Blaine Police Department reports: September 18-25

All law enforcement incidents are reviewed on a daily basis by the Blaine police chief. Depending on the nature of the incident, the chief directs police personnel to conduct a follow-up investigation.

September 18, 4 p.m.: Blaine police were called to a residence for a 911 hangup.  Officers arrived and contacted the homeowners, who reported that everything was okay.  Officers determined that no one in the house was in danger and phone number used to call 911 was not located at the residents.  Officer cleared.

September 18, 4:42 p.m.: Officers working traffic enforcement observed a vehicle who's registered owner showed a driving status of suspended in the 3rd degree. Officers stopped the vehicle and identified the driver as the registered owner. Officers arrested, cited and released the individual with a mandatory court date. Officers allowed a licensed driver to retrieve the vehicle. Officers cleared with no further incident.

September 18, 6:30 p.m.: Officers were dispatched to the Peace Arch Point of Entry for a report of a suspended driver. Officers arrived and confirmed the driver is suspended out of California. Officers arrested, cited and released the individual with a mandatory court date.

September 18, 11 p.m.: Officers were dispatched to the Peace Arch Point of Entry for a report of an elderly person acting strangely. Officers arrived and determined the individual didn't want to go home to Anacortes because of domestic issues with her husband. Officers suggested several hotels to stay at for the evening. Officers cleared with no further incident.

September 19, 9:26 a.m.: Blaine Police were dispatched to check the welfare of an elderly woman. An officer arrived and found no signs of any emergency. It was determined the woman was currently in the ER. Police cleared without incident. The woman's sister was notified.

September 19, 1:03 p.m.: An officer was dispatched to the 2600 block of Bell Road for a shoplifting case that was discovered via security video. Officer arrived and took a statement. Officer also recovered security images which were disseminated through local LE channels in hopes the suspect is identified.

September 19, 4:50 p.m.: Officers working traffic enforcement observed a vehicle whose registered owner showed a driving status of suspended in the 3rd degree. Officers stopped the vehicle and identified the driver as the registered owner. Officers arrested, cited and released the individual with a mandatory court date. Officers allowed the owner to leave the vehicle legally parked and gave him a courtesy transport to his residence. Officers cleared with no further incident.

September 19, 9:58 p.m.: Officers responded to the Blaine Food Bank for a possible burglary. While searching the area, officers contacted an individual charging his cell phone from the food bank outlet. Officers determined the individual was doing nothing illegal and cleared with no further incident.

September 20, 7:26 a.m. An officer on patrol was driving when a vehicle failed to yield to him and pulled out in front of his car. The vehicle was stopped and the driver was found to have a misdemeanor warrant out of Lynden. The driver was arrested and booked into jail on the warrant. The driver was also cited for no valid operator’s license without ID and failing to yield to right of way.

September 20, 7:13 a.m.: Blaine police were dispatched to a 911 hang up call. An officer arrived at the business and found no persons in distress or needing help. Police cleared without incident.

September 20, 11:56 a.m.: Blaine Police assisted a Whatcom County Sheriff's Deputy investigating a cold physical domestic. The deputy investigated the crime and developed PC to arrest a suspect. The Blaine officer helped in located the suspect who was in Blaine. The man was arrested by the Sheriff's deputy. Police cleared without incident.

September 20, 1:50 p.m.: Blaine Police were dispatched to a vehicle prowl in-progress. Officers arrived and contacted all parties. No PC for any crime was able to be determined. The suspect was trespassed from the homeowners property. Police cleared without incident.

September 20, 2:27 p.m.: A woman came the Blaine Police Department to speak with an officer about harassing phone calls. The 12+ phone calls she receives per day had started seven days prior. An officer advised the woman about several options to take. Currently the incident will just be documented as there is no suspect info.

September 20, 9:18 p.m.: Officer stopped a vehicle for a traffic violation. Officer determined the driver was under the influence of alcohol. Officer arrested the driver for DUI. The driver was booked into jail.

September 20, 9:27 p.m.: Officers responding to a report of an assault contacted a vehicle for further investigation. The driver of the vehicle was found to be DUI. The driver was arrested. The vehicle was impounded and officers are investigating the assault, see case #201802191.

Chief’s Note: Two DUI arrests this week. Soon, three of our officers will attend Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement (ARIDE) program. ARIDE will improve our officers’ ability to observe, identify, and articulate the signs of impairment related to drugs, alcohol or a combination of both. Our officers are working hard to ensure our community members, especially those attending the Friday night football games are safe from impaired drivers.

September 20, 9:20 p.m.: Officers responded to a report of a fight outside of a local restaurant. Six people were involved in an apparent minor injury altercation. Based on the conflicting statements from the involved parties, the information will be forwarded to the prosecutor for review.

September 20, 9:30 p.m.: A vehicle parked outside of a local restaurant was damaged by an unknown person. There were no witnesses and no surveillance cameras in the area. At this time there are no suspects. Case closed pending new information.

September 21, 5:25 p.m.: Officers were notified of possible inappropriate contact between students. An officer will be investigating.

September 21, 6:35 p.m.: Officers were informed of a runaway dog. The 12-year-old black Chihuahua/Dachshund was wearing a pink collar and answers to the name of "Faye". Faye was last seen in the 3700 block of H Street. The Humane Society was contacted by the reporting party but no animal control officers were responding.

September 21, 7:30 p.m.: Officers were informed of possible unlicensed fish dealing. Officers contacted the suspects and gathered information to be forwarded to the WA Dept of Fish and Game for further investigation.

September 21, 8:44 a.m.: Person who wished to remain anonymous called to report young children were crying a lot in an apartment near them. Officers arrived and contacted two sisters with four children had come to visit their parents for the weekend. The sisters were fighting over a Barbie doll, so the mother took the doll away, which made the kids cry. The children stopped crying and the mother's apologized for any disturbance.

September 21, 9:27 p.m.: Person reported two teenage boys and one teenage girl were playing around in the middle of the street. The two teenage boys were chasing the teenage girl and then one of the teenage boys put the girl on his shoulders. Officer checked the area, but could not locate the two teenage boys and one teenage girl. Officer cleared with no further incident.

September 21, 11:24 p.m.: Dispatch reported the fire department was in route to a residence for an activated fire alarm. Officer arrived with the fire department and found the activated fire alarm was an old fire alarm which had been thrown away in the trash outside, but the batteries had not been removed.  The batteries were removed from the fire alarm.

September 21, 11:20 a.m.: Dispatch reported a possible DUI driver leaving a parking lot in the 400 block of Martin Street.  Officer arrived in the area and located the vehicle. Officer followed the vehicle several blocks and did not observe any indication of impaired driving.

September 21, 11:20 a.m.: Officers responded to a report of a suicidal subject.  An adult female was contacted with self-inflicted wounds to her arms.  She was taken to the hospital for an involuntary commitment.

September 21, 3:35 p.m.: Officers received a report that there was a man behind the skate park using drugs. A man claiming to be homeless was contacted behind the skate park. He denied using drugs and officers saw no evidence of drug use. He claimed to have come to Blaine for the food bank. Officers soon discovered that the man had a misdemeanor warrant out of Bellingham. However, due to jail restrictions, the man was not arrested for his warrant. He was warned to contact the Bellingham Court to take care of his warrant and advised that there were probably better places to hang out besides behind the skate park. The man agreed and left the area.

September 21, 3:15 p.m.: A person came in to the Blaine Police Department to report that the Blaine Primary School would not let her have her son. An officer spoke to the person and to the school. The officer determined that an apparent mis-communication had occurred between her and the school. The person was advised to speak with the principal on Monday morning to clear everything up.  She agreed to do so.

September 22, 7:40 a.m.: An officer was parked near the intersection of Peace Portal Drive and Bell Rd. He ran the RO of a passing vehicle and found the driver to be DWLS 2nd. The vehicle was stopped and driver arrested, cited, and released with a mandatory court date. The keys for the vehicle will be held at the police department until a licensed driver can retrieve them.

September 22, 10 a.m.: Officer was dispatched to the Peace Arch POE in reference to a DWLS driver. Officer arrived, arrested, cited and released the person with a mandatory Blaine Municipal Court hearing. The vehicle was released to a licensed driver.

September 22, 10:27 a.m.: Blaine Police were dispatched to assist the WCSO with a physical domestic. An officer assisted the deputy until it was determined no crime had occurred. Police cleared without incident.

September 22, 1:08 p.m.: Blaine police were dispatched to a commercial burglary alarm. An employee had found a man door standing open and not reported it for almost an hour. Police checked the building and found no persons inside. A business representative said nothing appeared to be amiss. Police cleared without incident.

September 22, 8:30 p.m.: Officers on patrol observed a vehicle driving over the posted speed limit. The vehicle was stopped for the speeding violation and the driver discovered to have a suspended driver's license and a warrant. The warrant was not confirmed due to jail restrictions. The man was arrested for driving with a suspended license and issued a criminal citation. A licensed driver was found to remove the vehicle.

September 22, 9:25 p.m.: Person reported there was a female subject near her residence who was screaming at someone over her cell phone. The female subject was cursing and threatening who ever she was talking to. Officer arrived but the unknown female had left the area. Officer cleared with no further incident.

September 22, 9:30 p.m.: Person reported her neighbors two dogs barking a lot when the owner is not home. Officer contacted the owner of the two dogs and advised him of the city ordinance regarding dogs habitually barking which annoys or disturbs other persons in the vicinity. Owner said he was sorry and would try to make sure they are not barking as much.

September 23, 8:40 a.m.: An individual came to the Blaine PD to gather information on how to retrieve his vehicle from a local business and his wife, whom he is the respondent on a no contact order with, has the keys. The individual was informed it is a civil matter and was provided the option of contacting an attorney or a public defender to resolve the matter.

September 23, 11:30 a.m.: Blaine police responded to Birch Bay Square to assist the WCSO locate a stolen motor vehicle. Officers arrived in the area and searched the shopping center but were not able to locate the vehicle. Officers cleared.

September 23, 10:36 a.m.: Blaine police received multiple phone calls from multiple neighbors regarding an RV possibly squatting on a property located near Shintaffer and Lincoln. All parties were advised that this area is located within the jurisdiction of the WSCO. The jurisdiction information was also passed on to What-Comm, as the WCSO believed it was not their jurisdiction when, in fact, it was.

Chief’s Note: In the several months the Blaine Police Department will channel all police-related calls through the What-comm 911 Communications Center. This call center is managed by the Bellingham Police Department. Using their Master Street Address Guide (MASG) Radio Dispatchers will have greater understanding of which police agency has jurisdictional control over the person calling 911. This will improve officer response time and alleviate confusion between neighboring departments.

September 23, 7:27 p.m.: Officers working traffic enforcement stopped a vehicle for speeding. Officers quickly determined the individual was intoxicated. After conducting the standardized field sobriety tests, Officers determined the individual was over the legal alcohol limit. Officers arrested the individual and booked him into the Whatcom County Jail.

September 23, 3:50 p.m.: A man called Blaine police to report that his parents were being unruly towards him.  The man did not answer a phone call from the officer, did not return his phone call, and was not at the residence when the officer arrived at the home. The father reported that his son continues to have struggles with his mental health and they were trying to find his son a spot in a mental health facility today. Tempers became flared as frustrations mounted but nothing criminal occurred. The father was told to contact Blaine police if any assistance was needed if his son returned.

September 24, 11:25 a.m.: A woman came into the Blaine PD about a civil matter involving an ex-boyfriend and a cell phone.  The woman was also provided with information on how to obtain a no contact order. No crime occurred.

September 24, 9:30 a.m.: During routine patrol Blaine Police located an illegally parked vehicle in the 800 Block of Grant Avenue. The vehicle was marked and a parking infraction will be mailed to the registered owner.

September 24, 3:39 p.m.: Officer conducted a traffic stop for a driver who was attempting to put on their seat belt while at a stop light. Driver was discovered to be DWLS 3rd. Driver was arrested, cited and released with a mandatory court date. Vehicle was left on scene as it was parked safely off the roadway.

September 24, 10:25 a.m.: An individual came into the Blaine PD asking an Officer to sign a paper from Arizona for an out state vehicle registration. Upon further investigation it was discovered the vehicle stays in Washington at his other home, however he resides in Arizona most of his time. The man was informed the paper will not be signed and he needed to register the vehicle in Washington. He was sent to the department of licensing for further assistance.

September 25, 4:55 a.m.: Officers responded to the Blaine Public Works for a report of a transient sleeping outside of the gate. When officers arrived the individual had already left on foot. Officers cleared with no further incident.

September 25, 8:39 a.m.: While on a traffic stop for stolen vehicle, the driver was discovered to be DWLS 3rd. The driver was arrested, cited and released with a mandatory court date. The vehicle was collected by Meridian Towing to be collected by the owner.

September 20, 11:56 a.m.: Blaine Police assisted a Whatcom County Sheriff's Deputy investigating a cold physical domestic. The deputy investigated the crime and developed PC to arrest a suspect. The Blaine officer helped in located the suspect who was in Blaine. The man was arrested by the Sheriff's deputy. Police cleared without incident.

Chief’s Note: There were at numerous Domestic Violence (DV) investigations during this reporting period. Typically, these emotionally-driven radio calls propose the greatest threat to responding officers. Family members should be aware that an officer’s immediate priority is to de-escalate the situation.  This means separating all parties, conducting thorough interviews, and searching the scene for evidence of a crime.  If the officer establishes probable cause then this will result in the mandatory arrest of the primary aggressor. Not all investigations lead to an arrest and may be documented as a DV incident.  In addition, domestic violence is a criminal act committed by a "family or household member" against another. In other words, this is not merely a crime between a husband/wife or boyfriend/girlfriend. DV can also be a crime between a brother/sister or two roommates. The Blaine Police Department can provide the victim with contact information for counseling services. No Contact Orders are issued to protect victims when a defendant has been arrested for a Domestic Violence charge when required by state law. A victim may apply for a civil protection order with Whatcom County District or Superior Court.