Law roundup: Resident wants to apply vigilante justice to traffic violations

Sick of speeding motorists, a resident lobbied the Kalispell Police Department to issue him a dozen stop signs so he could put them up on each avenue in the area to slow drivers down. He claimed that about 90% of the drivers in the area were speeding, many of them using “it like a bypass.” Officers told him they do not hand out stop signs, but recommended he present his concerns to Kalispell City Council. They also offered to arrange for extra patrols in the area. 

Alleging harassment at the hands of a debt collector, a woman turned to the police looking for help. She said the man had visited her at her job over money owed to a local medical center and made a scene. Before he left, he said he was heading to the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office to get her arrested. She told officers she would have preferred he contact her outside of work. 

A resident awoke to find vulgar words written on their door in feces, the odorious act committed likely around midnight. The excrement was also smeared on the door handle. They passed information about a possible suspect along to investigators. 

Hoping to speak with someone about his dad’s death, a man visited the Police Department.

After trying to rectify the situation themselves and getting the brush off, a caller reported a homeless man with a walker and rolling suitcase allegedly sipping from a pint of vodka and setting up camp around a store. When arriving officers spotted the man, he was headed toward a downtown bus stop. 

Employees reviewed surveillance tape of a man in a white Volkswagen swing through a hotel parking lot, but not before stopping to break into a parked truck. The owner of the targeted vehicle reported the theft of a tool bag, snacks, dog bed and basket of tow straps to the police. The thief, who struck about 6 a.m., was described as a tall, slender man with a ponytail. 

Someone alerted police to several vehicles, a PT Cruiser and a motorhome, that had begun popping up in the area. They hoped that officers would intervene. 

A man with apparently no attachments other than his love of the guitar earned the ire of a caller, who asked that the music man be banned from the premises. 

Officers that came across a group of people with “excess property and structures” had them gather their belongings and move on to greener pastures. 

A concerned resident asked officers to check in on a homeless man who routinely came through the area on his way to the walking trail. The resident described the man, likely in his 30s, as appearing to be in a lot of pain. 

After staring at a gold colored Suburban with a decal on the back declaring that it was “powered by thez nuts” for two weeks, a resident asked that officers sticker it for a parking violation. Despite thez nuts, it had clearly broken down. Officers added their sticker to the vehicle’s decorations.