Police Report: Man Gets Pushy in Recycling Dispute

Police cited a 76-year-old man for disorderly conduct after he allegedly pushed a 13-year-old girl in a dispute about recycling at Brookfield Square mall.

The girl told police that after she threw a glass bottle into a garbage can about noon April 18, an older man confronted her, telling her she should recycle it. She said the man "put his hand on the back of her head and pushed her toward the garbage can telling her to get the bottle out."

He then asked her where she went to school and then left. Police officers found the man waiting at a bus stop and booked and released him for disorderly conduct.

Other recent police calls include:

Two cases of leaving children unattended in cars: 

• A woman left her three-year-old daughter alone in her SUV while she shopped inside T.J. Maxx about 3 p.m. April 10. The child was unharmed but crying for her mother. The window were partially open. The child's mother said she was gone "no longer than five minutes" and left her daughter in the car because she was asleep and didn't want to wake her. Police warned her about unattended children and told her she needed a car seat.
• Police were called to the Goodwill at 4550 Pilgrim Road at 1 p.m. April 5 for a report of a child, perhaps 2 years old, crying alone inside a car. The child's mother came out of the store and said her daughter had been sleeping and she didn't want to wake her.

Teen Challenge fraud: Employees at Mitchell's Fish Market reported to police that three teenage males were soliciting funds for "Teen Challenge." But when the restaurant contacted Teen Challenge, they were told the agency was having problems with people illegally posing as TC fundraisers. Three boys, ages 11, 13 and 15, were being investigated.

Burned food, not fire: Fire crews responded to a smoke alarm at Congregational Nursing Home, 3140 Lilly Road shortly after 6 p.m. April 18. It turned out to be a false alarm from burned food in room 3111.

Good samaritan: Motorists called 911 to report cars were swerving on W. North Ave. east of Pilgrim Parkway to avoid hitting six-foot-long metal beams lying in the road about 8 a.m. April 18. A good samaritan moved them out of the way before officers arrived. 

Dog found: A large male yellow labrador with an electric fence collar was taken to the Elmbrook Humane Society after a resident reported the dog running loose near Pilgrim Road and Burleigh Boulevard about 9:30 a.m. April 18. The dog had no identification tags.

Speeding school bus: Officers were searching for a school bus that a caller said tends to speed through the area of St. James and Charter Point Court about 2:45 p.m. on school days. The caller said the bus speeds from Capitol Drive to St. James and could be en route to St. Dominic's School.