Law roundup: Catwoman caught in Kalispell
Who needs the Bat Signal? With the help of a passerby, officers with the Kalispell Police Department tracked Catwoman down to a city underpass. Authorities initially responded to a report of an individual dressed up in an animal costume, digging at the ground and throwing debris into traffic. Arriving officers found a woman in a cat costume. She and her male companion — no word on whether he wore a penguin outfit — agreed to clean up and leave.
When store employees saw a man vaping inside, they asked him to stop. He instead allegedly grew aggressive and refused to leave, prompting a phone call to the police. The man had vanished, presumably in a cloud of smoke, by the time officers arrived.
Multiple callers reported that a stop sign had toppled over. Officers confirmed that the stop sign was down.
Employees at a store asked officers to check on the occupant of a van parked at the location for the past few days. A customer mentioned seeing a man in the front seat and the employees asked that police check on him and move him along. Arriving officers learned that the motorist was trying to fix a dead battery and would leave as soon as possible.
Officers spoke with a man possibly suffering from disco fever after the employee of a local business asked that the police move along an individual dancing in the parking lot. Officers spoke with the man, advised him of outstanding warrants and suggested he “stop smoking certain substances.”
A woman phoned the police after her security camera caught a man walking into her yard from the alley and trying her back door twice.
Multiple calls about a couple in a white Jeep fighting led to a man getting temporarily detained by officers. Witnesses claimed the pair were screaming and yelling, saying that the man eventually dragged the woman into the Jeep before driving off. Speaking with the pair, officers were told that the man was apparently trying to hug the woman. She told officers his hugs calmed her. Then the pair planned to leave for a “location where they wouldn’t cause a scene.” Officers ultimately released the man, but seized his Montana driver’s license.
A woman called the police concerned about a duck with an injured leg. A passerby had told her that a family had dropped the duck off. She conducted an online search of the waterfowl and believed it was protected under federal law. She agreed to call back later in the week and speak with an animal control officer or Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.
Someone reported a shoplifter.
A worried boyfriend phoned the police after a suspicious-looking man appeared to have followed his girlfriend home. He told officers the man approached the residence twice, but went back to his car. He later left the area.
Finding ash falling on their deck from a neighbor’s fire, a homeowner phoned police asking if the blaze was legal. They said the neighbor was burning branches. Officers investigated and learned that the neighbor was using a pit to contain the blaze. They ended up counseling the caller.
After spotting a woman hitting her dog at one of the shopping plazas in North Kalispell, a passerby decided to confront her about the behavior. She allegedly cursed at the passerby, threatened to hurt them and then charged them. Officers detained the woman and took the dog away.