Fake Police Hold Family Hostage and Rob Home (Michigan)

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Geno

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Here’s a story for you to ponder. How do you verify that an officer, is an officer? It is truly quite simple…have them wait at the closed and locked door. Take their badge number and call the local department non-emergency number…authenticate and cooperate. Refute and get ready for a dispute. Be safe all.

Doc2005

The newpaper information is posted below:

http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/13863631/detail.html

YPSILANTI TOWNSHIP. Mich. -- Ypsilanti sheriff's deputies are searching for two men who posed as officers and robbed a home Thursday.

Two men forced their way into a home on Ohio Street in Ypsilanti Township.

There were four people inside the home, including a 12-year-old boy, at the time of the invasion. The intruders tied up the residents, held them at gunpoint, stole items from inside the home and then fled the scene, according to the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Department.

Deputies arrived at the home, but the intruders were already gone.

K-9 officers were used to track the men down, but the search was unsuccessful.

Investigators said they believe the homeowners were targeted.

The people inside the home didn't want to be identified, but they did tell Local 4 News they were afraid they were going to die, Local 4 reported.

Anyone with information is asked to call the sheriff's department at 734-473-9503.

Original Story: http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/13858775/detail.html

YPSILANTI TOWNSHIP, Mich. -- Ypsilanti sheriff's deputies are searching for two men involved in the armed robbery of a home.

Two men entered a home on Ohio Street in Ypsilanti Township on Thursday.

The intruders tied up the people inside the home, held a gun to the head on one of the victims, a 12-year-old, robbed them, stole items from inside the home and then fled the scene, according to the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Department.

Deputies arrived at the home, but the intruders were already gone.

K-9 officers were used to track the men down, but the search was unsuccessful.

Officials said the homeowners were not cooperating with them. Descriptions of the men have not been released.

There were no injuries reported.

Anyone with information is asked to call the sheriff's department at 734-473-9503.
 
You just nailed it...twice. If they didn't call the police, why did they not ask, "Where is the warrant?" If they were robbed, why are they not cooperating with the real police?! I suspect that this one may not have a positive ending for the "victims". It may be that they truly are victims, and it may be that they are not victims at all.
 
Tis my experince that when "victims" of crime fail to cooperate with police it is becaus ehtey were victimized during the commisson of a crime themselves. The coke dealer gets robbed, the car thief gets mugged, the prostitute gets assaulted by her pimp... I'm not saying that these people are criminals, or that criminals couldn't be real victims...

But is is certainly an odd turn of events.

Yipsy is normally a pretty sedate `burg. But given the demographics of the area, I wouldn't be suprised if this family was made up of "undeclared foreign agricultural production experts."

South Americans coming into the US, yes even the legal ones, have a tendancy to treat LEOs here like the corrupt thugs back in the old country. For example, they have a tendency to give regular and large donations to Fraternal Order of Police charity drives, thinking that the llegit charity worker calling them is, in fact, solictiing a bribe.

They probably let the police in without any fuss about a warrant or an emergency call because in most Latin American countries the police "don't need no steekin' warrants."

Recalcitrance in helping the real LEOs investigate might be due to fear of reprissal, fear of deportation, or any number of other factors.
 
Tis my experince that when "victims" of crime fail to cooperate with police it is becaus ehtey were victimized during the commisson of a crime themselves. The coke dealer gets robbed, the car thief gets mugged, the prostitute gets assaulted by her pimp... I'm not saying that these people are criminals, or that criminals couldn't be real victims...
Or the victim has a decent idea who or where to get even and does not want to be linked to the victimizers when they pursue thier own justice. I have seen that as the case as well.
 
They may not have been very cooperative because they had been traumatized and really really thought the attackers were police at the time and now maybe are nervous about the police.

This is a good reminder though to ask for id and verify.

I have had the police show up at my door once or twice when I never called them. One time it was to issue me a "duty to warn" about someone who had threatened to kill me. The other was when a neighbor's house was broken into and they were interviewing the neighbors to see if we saw anything.

I have to admit, I never thought to check their ID's in either situation.
 
I just look and see if it's someone I know (small department, and I know most of them). Asking for ID is always good, bevcause most folks who fake it don't go to the trouble. They don't need to come in without a warrant and shouldn't ask.
 
TallPine:

Unfortunately, "Joke"land County, where we survive, has radios that are not able to be listened to. I used to enjoy listening to the activity when my BIL was an LEO.

Doc2005
 
All radios can be listened to. You just need to watch enough traffic on a computer to figure out the encryption pattern and adjust software to compensate. Unless they change the encryption on a frequent basis once you figure it out you have it. Radio waves are in the public domain.
 
Or perhaps their system is "trunked", where individual frequencies are split up for sharing and can't be listened to on a "standard" scanner. Such transmissions may sound encrypted, but aren't.

There are inexpensive scanners which handle trunked transmissions, as long as you know the freqs. It shouldn't be hard to Google up some info (and the above is roughly the extent of my knowledge on the subject, other than having a scanner which handles trunking).
 
IDs can be easily faked. The best solution I have for verifying who police are is to call dispatch, usually by dialling 911.

If they are not in readily identifiable police uniforms and not driving a readily identifiable squad car, I would call 911 and report the suspicious behavior.

None of us have a clue what a legit police ID looks like anyway. I could gin one up in about 30 seconds that would probably fool just about anyone that did not have a real one to compare it to.
 
Nice, Ypsilanti Township has been getting worse. My family lives there and I just moved from there. In the last few years things have gone down hill. They built a new kroger/shopping mall and there have been a lot of purse snatchings. The best one was last year in my apt complex a guy setup a drug deal and planned to rob the dealer. Well the dealer shot back and killed him. We were home at the time and I heard the two gun shots in the parking lot 100ft from my door.

My brother doesn't live far from there and has things stolen out of his driveway. There also was a group of teens breaking into houses as well.
 
it doesn't say they weren't cooperating with police, it says they didn't want to be identified, which I took to mean they didn't want their names being splashed all over the news
 
scubie02:

The second articles states that the victims are not cooperating, "Officials said the homeowners were not cooperating with them..."

Doc2005




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The thing is, what do you do when someone dressed like a cop claiming to be a cop refuses to display ID and physically forces his/her way into your home?
 
Been there; experienced that...they are criminal, or at least not legally compliant. You have two choices...immediate physical defense or delayed legal action. The decision is based in perceived danger.
 
You just nailed it...twice. If they didn't call the police, why did they not ask, "Where is the warrant?" If they were robbed, why are they not cooperating with the real police?! I suspect that this one may not have a positive ending for the "victims". It may be that they truly are victims, and it may be that they are not victims at all.

Doc, Its easy to tell the real police. They don't wait at the door.... they kick it in and shove everyone to the floor. If they are waiting patiently outside call 911 immediately!!!:D
 
WW, Yes its somewhat overstated for effect but in many instances thats how it works. Thought it would lighten up the conversation a little.
 
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