COLBY-ABBOTSFORD POLICE

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_ Feb. 6 - An officer was dispatched to a local medical facility for a welfare check on a man making suicidal comments. The officer spoke with a staff member who said the man was feeling depressed and needed help.

The officer spoke to the man, who said he had just moved here from a warmer climate and was having a hard time adjusting to the cold and snow. He said he feels really depressed but is not suicidal. He said he does not have any weapons at his home, and does not believe in violence. The officer contacted a crisis worker, who agreed to set up a safety plan with the male subject. It was arranged for him to meet with a crisis worker at Clark County Human Services the following day.

_ Feb. 8 - An officer was dispatched to a Colby restaurant in response to a hit-and-run report. The officer met with a restaurant employee who said someone driving a car-hauler trailer had struck his vehicle while it was parked in the parking lot. A witness wrote down the truck’s license plate number.

The officer contacted the vehicle’s owner, who said his girlfriend had been using the truck and trailer earlier that day. The officer spoke to the girlfriend, who said she didn’t think she hit anyone at the restaurant. The officer also requested surveillance footage from the manager of the attached gas station.

_ Feb. 10 - An officer responded to an Abbotsford residence after the owner of two properties along STH 13 had plowed snow onto the sidewalks, despite a previous warning not to. The offi cer took pictures of large piles of snow on the sidewalks, and then issued the property owner a citation for failure to remove snow and ice from a sidewalk.

_ Feb. 10 - An officer was dispatched to an Abbotsford apartment in reference to a possible theft. The officer met with the complainant, who said his nephew had visited him a few days prior. He said he gave his nephew his debit card so he could buy cigarettes and soda. His nephew returned with the items, but he left without giving the card back.

The complainant said he tried calling his nephew, but his phone number was no longer active. He said his nephew had spent the card’s entire $650 balance. He was unsure of where his nephew was, as he lives “couch to couch.” The officer said this would likely be a civil matter that would have to be pursued through small claims court, since he gave his nephew permission to use the card. The officer advised him to cancel the card so his nephew can’t continue to use it. He also advised the complainant to call the police if he got a working phone number for his nephew.

_ Feb. 11 - An officer was dispatched to an Abbotsford residence in reference to a domestic abuse incident. He met with a woman who was crying hysterically and said she had been chased out of her apartment in Colby by her boyfriend. The woman had a swollen, bloody lip and red marks on her neck.

The complainant said she arrived home from work that morning, and her boyfriend wanted her to drive him to get some cocaine. She refused to do so, and he got angry. She said he grabbed her by the throat and started choking her, making it hard for her to breathe. She was able to break free, and as he was chasing after her, she threw a small vacuum cleaner at him, but missed. She said he grabbed her throat again, but she got away. She said she threw his shoes at him, striking him in the face, allowing her to escape.

The complainant had driven to her friend’s place in Abbotsford and called the police. The offi cer went to the complainant’s Colby residence and met with the boyfriend. He claimed the fight started because the complaint thought he was looking at porn on his phone, and then threw a vacuum at him. He said she also threw shoes at him, and pointed to a small red mark on his face. He denied asking her to help him get drugs, but he kept changing the details of how the incident occurred.

The boyfriend admitted to pushing the complainant during the argument but denied grabbing her throat or choking her. He also said he had not used cocaine for about seven days. The officer did not believe his version of his events, so he was arrested for strangulation, domestic battery and domestic disorderly conduct.

_ Feb. 12 - An officer spoke with a man who came to the police station seeking help. He said he had gotten into some legal trouble and could no longer stay with his roommates at his apartment in Colby. He also said he had no money, no place to go, and his phone battery was dead.

Because of the wintery weather, the officer provided the man with a Salvation Army voucher so he could stay at a local hotel for the night. He was told he would need to make other arrangements the following day.

_ Feb. 12 - An officer spoke with two brothers who were concerned about potential fraud being committed against their father. The brothers said a woman had been helping their father with some basic daily tasks, as he was starting to develop dementia. They recently learned that this caretaker and her boyfriend had used their father’s bank card to purchase items that were not for him.

After speaking to the brothers, the officer decided to make contact with the woman and see if she would repay the expenses she charged. By the time he called her, she said she had already talked to one of the brothers about paying their father back. However, she said she was not going to pay for items purchased by her boyfriend.

The brothers were also worried about the woman’s boyfriend possibly living with their father, as they knew he had anger issues and was on probation. One of the brothers was going to check on the situation himself, so the officer filed a report for the record.

_ Feb. 12 - An officer responded to a mobile home court in Colby after a couple reported hearing what they thought was a gunshot and screaming. The female party said they were in bed at about 10 p.m., when she asked her husband if he heard anything. He looked around, but did not see anything.

No other reports of screams or a gunshot came into police that night. The officer noted that the wind was quite blustery at the time. He patrolled the mobile home park, but did not see anything suspicious.

_ Feb. 13 - Officers responded to a motor vehicle accident on STH 29 in the town of Hull. The officer met with one of the drivers, who said she and the other driver were in the curve on STH 29 just west of the Maple Road off-ramp east of Abbotsford. As they went around the curve, she said the other driver left his lane and swiped her vehicle.

The officer couldn’t tell if the woman’s SUV had any damage or paint transfer, but the other driver’s vehicle did have transferred paint on the front bumper. Neither party wanted to file a claim with their insurance companies or seek damages.

_ Feb. 15 - An officer ran the license plate of a vehicle on Spruce Street, and the vehicle came back as registered to someone with two active warrants. The officer pulled the vehicle over and confirmed that the driver had two warrants, one for failing to pay a citation for operating while suspended and another for failing to pay a fine for having open intoxicants in a vehicle. The total bond amount was $533.50. The driver said he would be able to pay the full amount in six days, but neither he or his family had the money available immediately. Because he could not post the bonds, the driver was arrested and taken to Marathon County Jail.

_ Feb. 15 - An officer responded to a complaint of kids making loud noises at an Abbotsford apartment. The officer stood outside the apartment door, but did not hear anything. The offi cer knocked on the door and told the tenants about the complaint. They said they had visitors with kids who were noisy, but they had since left. The officer told them to try and keep the noise down in the future.

_ Feb. 15 - An officer was notifi ed of a man walking down First Street in Abbotsford who had an active arrest warrant.

The officer asked to see his identification. The man voluntarily turned over his ID, and the officer used it to confirm that he had an active warrant with a $465 bond amount. He was unable to post the bond, so he was arrested and taken to Clark County Jail.

_ Feb. 15 - An officer was dispatched to an Abbotsford apartment in reference to a loud noise complaint. The officer could see several people through the window of the apartment, and they appeared to be having a party. The officer could hear the noise from outside, so he met with the tenant and advised him to keep the music and other noise down. The tenant said he would.

_ Feb. 16 - An officer was dispatched to an Abbotsford apartment in reference to a suspicious person. While the officer was on his way, dispatch reported that the suspicious person had left in a vehicle on Highway 13. A Clark County deputy searched the vehicle for the area, while the officer proceeded to the apartment.

The officer met with the complainant, who said someone had knocked on his door about 10 minutes prior to the officer’s arrival. He was not expecting anyone, so he yelled through the door to find out who it was. The person did not answer, but the knocking continued. When the complainant told the person that he was going to call the police, the man said that was not necessary and that he would leave.

The complainant said the man remained at the door for another two minutes before leaving. He showed the officer a picture of the man’s car, a Chevy Tahoe with no front license plate. The complainant said there was also a second man standing by the vehicle when the other man was knocking on his door. He said they were both white men, one tall and skinny and the other very large. The deputy was unable to locate their vehicle.

_ Feb. 16 - An officer was dispatched to the parking lot of an Abbotsford restaurant in reference to a woman who was not feeling well after taking an unknown number of pills. Dispatch said the woman was with her boyfriend, and they were waiting for an ambulance.

The officer arrived and spoke with the woman and her boyfriend. The woman said she was experiencing chest pains and did not remember what happened. From talking to the couple, the officer learned that they had been at their residence in Dorchester when the woman started acting strange. She locked herself in the bathroom, and when she came back out, she was holding two empty pill bottles. One was medication for motion sickness and the other was for a prescription antidepressant. The woman said there had been about 20 antidepressants in the bottle. When the officer asked, the woman denied having thoughts of suicide or selfharm. She said she did not remember taking the pills.

EMTs arrived, evaluated the woman and then transported her to the emergency room in Marshfield. The officer followed along and called a mental health professional about possibly having the woman committed after the medical results were known.

_ Feb. 17 - An officer was dispatched to a Colby residence for a welfare check on a man who was reportedly lost and cold and saying strange things about magic. The officer and a deputy located the man at the entrance of an apartment building. He was swaying back and forth and appeared to be intoxicated. The man said he was afraid for his life because of all the police who had showed up. He said he had just stepped outside his girlfriend’s apartment to have a smoke.

Officers learned that the man had been talking to his ex-girlfriend on the phone and telling her strange things. The man called his current girlfriend, who came out of her apartment and agreed to let him stay with her the rest of the night.