A Fort Dodge resident was enjoying a warm summer evening, working in her yard when she noticed an unfamiliar man walking down the street pushing a lawn mower. This looked odd so she continued observing him as he walked closer.
Pretty soon, he came to a basketball hoop that sat on the curb in front of her neighbor’s home. The man bent down, scooped up the basketball that was tucked into the base of the hoop, and commenced his walk with the lawn mower and ball in hand.
As she considered calling this in to the Law Enforcement Center some of her thoughts were, “Does this warrant a call? The lawn mower could be his. Will they think it’s silly to call for a basketball?” She called the non-emergency number despite her reservations and gave them a description of the man, what she saw, and where he went. A short time later an officer drove through the neighborhood and returned the stolen ball to its rightful owner.
Being able to return something as simple as a basketball made the officer’s day. As far as the lawn mower, the resident who called the incident in doesn’t know how that story ended, and that’s ok. That’s between the officer looking into the incident, the man wheeling it down the street, and whomever may or may not have given it to him.
If you See Something, Say Something. You can use the city’s reporting system or Crime Stoppers. Follow the link below for more information on See Something and the links to report suspicious activity.
