Ok, it was only one cop. And she was very short. It was my fault. I called them. I live in a "Quad" condo - there's one short unit, 2 "up and down" units, and then another short unit over the garages.
I came home from work last night and swung around the corner of the small street that my house lives on, and saw something odd at the end of the street (I live near a "T" intersection). There were 2 boys on the roof of the short unit house opposite mine. Yoofs - maybe 15 to 17 yrs old? One in a bright turquoise track suit, the other in jeans and a dark hoodie.
As I came around the corner, the one in the track suit jumped off the roof into the back yard of the house. This house seems to be empty - there's been a "For Sale" sign in the window, and there is a window into the next unit in the middle of the wall that rises up from their roof. (Confused yet? Sorry.)
The kid in the dark hoodie started to run for the back yard, but then dropped to his belly and rolled into the part of the roof that was next to the wall with the window - out of my sight. I stopped my car and just sat there to watch what happened - this was very strange behavior.
The kid then popped his head up for a couple seconds, saw me sitting there, and popped his head down again.
Ok - I'm suspicious now. In our subdivision, there are NEVER people on the roof unless they have tool belts and vans and hammers and things. And they don't hide - they stomp around in plain sight. Now, this could be just kids being silly or looking for a lost frisbee - but something sent up serious warning lights in my head - so I drove into my parking space, went in and called the cops.
The dispacher was - seriously - nuts. She didn't get what I was saying, she kept saying she couldn't picture it from what I said (Sorry, dear, but ALL the units look the same!!) and was generally a rather unpleasant person - but she did send some officers - THREE cop cars!!!
There was a knock at my back door - the petite lady cop came in and I took her up to MY window overlooking the roof (from which you could see the house opposite quite clearly) and showed her where I saw the Yoofs and explained what happened - then she left and the cops stomped around outside for a while, stopped a kid in a grey sweats outfit with a hoodie and talked to him for a while (patted down his legs?) - then drove off.
Ok - maybe I overreacted - but "neighborhood watch" and all that - and it was just too suspicious looking. I'd rather be wrong and look foolish than to have someone in the neighborhood get robbed or vandalized because I wasn't alert.
And maybe the cops will do a few extra runs thru the neighborhood during the day/night.
Damn kids....
325 days
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6 comments:
You had a result even getting to talk to the cops.
Over here that scenario would get you a 'telling off' as it wouldn't be classed as an 'emergency'.
We used to dial 999 as you dial 911 but now that sort of stuff has to go through a call centre who may or may not answer at all.
Send your short female cop over here and we'll LOVE her forever!!
In India you better not call the cops, they ARE the criminals in uniform. They look in to your house see the things you've got and send a burgler in the night and they share the loot.
Down here, it's "yoots", but I quibble. Buy a high powered pellet gun (they need no license in most states), and mark that Yoot so the cops can better tell what's going on. Lost Frisbees still require permission - it IS after all, MY roof!
Three cars? Good response, is there a donut shop near you?
I think you did the right thing, can't be too careful these days, and I see it getting worse.
I was just kidding about the donut shop thing, but cops can't always get to places as fast as they need to be there.
So I contend that everyone needs to be their own cop. That is why I keep a loaded rifle by the door with 14 shells as fast as I can pull the trigger.
I wish it wasn't like that, but it is. The west wasn't really tamed, and the world isn't either.
I want a loving world, but lets look at hard facts, it isn't, if you don't have a gun I think you should get one.
Only fools don't have guns for self protection.
Roof yoofs.
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