Police, fire chiefs report March activity; police describe bus-area attempted abduction report

Hollywood Park public safety officials reported March activity and recent operations on April 15, and police described a reported attempted abduction near a school bus stop that prompted increased patrols.

Fire Chief Eric Burnside said the department responded to 48 calls in March (16 EMS calls, one motor-vehicle crash and 21 mutual-aid responses). Burnside described annual hose and appliance testing, hydrant tests to be reported to the water purveyor, an inventory-management system rollout, and training milestones: two fire engineers completed driver-operator aerial certification and officers are attending NIMS/ICS classes. Burnside also described ongoing weekly wellness checks for residents and the department’s "files of life" program (a pre-completed form for emergency responders that lists medical preferences and contacts).

"For our, fire calls for March, we ended up doing a full of 48 calls," Burnside reported. He also said the fire department has accepted responsibility for a large diesel-fired generator outside town hall and is working to resolve a needed inverter replacement and maintenance contract.

Police Chief Richard (last name given in the packet as Pritchard in departmental materials) presented the department’s March statistics: 318 calls for service, 11 offenses, one arrest and 506 citations (184 warnings among those). He described a vehicle recovery, and he promoted an April 26 prescription drug take-back event at town hall to keep unused medications out of homes and schools.

The chief addressed council questions about social-media concerns regarding officers following school buses. He said officers were conducting visible patrols around bus routes after a parent reported a suspicious encounter: the department tracked and located a man who reportedly asked a student to get in a vehicle after the child stepped off a bus. Chief Richard said the encounter ‘‘lasted about 10 seconds’’ and that the department could not prove criminal conduct in court; the subject lives outside the town and was not charged, but the department contacted him and warned him to avoid working in the town.

"It was a very much a he said, she said kinda incident," Chief Richard said. "I couldn't prove it in a court of law. So that's where we're at." He said the department informed the parent and increased bus-area patrols while investigating. Mayor Drash and council urged residents to be vigilant and to use groups or reflective clothing for children walking in low-light conditions.

Chief Richard also reminded residents about a twice-yearly drug take-back event and said the department collected many pounds of medication at past events.

No formal council action was required for these reports; chiefs answered questions from council and residents and said they would provide follow-up information if requested.