vehicle.
The phones were worth about $1,700.
Empty car found burning in ravine
Firefighters responded about 8:45 p.m. March 16 to a vehicle burning in a ravine near Dana Drive Northwest and 24th Avenue Northwest. Police and sheriff’s deputies were there. Firefighters made their way to the vehicle about 20 feet down the ravine and put out the blaze. They saw blood on the driver’s side, but no one inside. They turned the matter over to law enforcement.
