| jestmaty |
I'll try to shorten it up as much as I can...
On Tuesday, Sept. 11, I left my garage door open until 4am. I was in the neighbor's garage talking and having a few beers :rolleyes: On Wednesday, I mowed the lawn and had the garage open while I mowed the front yard. Closed it when I had to go to the back of the house to mow.
My son (11 yrs old) noticed his brand new skateboard and his friends ( 11 yrs old ) skateboard were missing on Thursday am b4 school. I figured someone got into my garage and stole them Tuesday night or Wednesday while I was mowing.
Unfortunately, there are a lot of bad kids roaming this neighborhood who won't think twice about grabbing your stuff in broad daylight, even from your garage.
Yesterday, my son's friend, Dakotah, saw a teenage girl and 2 teenage boys riding his skateboard about 2 blocks away. It's been almost 2 weeks and I figured the skateboards were long gone.
His dad got involved and long story short, got the skateboard back. It was a custom deck, trucks, and wheels... so there was 0 chance that it was not his.
But now, a lot of the good kids are aware give us the name of the kid who 'gave' the stolen skateboard to that girl. Getting some leads....
I drive 1 mile away to the grocery store yesterday afternoon and on the way back, you wouldn't believe what happened.
I SAW 3 kids riding on 2 bicycles and one of them had MY son's skateboard in his hands!!!!!!!!!
I whip a U turn on a busy street and catch up to the boys who were now on the same side of the street as me. I'm now impeding traffic as I scream through the passenger window of my wife's car ( I'm alone ) for them to give me back MY stolen skateboard!!
I'M PISSED!!!! They slowly ride into the parking lot, which is empty on a Sun afternoon, and I'm screaming at them that it is my son's skateboard and was stolen almost 2 weeks ago!!!
Where did they get it?!? I want it back!! etc....
They are back talking me, saying that "My homey gave it to me!" I said, "Would your homey's name be Darius??!! " That is the name I found out gave the other skateboard to the teenage girl. Apparently some a**hole named Darius wound up with the skateboards, either having stolen them himself or something like that.
I feel almost like I'm assaulting these kids ( I'd guess they were 13-14 yrs old.) but my adrenaline is flowing and I'm GOING to get my skateboard back.
They are completely stopped and I'm stopped in my car screaming at these kids.... they seem like they're going to make a dash for it on their bikes, so I cut them off a bit with my car. Oh, like 2-3 mphs. Kids throw down their bikes and I'm getting out of my car. They're saying you almost ran down my homey here and what is my problem?
BAD MISTAKE!!!! I hear some guy SCREAMING at all of us that he is a cop and for us all to shut the f**k up!!
I'm standing half inside my car, half out, and see a guy in his early 40's just like me pointing his fingers at all of us. He is in street clothes and had just gotten out of his personal truck. He saw the entire thing happen. Later, he tells me that he was on his way home with his wife and teenage daughter in the truck. Just left his daughter's soccer game and picked up a new puppy. They were going to turn in this parking lot to let the dog go to the bathroom.
I'm trying to tell him that these shi*h**d kids have my stolen skateboard and I'm getting it back. Shut up!!! You should have called 911.
What?? I tell the 'cop' that I am never going to call 911 to report this type of scenario. 911 is for emergencies, not stolen skateboards.
He says, you know what you did was wrong, should have called 911. Get BACK in your car!!! Never told me what I did that was so wrong, but I assume it was cornering kids next to the busy street and 'shepherding' them into the parking lot to confront them. With a car... I know it was wrong, but it wasn't anything faster than walking pace.
He again tells the kids that he's a cop, and where did they get the skateboard? They say my homey gave it to me!!! He tells them that he can call in an on-duty sherriff to take over, or they can give me back my skateboard.
They start backpedaling, saying they were trying to give it back, but I was still accusing and screaming at them.
The kid with the board lays it on the front seat of my car and the off-duty cop tells everyone to just GO HOME!!!! I felt like he was being unfair to me, and I wanted to explain to him that there was no question the skateboard was mine, but he didn't want to hear it.
GET IN YOUR CAR AND GO HOME!!
The kids pedal off and I have my skateboard. My hands were shaking and I started to write my name and cell phone #, because I wanted to be vindicated. Maybe he'd call me later to hear the story, after I'd calmed down.
I was half a parking lot away from his family and their truck while I'm writing the info. Windows down.... I hear him call for me to come back to him.
I get over there and he is much nicer now. Says he was having a great Sunday afternoon, had a beer at the soccer game, and was just heading home when he saw the confrontation. Tells me that I neeed to be more careful, you never know what kids may do.... Pull a gun or knife...
I tell him I've lived within 3 miles of here for the last 11 years as a homeowner. The last 14 months in a new neighborhood, told him to turn around, you could see my house from where we stood.
I told him I've had on 3 different occasions, something stolen from me. I left a skateboard right by my front door, that was stolen (and recovered) right in front of me, at 3 in the afternoon. I was outside, building a fence with my neighbor, when some punkassed kid walked up to my front door and took a skateboard.
I didn't know him, my 10 year old son said he saw him pedal by a couple of times looking at us. We were on the side of my house, focused on the fence building, when my son says, I think he just took my skateboard!! He's on a bicycle, and starts moving down the street, toward the busy street.
This skateboard situation happened in July.
My son jumps on his bike and chases the kid about 1/3 mile and the kid threw the board down and kept hauling a** away.
On another occasion, a bike was taken during the daylight. It was a crappy bike, but you still feel like a victim anyway..
So I'm tired of having my stuff stolen by these ballsy punks of all ages and creeds!!!!
My son's skateboard is very unique looking..... hence the subject title.... this is what bothers me ethically...
His skateboard was brand new, only a couple of weeks old, when it was stolen from inside my garage. It was purchased off the shelf at Academy sporting goods. There is no way to GAURANTEE it is the SAME one we bought. I hadn't gotten around to carving intials into the aluminum trucks or the bottom of the board.
There is a small nagging doubt if it really is THE exact one that belonged to my son. I KNOW this board is EXACTLY like my son's, because I was there when we picked it out and bought it. The one I recovered yesterday is now pretty much scraped up now.
I approched my son and his friend later last night and told him how important it was for him to confirm that this was indeed his board. My son showed me a chip in the grip tape that he had put in there, sort of like our Pilots.... you always remember where the first ding was. He was so bummed when he dinged it, and he showed me on this board the same ding.
I spend a lot of time outdoors, talking to all the kids that play outside and I've never seen another one like my son's. These kids that I confronted yesterday didn't protest too much when a guy (me) and an off-duty cop tell them to give it back to me.
I did get the cop's name and told him that a) I hope I hadn't ruined his afternoon with his family, and b) that I had a lot of respect for police officers because they're the only thing standing between complete social unrest and the lifestyle that we civilians live. I don't have the cajones to do a job where I might be shot at.
He never showed me a badge, I never asked....
I don't know if he's a sheriff, constable, Houston Police, etc....
Did I overeact? And did I cross the line with my accusations? Did I use a motor vehicle as a weapon? Did I behave ethically?
Remember, things were happening very quickly and my temper was out of control.
I'm not easily offended, so don't hold back with your thoughts.. |
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| Roger |
Didn't OJ just try something similar?:eek:
At least you got your board back and maybe you taught the punks a lesson.
One thing to keep in mind, never argue with an idiot (kids) as innocent bystanders (cop) may not be able to tell who's who! |
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| jestmaty |
Skateboard.....
Can't see in this picture, but I've carved initials in the aluminum trucks and the eyes of the character on the board. I hope I'll not have to identify a stolen board anytime soon.
This was exhausting |
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| Nathan_P |
quote:
Originally posted by jestmaty
Did I overeact? And did I cross the line with my accusations? Did I use a motor vehicle as a weapon? Did I behave ethically?
WOW!! That is an amazing story. :21:
Congratulations on getting the skateboard back, first of all. To answer your questions, I definitely don't think that you crossed a line with your accusations.
The main thing is that the off-duty cop didn't think that you did anything illegal and that is really the only opinion that matters. Depending on however he saw it, it could have went a lot worse. |
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| robrecht |
| Not unethical, but it does sound like you were pretty upset, so I'm really glad you're OK 'cause you never know when some psycho might pull a gun or a knife or seek revenge later. I confronted some teenage kids messin' with my car in a dark urban parking lot late one night. Out of instinct, I just yelled at them really loud and they ran off, but later on I thought, geeze, was that a smart thing to do? Probably not, but anger is instinctual and it gets results. They probably thought I was a psycho. Glad everthing worked out. |
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| jay |
I live in a townhouse community and got a new neighbor in my block of 5 houses back at the first of August. When he parked his trailer in a parking lot spot, I figured I'd introduce myself, and explain the parking rules, since trailers of any kind are never allowed, and can be towed at any time.
The guy went from nice to belligerent to nice again, and finally decided that maybe I was trying to save him some pain. But you never know what sort of reaction you'll get.
:(
At least my utility bill is reasonable. :p;) |
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| jpd0363 |
quote:
Originally posted by jestmaty
Did I overeact? And did I cross the line with my accusations? Did I use a motor vehicle as a weapon? Did I behave ethically?
Interesting situation.
You confront individuals who are in possession of an item that you reasonable believe was stolen from you.
In your attempt to reclaim your item, things get heated between you and the most likely guilty parties (direct or indirect guilt), and juveniles at that.
Did you overact? Most probably. You are the adult and they are kids, you have the additional burden of being more responsible.
Did you cross the line with your accusations? No, you had every reason to believe they had your property and even more reason to demand it back (if, after reasonably establishing it was your property).
Did I use a motor vehicle as a weapon? Yes. It's never acceptable to use a motor vehicle to influence pedestrian direction (kids or adults).
More importantly, don't you think you should be talking to the police about the extensive thefts from your property and try to ensure that they do a better job of policing your neighborhood, especially where this is an ongoing problem? It sounds like the problem is mostly associated with one, or just a few kids who go unchallenged with their willingness to commit theft and then gets further fueled by other kids willing to accept the questionable merchandise.
It sounds like petty, juvenile, neighborhood theft that other parents are willing to sanction by turning a blind eye away from items that mysteriously appear in their kids' possession.
Maybe a neighborhood watch group would be beneficial?
On the plus side, I'm glad you got the skateboard back with no bad outcome and I may have been less reasonable than you were. |
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| jestmaty |
We do have a regular patrol by a very visible sheriff in his patrol car. We do involve and keep them abreast of stuff like this.
I will probably approach him today ( there are 3 officers that patrol our neighborhood ) and just tell him what is happening.
I am still a little concerned about retaliation a bit... Sounds like the thief may be an older kid who could get/hold a grudge.
I've met all of my immediate neighbors, some have lived here for 10 yrs or more. They all say that the 'melting pot' of this community has changed dramatically in the last 2 yrs or so..
I'm not a racist, so don't get your panties in an uproar, but the national and local news even reported that we had a lot of folks migrated from the Katrina disaster to Houston and surrounding communities. Katy, Texas is a surrounding community.
My closest neighbor is a realtor, although he isn't in that job field right now, and he has his finger on the pulse of the immediate surrounding neighborhoods. Having lived here for 9 yrs, he has first hand experience with the changes over the years.
Go 2 miles in any direction and you'll find all middle class homes. No apartments anywhere close to here. Home prices range from the 90's to the upper 100's, and everything in between.
The "fact" is that 2 days ago, 3 young African-American boys had my property and back in July, a teenage African-American boy took another skateboard from the front door of my house. Broad daylight and I saw him pedal off on his bike with my property, and my son chased him until the guy threw it down and kept pedalling off.
This neighborhood is made up of Hispanic families, African-American families, Caucasian families, Vietnamese families, Middle Eastern, you get the point.
We host a lot of the kids from all these families for sleepovers and pool parties. Our boys interact with children from all of these families.
Our house is on a main street that leads to the back of the neighborhood. We get a lot of exposure from traffic going by to their homes. It is only about 1/3 of a mile to a very busy, heavily travelled road.
Once someone gets your stuff, if they make it to that busy road, they're gone...
Remember, I'm not a racist, just stating the facts of my property thefts over the last couple of months. |
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| jpd0363 |
quote:
Originally posted by jestmaty
We do have a regular patrol by a very visible sheriff in his patrol car. We do involve and keep them abreast of stuff like this.
I will probably approach him today ( there are 3 officers that patrol our neighborhood ) and just tell him what is happening.
I am still a little concerned about retaliation a bit... Sounds like the thief may be an older kid who could get/hold a grudge.
I've met all of my immediate neighbors, some have lived here for 10 yrs or more. They all say that the 'melting pot' of this community has changed dramatically in the last 2 yrs or so..
I'm not a racist, so don't get your panties in an uproar, but the national and local news even reported that we had a lot of folks migrated from the Katrina disaster to Houston and surrounding communities. Katy, Texas is a surrounding community.
My closest neighbor is a realtor, although he isn't in that job field right now, and he has his finger on the pulse of the immediate surrounding neighborhoods. Having lived here for 9 yrs, he has first hand experience with the changes over the years.
Go 2 miles in any direction and you'll find all middle class homes. No apartments anywhere close to here. Home prices range from the 90's to the upper 100's, and everything in between.
The "fact" is that 2 days ago, 3 young African-American boys had my property and back in July, a teenage African-American boy took another skateboard from the front door of my house. Broad daylight and I saw him pedal off on his bike with my property, and my son chased him until the guy threw it down and kept pedalling off.
This neighborhood is made up of Hispanic families, African-American families, Caucasian families, Vietnamese families, Middle Eastern, you get the point.
We host a lot of the kids from all these families for sleepovers and pool parties. Our boys interact with children from all of these families.
Our house is on a main street that leads to the back of the neighborhood. We get a lot of exposure from traffic going by to their homes. It is only about 1/3 of a mile to a very busy, heavily travelled road.
Once someone gets your stuff, if they make it to that busy road, they're gone...
Remember, I'm not a racist, just stating the facts of my property thefts over the last couple of months.
I believe it's crucial for a community watch group to be formed in your neighborhood as well as the surrounding neighborhoods. With the changing make-up of the residents this may help foster an attitude of inclusion amongst the new residents and help solidify the older resident's relationships. I would imagine it would be easier to steal from some "guy" than it would be from someone's neighbor.
It seems like a civility issue. If people are willing to tolerate stolen items that's a baby-step away from endorsing theft.
Some larger American cities have had great success reducing crime by utilizing the community's involvement given the limited police resources most towns/cities have.
Good luck and please let us know of any new developments. |
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| jestmaty |
Yup, I read the article.
I really think I'd have followed them if they had taken off rather than assault them. Maybe even used my car to 'corral' them if necessary, jk...
I've been looking for the sheriff's patrol for 3 days now to let them know what happened, no luck finding them so far.. |
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| tim.s |
What the kids did was, of course, wrong. Chasing them down was risky. But leaving your garage door open is never a good idea.
The police will tell you it is a sure way to invite theft and vandalism. At best, you'll get some items snatched from your garage. At worst, you can give thieves easy access to your house.
Any day of the week, I can drive through my neighborhood and see a garage door open with no one around. Occasionally, there won't even be a car in the garage. Some of the home owners are chronic about this. The neighbor lady across the street likes to leave the garage door open when she takes the baby for a walk (keeps the stroller in the garage and doesn't have a keypad for the door).
These types of theft are so common that the City ordnances were I live actually require the garage door to be secured when not in use for entering or exiting the garage. My last HOA also had it as a finable offense. |
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| hondacuraworld |
Rather than trying to ID something to the police by scratches or photos, unbolt the wheel assembly and slip a piece of paper inside with your name and address, or a photo. If you have to battle with the police to ID your property, grab a Phillips head, and there's no question.
I can't honestly relate to neighborhood crime as it just doesn't happen around me. For that I'm thankful. I can't tell you how many times I've lft the garage door open overnight on accident, or hit the closer and there was something blocking it and didn't realize it......... |
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| stlblues |
| I'm glad I live in a boring town. Very little ever happens here. We never lock anything. |
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