Cops Take Squirrely Approach to Track Down 28K Pounds of Nuts

Well, nuts! Shelby Township Police Community Relations Officer Leslie Heisler is using humor on the department’s Facebook page to solicit leads in the theft of 28,000 pounds of walnuts valued at $128,000. (Photo via Facebook)

» Get Patch’s daily newsletter and real-time news alerts.

Shelby Township Deputy Chief Mark Coil never imagined he’d use a fake mug shot – of a squirrel no less – to catch a real-life thief.

“If you’d told me 20 years ago we’d be using a squirrel to help in solving a larceny crime,” Coli told Patch, “I would’ve been shocked.”

A post on the police department’s Facebook page shows a common squirrel in what appears to be a booking photo, along with a report of the theft of a semi-tractor trailer loaded with 28,000 pounds of walnuts and other snack nuts – a cache worth $128,000.

The department is increasingly using social media to engage in lighthearted conversations with township residents about serious crimes. Residents embrace it, Coil said. He gives credit to Community Relations Officer Leslie Heisler, who has been managing the department’s Facebook page and other social media accounts for the past three months.

During that time, she’s brought “an enormous amount of of attention” to the department, Coil said.

Heisler’s posts have dealt with a pig police put in the pokey after it ran amuck in the neighborhood, frightening a woman as she did yard work, and then a bit of a goat roping. The pig and goat posts have been shared by the media and the page’s more than 5,400 followers.

Heisler, who joined the department in 2006 after earning a four-year degree and serving in the military, is not only a skilled officer, but also “truly understands this platform of media and how to get things out, but with a little bit of humor and the ability to draw out the attention we need,” Coil said.

Related:

• Pig Goes Hog Wild, Ends Up in Pokey
• First Pig Roundup, Now Goat Roping for Police

She’s able to cut through “Dragnet-ic, just-the-facts-ma’am cop-speak,” Coil said, and strike “the right balance with a little humor and the human side, more like a journalist, to get that story out.”

With the pig and goat stories, “we’ve stumbled our way into a couple of high-profile, feel-good stories,” Coil said. “We’ve embraced the idea that we can enforce laws and still make people’s day better with a little comedic relief.”

Also on Patch:

• 500-Pound Pig Rumored to Eat Humans Evicted
• Has Metro Detroit Gone to the Pigs?
• Why Mayoral Run by Michigan Pig Isn’t Just for Giggles

Between those posts, and now the squirrel, Coil jokes that he’s felt “more like Dr. Doolittle,” the fictional character who talks to animals, than one of the township’s top cops.

But it’s all good, Coil said. It makes police more approachable when they’re trying to get leads on serious crimes that aren’t funny.

“I welcome these,” he said. “I’d much rather talk about positive, feel good stories in light of the issues that surround this profession on a daily basis.”

Followers on the Facebook page seem eager to engage in playful conversation.

For example, Heisler wrote a postscript to her post with the squirrel photo: “Note: The squirrel is not a suspect. It’s just a picture. Used to draw attention. Please do not call in squirrel sightings.”

In a retort, Patrick Wixon said that confused him.

“If I see a squirrel with roughly 28,000 pounds of packaged snack nuts should I call you or not? What if I see a squirrel suddenly living above his means?”