Law roundup: Woman’s dog encounter was bit-and-run

Someone told the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office a dog bit her “in the rump.” She said she “hollered” at the dog owner, but he and the dog “took off.”

A Kalispell man found a “stray cow.” He called the brand inspector.

An intoxicated man in Bigfork was insistent about getting into a business after it closed. He allegedly offered an after-hours employee somewhere between $60 and $80 to be let into the building. When the employee refused, the unwanted visitor apparently started messing with nearby gas pumps in a retaliatory attempt to shut them off. The Sheriff’s Office advised the caller to lock all the business’ doors until law enforcement arrived on the scene.

Someone sleeping in a vehicle on U.S. 2 was warned about an expired vehicle registration.

A woman attempted to steal an expensive cooler from a Columbia Falls store, but an employee was apparently able to snatch the cooler out of the thief’s vehicle before she left the parking lot.

An intoxicated older couple became embroiled in an argument, but neither of them wanted to separate for the night, even to move from the bedroom to the couch. Columbia Falls Police Department officers advised them “if things escalated again…one of them needs to go sleep on the couch.” The woman who placed the call apparently “cursed at dispatch and disconnected.”

An off-duty member of law enforcement reported a “toddler not secured.” Apparently, the child had been crawling around in a vehicle while it went through a drive-thru restaurant, but by the time officers investigated, “the toddler appeared secure.”

An employee became suspicious of two individuals sitting outside the business. Apparently, one of them just wanted to “smoke a few cigarettes” before coming inside to get a debit card. The employee told the police the behavior “just seems odd.”

A woman’s phone reportedly was stolen in Whitefish, and then she and her boyfriend tracked it to a neighborhood in Columbia Falls. She decided to hold off on knocking on each door to find the thief, and instead called the CFPD. She was advised to fill out a theft complaint with the Whitefish Police Department.

A grateful resident called the CFPD to let them know he has lived in Columbia Falls for more than 30 years, and he “really appreciated” an officer’s presence near a school.