Tree Decorating Mom Refuses to Pick Up Kids from Library Among Reports from Area Police Departments

Area police departments provided the following reports. In all incidents where an arrest occurred, a charge is merely an accusation and not evidence of guilt.

Farmington-Farmington Hills Patch

A Farmington Hills Police officer picked up two children, ages 12 and 15, from the Farmington Community Library Main Library at 6:18 p.m. Saturday, after their mother told them she would not come to get them. 

According to the report, the 45-year-old Farmington Hills woman told a dispatcher that she wouldn't pick up the children because she was busy decorating a Christmas tree at their grandmother's home in Southfield. While the children walked to the library, neither was wearing a jacket, and library staff would not let them walk home. The report noted temperatures had fallen below freezing. 

The children were taken to Farmington Hills Police headquarters at 11 Mile and Orchard Lake Roads. The officer spoke to their mother, who said she was upset that the children called for a ride seven minutes before the library closed. The report indicated the officer told the mother when she picked up the children that a report would be filed. 

White Lake-Highland Patch

Man Arrested for Retail Fraud Swallows Razor Blade at White Lake Police Station

A 44-year-old White Lake man remains in Oakland County Jail following an attempt to harm himself at the White Lake Police Station. Police officials said the man swallowed a razor blade while being held at the station for a retail fraud complaint.

According to the report, the man was arrested at Kohl's on Nov. 21 at 2 p.m. after loss prevention officers saw him attempting a fraudulent refund of more than $500 in items at the store.

The man was taken to the White Lake Police Station to be processed, and was placed in a holding cell because another call came in.

When the officers returned, they saw the man had fresh blood on his shirt. When asked why there was blood, the report states the man told police he swallowed a razor blade.

Lt. Don Nankervis said the man had been searched before being placed in the cell, and it's not known how he concealed the razor.

The man was transported to McClaren's Hospital where the razor was surgically removed from his throat. He also had cuts from the razor along his arms that were bandaged.

The man was arraigned on Nov. 23 on a felony charge of retail fraud. Nankervis said the man had a prior conviction for retail fraud that elevated the charge.

The man is being held at Oakland County Jail on a $30,000 cash bond.

Novi Patch

Shoplifters Tasered by Police After Resisting Arrest

Two men were tasered by Novi police after they resisted arrest for retail fraud at Macy's, according to a police report.

The store's loss prevention officer told police on Nov. 23 that two men had stolen three pairs of pants and two long sleeve shirts from the store. The loss prevention officer said the two men were now walking westbound through the parking lot toward Novi road, the report said.

When the men saw the officers, they began running westbound through heavy mall traffic, and officers caught up with them behind Denny's, where one officer ordered them both to the ground, the report said. The men then split up and began running in opposite directions, the report said. Police caught up with one of the men, who refused to obey officers' commands and struggled with them. 

A sergeant arrived on the scene and tried to help control the man, but he continued to resist, the report said. The sergeant then applied a taser to the man and the officers were able to handcuff him, the report said.

The two officers were able to stand the man up and began walking him to the car, but as they got closer, the man started to drag his feet and stumbled forward, pulling one officer with him, the report said. The man's face hit the rear of the car, and the impact broke part of his tooth, the report said. The man refused medical treatment. The man was arrested on retail fraud charges and two counts of resisting and obstructing/assaulting a police officer, the report said.

One of the officers was tired and light-headed from the struggle and received treatment from CEMS at the scene, the report said.

Meanwhile, another officer followed the other man, who was found walking near Old Navy. The man began running away from the patrol car, and the officer ran after him, the report said. The officer told him to stop or he would use his taser, the report said. The man continued to run, so the officer used a taser, then was able to handcuff the man, the report said. The man was arrested on charges of retail fraud and one count of resisting a police officer, the report said.

Plymouth-Canton Patch

Man Tried to Lure Boy into Truck with Candy in Salem Township

Michigan State Police are looking for a man who tried to lure a 10-year-old boy into his truck with candy in Salem Township. They have released a sketch and ask anyone with information to come forward.

Police said the incident happened Thursday morning near 6 Mile and Currie roads in Salem Township, according to a report on ClickOnDetroit.com. The boy refused the man's offer and wasn't harmed, the report said.

"We're on top of it and hopefully, with the community's support, we're trying to get the word out to all of our residents and people who might have seen anything to please let the township know or local authorities," Gary Whittaker, the township supervisor, told WDIV.