Bangor police are hoping a videotape might help them catch whoever stole almost $4,000 in cash and equipment from Kathy’s Catering over the weekend.

Police think a motion-activated video recorder set up in the office of the Hammond Street business caught the suspects in the act. But there’s one problem: When officers tried to play the tape, it jammed and snapped. Now they’re optimistic that a local video restoration firm can repair it.

According to reports, the suspects broke a backdoor window and crawled into the building sometime Friday or Saturday. They stole two television sets with VCRs, a camera, an overhead projector and a tan safe with $2,200 in cash.

Tracks on the floor and snow revealed that the safe was dragged, then lifted up and dropped outside the window.

Police said they found no fingerprints at the scene and that wind blew away whatever footprints remained outside. There are no suspects. —-

A patient of the OHI group home on Newton Road in Bangor who has a long history of assault was charged again Saturday when she reportedly lost control and beat up her case officer.

When Bangor police Officer Tim Cotton arrived at the scene, he “could immediately hear screaming and the crashing of furniture,” according to his report.

The case offficer of 20-year-old Christine Trask had a red welt above her eye when she told police that Trask had “destroyed the house and assaulted her.”

Cotton said he grabbed Trask and avoided several kicks to the groin before placing her in handcuffs.

Trask was convicted on three counts of assault in 1996 and two counts in 1997. Most recently, she was charged with criminal mischief for allegedly turning over furniture and breaking appliances at the home in November.

— Compiled by Andrew Brownstein