1 way to catch a car burglar

[2lucky]

I manage a strip shopping center in Dallas that was experiencing a dramatic increase in car burglaries, usually during lunch time.

I loaded an extention ladder, tool box and reciprocating saw in the bed of my truck and parked it at the center. I borrowed the car of one of my tenants and found a good place to get comfortable across the street. It wasn't 40 minutes before a man and woman (on foot) came by. The gal was the lookout, while the guy jumped in the back of the truck, picked up the tool box and reciprocating saw and placed them in a nearby dumpster.

I'd called 911, gave them a summary and placed the cell phone in my breast pocket (leaving the line open and recording) as I confronted the pair. After a short conversation the guy grabbed the reciprocating saw and ran. I gave chase. The guy then pretended to reach for a weapon in his pants. I pulled my .40 Glock fired once in the air and warned him that he'd be shot if he pulled anything out.

There just happened to be a 2-man police car in the front of the center, getting out of their car to grab a bite. They heard the shot and the call. By the time they pulled their car around back, this thief was jabbing at me with the reciprocating saw (it had a blade in it...my bad), even though I was pointing my pistol at him.

So the cops grabbed him and found his female accomplice several blocks away.

Who says that the cops are never there when you need them?

 

[AJ Dual]

Uh.

The "shot in the air" part is going to get you some interesting feedback here.

(Where's the "munch popcorn and watch the show" smiley?)

 

[2lucky]

Prior experience had indicated police response time is reduced dramtically when there's a gun shot. That being said, perhaps I didn't use the best judgement.

 

[itgoesboom]

Prior experience had indicated police response time is reduced dramtically when there's a gun shot. That being said, perhaps I didn't use the best judgement.

Ya think?

I.G.B.

 

[sturmruger]

That is definetly an option, but you should be really careful when discharging a firearm in the city limits.

What did the cops say when they got there??

 

[AJ Dual]

Prior experience had indicated police response time is reduced dramtically when there's a gun shot. That being said, perhaps I didn't use the best judgement.

Reminds me of that favorite re-re-repost that makes the rounds every now and again.

The story where the rual homeowner has burglars in his toolshed, and he's on the cordless phone hiding in the bushes on with 911 while the burlary is still in progress.

The dispatcher tells him the police are all busy and will be there in an hour.

He calls back, in his best deadpan delivery, he tells the dispatcher that tomorrow morning will be fine to fill out a report, since he shot all the burglars, and hangs up.

Every unit in the county is in his driveway in about two minutes flat…

Sturmruger, I'd say that a "warning shot" is definitely not an option. And for some strange circumstance that I can't quite think of yet, where a warning shot is warranted, it had better be downward into loose dirt, or birdshot, straight up.

Some random pedestrian a few blocks away catches a .40 to the noggin and you're looking at manslaughter charges.

However, I'm a big proponent of "all's well that ends well" so, since there's no reports of property damage or injury, it's a learning experiance for next time. I also do acknowledge that the rules over what you can do while armed in defense of property is just a tad bit different in TX.

 

[Rezin]

What goes up, must come down.

 

[Twycross]

I'm a big proponent of "all's well that ends well"

I'll go with that. Your decisions got you out of that one fine. But that doesn't automatically mean that you should use it as a blueprint for any future actions.

 

[SJG26]

So you baited the perps..........????

"I loaded an extention ladder, tool box and sazall in the bed of my truck and parked it at the center. I borrowed the car of one of my tenants and found a good place to get comfortable across the street. It wasn't 40 minutes before a man and woman (on foot) came by"

Which in and of itself is fine.............you did not MAKE them steal.......but some lawyer would easily turn this on you should that warning shot of yours have injured someone..........................

2nd--------if you did have to fire on them, did YOU escalate the situation due to the oreviously mentioned BAITING tactic??

 

[tellner]

I shot a bullet into the air.
It fell to Earth I knew not where.
Until a man, he showed me where.
And since then I do not care
To shoot bullets into the air.

 

[2lucky]

What did the cops say when they got there??

That they were quite startled by the gun shot, as they were anticipating a quiet lunch. And that they were aware that a male, female "team" had been commiting BMV's in the area.

2nd--------if you did have to fire on them, did YOU escalate the situation due to the oreviously mentioned BAITING tactic??

I would absolutely never intentionaly shoot anyone over property alone. However, if there came a point where I truly believed the thief was posing a real danger to my life, of course I would have to take the appropriate action.

The police here (Highland Park) actually take high end landscaping equipment (Echo weedeaters) and lay them on a yard next to a busy street. This equipment has the same tracking device that banks put in money bags they give to the robbers. When the thieves pick up the equipment, it sets off the triangulating tracker and the cops chase them down like hounds on a hog. I'm pretty sure I'm reasonably safe using tools in a truck. Like I said, I'm not going to fire on anyone unless my life is truly in danger.

 

[answerguy]

I'm sorry I couldn't stand it anymore it's called a Sawzall not a sazall.

 

[Hardware]

Isn't that considered hunting with a baited field?

 

[tanksoldier]

Who or what did your stray shot hit when it came down?

Other than that, well done.

<<I pulled my .40 Glock fired once in the air and warned him that he'd be shot if he pulled anything out.>>


Confronting a criminal is NOT "escalating" anything. Just because you carry a gun doesn't mean that you have to let criminals commit crimes right in front of you. By that logic, if an unarmed man demanded your wallet, you'd have to give it to him because refusing whould be escalating the situation.

As for the baiting, who cares why the gear was put out in the truck. It doesn't make it OK to steal it.

<<2nd--------if you did have to fire on them, did YOU escalate the situation due to the oreviously mentioned BAITING tactic??>>

 

[Jeff White]

Good Job

Outside of firing the warning shot, you did well. Did you ever think of coordinating your little stakeout with the police in advance? Perhaps letting a video camera watch the truck? I say this because you mentioned the thief jabbing at you with the saw even though you were holding him at gunpoint. If he had been armed with a firearm you may have found yourself in a gunfight. Were you wearing body armor?

If I had been the responding officer, you probably would have spent a good 5 minutes wondering if they'd let you out of jail on the public endangerment charge to get your good citizen award after I found out you fired a warning shot into the air in crowded urban area. Of course the lecture would only have been to reinforce that shooting into the air in an urban area isn't the best tactic .

Jeff

 

[gunsmith]

shot in the air?

I edited my un highroadish comment out.

please don't shoot in the air unless what your shooting at is there.

your first two warning shots should be center mass and the third should be in the head.

that usuaully warns them pretty good and they stop what they are doing.

& a saw could be considered a dangerous weapon

 

[silicon wolverine]

A warning shot is a bad idea in part because the perp may not think you have the guts to actually shoot HIM and press the attack instead of backing off. Personally, if i HAD to fire a warning shot id poke a car or a dumpster of something thats going to stop the bullet.

SW

 

[Crosshair]

Mythbusters is going to test the "bullet into the air" myth this week. So mabee we should wait and see what happens. Personaly I think it is going to be a rerun of the "penny myth" Sure it may hurt, but people are probably not going to get killed becuse of it. Still a dumb idea to do it.

 

[gunsmith]

Cop shoots innocent (shooting into the air)

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=184043&highlight=Taiwan

this was posted by twoblink a couple of months ago

Cop shoots innocent (shooting into the air)
This is disturbing..

A cop here in Taiwan was changing a criminal through the back alleys, and so he decided (in his infinite wisdom) to pull out his service pistol (S&W 9mm) and fire a warning shot into the air..

BANG!

Then next thing you know, someone is screaming.. The scum didn't stop, but the cop shot someone on the 6th floor of the building above.

Two different stations gave two different accounts, one said it was a ricochet off the ceiling (all the buildings in Taiwan are concrete) the other said it shot through the window. But regardless, unfortunately for the young man, he died.. Bullet hit him dead in the heart.. not deep, but just got the artery..

I have to assume this cop watched too many Hollywood movies; because I can't believe that shooting into the air would be any kind of SOP...

I feel back for the family.. I hope the police will review their methodology. This story disturbs me on so many fronts..

 

[John Hicks]

A bullet fired into the air (that actually has time to go all the way up and back down) will not have enough energy to do much damage when it comes back down. Now this assumes straight up, and that it doesn't go into a 6th floor window and kill someone.

According to a US Army ordinance study in 1920, typical bullets terminal velocity is 200 mph, or just shy of 300 feet per second. Not very fast, but would sting quite a bit if it hit you. If it hit you in the eye you'd be in trouble, but that's the speed of normal airsoft, bb, and paintball (which are hardly fatal).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terminal_velocity

All that being said: firing into the air probably wasn't the best idea, but it got the cops there fast, and all turned out okay in the end -- so I won't criticize you too much.

jh

 

[bosshoff]

Gravity accelerates all objects at 9.8 meters per second squared, or 132 feet per second. What parrallel universe are YOU typing from?

 

[Stiletto Null]

32 feet per second, not 132. That would be one wicked gravitational field.

Remember, a = F/m...

a[down] = gravity - aerodynamic drag. Terminal velocity is the downward speed at which drag matches gravity, preventing a falling object from accelerating further.

 

[lbmii]

I would be cautious about deliberately getting oneself involved in such situations while on your job. Are you really doing what your company wants you to do and are paying you to do? Is it really wise to do this sort of police work while on your non-police work job? If you got yourself killed would your company's general manager miss one game of golf? Would they name a mall parking space after you?

Personally I would be ninety nine percent inclined to fire you if I was the mall owner and you set up what you did in my parking lot and exposed my corporation to all sorts of opened ended risks.

Can you imagine the corporate board getting together with their lawyers and insurers and deciding that the best business practice is to have a mall manager at one of their Dallas properties set up a sting and chase felons across the company owned parking lot while shooting a pistol in the air?

Let cops do cop work and mall managers do mall manager work.

 

[David W. Gay]

Fishing for car thieves

I think that "sting" was a great idea (save for the warning shot). Police in Phoenix conduct similar stings regularly, and have no trouble catching car thieves. I don't know if they always leave the keys in the cars, but the doors are left unlocked, and there is a hidden camera in the dash. Occasionally, the video clips of the thefts will be aired on the news. Once, the crooks were joking, "I hope this isn't one of those bait cars", or something to that effect. As soon as they drove out of the parking lot, they're busted.

Carry on!

 

[1 old 0311]

I have had to call the Police twice. Both times I mentioned I "thought" I saw a gun. Amazing how that helps.

Kevin