View from the cop: Crime & punishment
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AJC.com > Metro > View from the cop > Archives > 2006 > August > 21 > Entry
Real estate open houses rife with crime opportunities
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The resident of a Northland Drive home said that someone took her engagement ring from her master bedroom. The ring was next to two other rings, both left untouched. She said that her home is on the market and approximately 50 people have been inside the home.
What better way for a thief to go shopping than attend the local real estate open houses? We had a $50,000 jewelry theft a couple of years ago where the thief found a wall safe unlocked.
On open house dates, find one location that you can secure from the public and put your valuables there until everyone is gone.
Somewhat of a rookie mistake
A 55-year-old man was arrested after soliciting money from the gullible motorists on the Roswell Road ramp on I-285. During the arrest the man, who was intoxicated, told the officer that he would “blow your (%$&^$^)-ing head off and worst of all, called the officer a rookie.
FYI: When you give these guys money, they are NOT buying food. You aren’t helping things by giving them booze money.
In addition …
We logged about a dozen domestic violence arrest reports last week. We also received:
— A 911 call that someone was trapped in the clothing donation bin on Roswell Road. He wasn’t trapped. He just likes to sleep there at night. The caller said she opened the bin, slid the clothing through, and the box said, “Thank you.”
— My usual 5-6 calls on subjects ranging from UFOs to the government’s secret wiretaps illegally installed in their homes. I do return the calls but when they answer the phone all I do is make explicit grunting, groaning and moaning sounds.
Lock your doors and set your alarms and remember that your 911 call is free. Don’t second-guess yourself out of calling us if you see something that doesn’t seem right.
Comments
Commenting is now closed for this entry.
By M. Peace
August 21, 2006 11:06 AM | Link to this
I live in a rural county about 80 miles west of Atlanta, where it is commonly known that if you’re operating your vehicle on the roadways after 11 p.m., it is almost certain that you will be pulled over by a county sheriff’s deputy. My wife and I were travelling through this county a couple of nights ago, returning home from dinner and a movie in a larger nearby city (Milledgeville), when we met a patrol car on a rural highway. We are very much aware of the reputation for this sheriff’s department, so we were travelling five miles per hour under the posted speed limit. Immediately upon passing, the patrol car braked quickly, turned around and rapidly accelerated until it was only inches off our rear bumper, bright headlights in my rearview mirror making it difficult to see the road ahead. He followed us for about four miles before he turned off and went in another direction. We were not speeding, we were not drinking, we were not doing anything that should have attracted such close scrutiny from an officer of the law. Is this type of behavior normal, routine, within guidelines, and is it condoned by most law enforcement departments? It seems very, very wrong…a form of profiling that should be illegal.
By MIke
August 21, 2006 11:38 AM | Link to this
Anyone dumb enough to leave anything of value out when a stranger walks through you house deserves to get robbed. It really is that cut and dry. At what point do you morons start thinking and stop blaming everyone else for your stupidity. The sooner you realize that everyone isn’t nice the better off some of you clowns will be.
By Blog Dawg
August 22, 2006 7:30 AM | Link to this
I was traveling from Athens to Atlanta on 316 late one night, about 11pm. I had earned a ticket for speeding there a year earlier, so I knew to be cool. This motorist was on my tail, inches from my bumper pushing me to go faster than the posted speed limit. Red lights ahead, traffic in the slow lane dissuaded me from speeding up or pulling over. After about five minutes of this, the slow lane was finally clear and I did pull over to let the motorist past. It was a cop, who gave me the half head turn like a soccor mom would as he sped past toward another red light, which I was slowing down to stop for.
Theoretical Question: Could I have made a citizen’s arrest of the tailgater cop guy?
By Capt
August 22, 2006 7:35 AM | Link to this
Whoa MIke….why all the hostility sunshine…and I happen to like clowns…
By Charles Farley
August 22, 2006 7:56 AM | Link to this
I was followed by one of Coweta County’s finest while driving a sports car. The officer felt that I had no need for the view behind me so he filled my mirror with his grill and each side mirror got a healthy dose of headlights. The car I was driving had a weak clutch, so hot rodding was last on my list of activities for the evening. Still, he decided that 4 inches from my bumper was where he belonged for the next 7 miles. What are we supposed to do in the rural night? Stop? Complain? Ask him what he wants? Remind him that following too closely is dangerous and illegal? Officer, courtesy is a two-way street. Earn our respect or expect to be seen as Barney Fife on Steroids!
Chas. Farley
By pogo_lives!
August 22, 2006 11:02 AM | Link to this
I don’t see the complaint of a sheriff’s department pulling over cars after 11 PM as profiling; in many rural counties we have to amend the old saying to read “nothing good happens after 11 PM” merely because it’s true. In our city-county of 3400 people anyone that passes my house after 11 PM is a suspect in my eyes, and deserves to be identified, and if I don’t know him/her, watched closely. After 11, a traveling stranger is either trouble, or in trouble and in either case deserves the attention of law enforcement. We don’t have much crime here, how about you?
By Sarge J.T.
August 22, 2006 5:32 PM | Link to this
I did not realise that the comment area on this page has turned into a complaint area about the local police.
I read it for the funny stories of human nature. I would hope that the “citizen” readers would read it for the knowledge that Lt. Rose passed on to them on how not to become a victim. But instead of using the information that Lt. Rose provided, they find the time to complain.
How sad that it has become a “copbash”.
Sorry Steve.
By Blog Dawg
August 22, 2006 8:47 PM | Link to this
Aw, Gee whiz, we didn’t mean nuthin’, Sgt.JT. It’s just that we get tickets for doing one thing and then get the once over for doing the opposite thing. It’s like we just cant please you cops. Not bashing. Look, I’m glad that you patrol 316 because my daughter drives that route several times a month late at night, and if you werent’ there, I’d be sick with worry.
Not bashing. No, sir.
By Joe Citizen
August 23, 2006 2:10 AM | Link to this
I hardly think that NOT getting pulled over is profiling. Any citizen that is concerned for the overall safety of their area should not be concerned with the Police doing their job. If your not doing anything wrong, whats the problem. Not to mention the fact that gas has gotten so expensive policing the ungrateful public, that they are probably just drafting to save a little fuel. There you go, bashing the government when there trying to save a little bit of your money, you know, the money that pays their salary.
By Coastdog
August 23, 2006 6:40 AM | Link to this
I can see that someone in law enforcement would consider the posts as bashing but I don’t believe the posts were meant to be personal attacts on Officer Rose. The fact is that the posters a valid point. Every profession has it’s bad actors-including law enforcement. There is a difference in being vigilant and harrassing a motorist for simply existing. Tail-gating is dangerous. What can be done?
By Billof Rights
August 23, 2006 1:16 PM | Link to this
Any law enforcement officer tailgating me at 11pm at night is going to eat my tow-hitch. Let him explain that to his supervisors and my lawyer after I file suit for being rear-ended.
By beegee
August 24, 2006 8:29 AM | Link to this
If ANYONE tailgates you and makes you uncomfortable, Drive to the next public or well lighted place, put your blinker on and pull to the side.. Anyone, including most cops will pass you, and if it is a cop and if they stop, simply explain that you were nervous, and wanted to give them a chance to go past… This aint ROCKET SCIENCE.
By beegee
August 24, 2006 9:08 AM | Link to this
Hate to tell you, but slamming on your brakes to purposefully cause an accident is illegal
By Stefan
August 24, 2006 11:22 AM | Link to this
We’re lucky if all those panhandlers use the money for is booze. Usually it’s crack or meth. Yet, here in Atlanta where too many people are too brainlessly ‘nice’, these people can make serious bank off the fact that Joe Schmo is too spineless to say no. Is it any wonder we have such a huge proliferation of deadbeats “patrolling” our streets and interchanges?
By Billof Rights
August 24, 2006 2:24 PM | Link to this
Who said anything about purpossefully slamming on my brakes? All I have to do is remove my foot from the accelerator and to downshift, or don’t you know that you have a brake AND an accelerator pedal? Or I braked to avoid an animal darting into the road…it’s up to the guilty party (the tailgator) to prove I did it deliberately…good luck!
By Gainesville dude
August 28, 2006 4:17 PM | Link to this
I know this isn’t a cop-bashing blog, per se, but it seems to be the only blog remotely dealing with police interactions, and since several people have mentioned tail-gating cops, I thought I’d add my two cents: I often, often see cops tail-gating people, including me. It may be more prevalent for these two reasons: 1.) people often slow down to the speed limit when a cop is directly behind them, and 2.) although cops should be models of good behavior, many seem to take full advantage of the free pass of being a cop. They can speed, tailgate, not use blinkers, illegally change lanes and do U-turns, etc. without fear of a ticket. Weaker-minded and hotshot powertripping cops are not the majority of cops, but they are a significant subgroup, unfortunately. How many other professions do half or more of the members keep their hair cropped in a buzzcut. If you think that hair length indicates someone’s mental state, etc., I’d like to see you make the same claim next time you see a young man with hair down to his back. “Lazy dope-smoking hippie” likely springs immediately to your mind, along with maybe “patchouli-stinking freeloading vegan”. Don’t feel bad, it’s natural and sometimes right.
By Gainesville dude
August 28, 2006 4:24 PM | Link to this
Sorry to go off on a rant earlier. Just get tired of anyone, but especially cops (who should be setting an example and who certainly know better) riding my rear end! I just really think it’s often a powertrip for them, kind of aggressive and bullying IMHO. I know tailgating someone is one of the quickest ways (next to flipping them the bird) to tick them off. No doubt cops know this, so why the tailgating?
Do they want citizens to hate cops? Doesn’t that make their jobs harder and everyone’s life less safe? Cops, please talk to your fellow officers and peer pressure them to drive like you want a model citizen to drive. Believe me, when you see a cop going 50 in a 30 and then pull into a QT for coffee, you lose a little more respect for cops and they lose a little more of their moral authority. Okay, I’m done. Sorry for ranting, Detective Rose. I think you are great, and I’m sure you don’t tailgate cars to harass and intimidate them. P.S. Anyone else familiar with Hall County Sheriff deputies and whether they are just much worse than usual? (I’ve lived other places and these guys take the cake).
By Lt. Steve
August 28, 2006 5:29 PM | Link to this
We have a pretty strict operating procedure for our officers and so if you see one doing what they would write you for, get the unit number and call that PD and complain. They do follow those complaints up. Don’t slam on your brakes. Whiplash hurts.
By Della
August 29, 2006 2:01 AM | Link to this
My bumper sticker: I brake for tailgaters
Y’all can’t say you weren’t warned.
Next, maybe, Eat my hitch
By roddy
September 4, 2006 5:20 PM | Link to this
It’s not the uniform that causes tailgating …it’s the person. 90% of men 16-30 years old are tailgaters. Do us all a favor, stay in the right lane or pull over at the next mailbox.