Selected reports from the Bainbridge Island Police Department blotter.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 15

11:24 a.m. A 70-year-old Santa Monica, California woman said she had parked her car earlier in the day at the Coppertop business park to go to a physical therapy appointment. When she came back to her car, a rental, her mid-sized Chihuahua dog named Ajax was missing.

The woman searched for the dog with no success, and thought her pet had been stolen.

5:16 p.m. A 65-year-old Bainbridge woman claimed she was assaulted while on the way to her study group at Saint Cecelia Church.

The woman said she had to walk through a group of children who were playing basketball in the courtyard, and said as she approached the door she was “intentionally” hit in the back of her legs with a basketball.

She fell to the ground and complained of a broken knee. An ambulance was called and she was taken to Seattle, where she said she would need knee surgery.

The woman said she did not think there were any witnesses, and when asked how she knew if the ball was purposefully thrown at her, she said she was “struck hard and fast so it had to be intentional.” She said she did not see who threw the ball, and there were about 30 children at the playground.

The woman wanted an investigation into the alleged assault.

Police went to the school the next day and spoke to an office manager; she said the kids were playing in the cement courtyard during recess because the grass becomes muddy when it rains.

The children playing were between 4 to 9 years of age.

The manager also said she came outside and saw the woman laying on her side. She said the woman claimed to have been struck intentionally and threatened to “sue” the school.

The manager also noted the kids were all concerned about her.

The person also said the woman often comes to the church for the study group and has complained in the past about children playing and having to walk through them. She also said the woman doesn’t have to walk through the crowd of kids to go to her study group, but does so anyway.

An officer retraced the woman’s steps with the office manager, who explained the woman could have taken a second walkway a few feet away to mostly avoid the children, or could have used a different walkway that went right to the building where she was headed and could have avoided the children altogether. The manager also noted the woman could have parked elsewhere in the almost empty lot for even easier access to the building where she was headed.

Police talked with other officials at the school who had already spoken to the kids who were playing basketball. One of the students, a fourth-grader, said the ball had been thrown at the basket but bounced of the rim and hit the woman.

One person said the fall victim intentionally walks through the area where children play and seems to always complain about them. They were perplexed as to why she continued to walk through the children’s play area.

An officer could not find any reason why the woman chose the route she did, and noted the basketball hoops are in the courtyard for recess for 365 days a year.

Police determined the incident to be accidental.