Thieves make off with Cobb police gear; were officers’ personal vehicles targeted?

Police equipment has been stolen from officers' personal vehicles recently.

Credit: Channel 2 Action News

Credit: Channel 2 Action News

Police equipment has been stolen from officers' personal vehicles recently.

A car was broken into and burglarized at a Cobb County apartment complex recently, and one resident thinks it was no coincidence that it belongs to a police officer.

“I would say they knew who it was when they broke into the vehicle, probably,” resident Alicia Clark told Channel 2 Action News.

Police are investigating that angle.

The thieves made off with some prime police gear, including a ballistic helmet, gas mask and pistol, from the officer’s personal vehicle at the apartment complex on Winchester Trail, the news station reported.

Two weeks before that incident, someone stole a helmet and a vest from a truck belonging to a Cobb deputy who lives in Paulding County. That vehicle was left unlocked in the driveway of his home.

Ashley Henson of the Paulding County Sheriff’s Office is wary of the thefts.

“When firearms are stolen,” he said, “they can be shipped off to who knows where.”

Investigators have no suspects, and need help generating leads.

Authorities’ greatest fear is that someone will use the equipment to impersonate an officer.

“Criminals don’t know county lines, they don’t know jurisdictional boundaries,” Henson said. “So, we as law enforcement have to come together and work together.”

In other news: