Law roundup: Concerned caller misses the mark

Seeing a man practicing archery near several soccer fields where children were playing, a passerby alerted the Kalispell Police Department. Although the archery practice didn’t seem unsafe per se, the passerby felt that loosing arrows near the playing fields was a poor choice. Officers determined that the man was shooting in a safe direction with a safe backstop. And he was nowhere near children. 

Worried about a neighbor who began each morning with yelling and screaming inside his camper, a resident phoned the police. They requested he call back when the noise is ongoing. 

A howling dog got on the nerves of a neighbor, who phoned the police. They confirmed the howling before passing the case along to animal control. 

Suspecting that his neighbor was dealing drugs, a resident asked the police to investigate. Officers added the address to the department’s hot sheet.

The head of security at a local business ran into trouble trying to move along a woman camped out on a bench near the entrance. She apparently refused to move or even acknowledge the presence of security personnel. The woman did begin moving after the police were alerted, stopping at the restroom of another local business before leaving on foot. Arriving officers unsuccessfully tried to locate her. 

Spotting a man with a younger woman, a passerby suspected human trafficking and phoned the authorities. Officers met up with the man who gladly let them check his apartment. He identified the younger woman as a friend and said they hung out frequently. Officers recognized the name and description provided and knew her to be a “local person” who was not being trafficked. 

A woman claimed that she couldn’t find work because of discrimination on the part of a state employment agency.

Officers tried to track down two people accused of stealing a couple of tall boys of beer from a store. 

The police were summoned to Woodland Park for a report of multiple people yelling and screaming at each other. The group had departed by the time officers arrived. 

Several youths were hanging out at the train engine near Woodland Park. 

A National Guard soldier suspected of going AWOL turned up alive and well at his home in Kalispell. He was expected in Helena that morning and when he didn’t show up, his fellow Guardsmen alerted the authorities. After tracking down his vehicle and checking in with his wife — who said he was fine and at home — officers found the missing soldier and determined that he was OK. 

A security camera caught a cyclist stopping on private property, digging through a bag and then dumping the contents on the ground before pedaling off. The property owner asked the police to track the man down. Responding officers noted that both the man and the trash had disappeared.