(TX) Citizen Makes Arrest, Gets Arrested

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Drizzt

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Citizen Makes Arrest, Gets Arrested
Police Say Man Identified Himself As An Officer

Frank Heinz, Convergence Editor

POSTED: 12:03 p.m. CST March 6, 2003

FORT WORTH, Texas -- Citizen's arrest has taken on new meaning for a suburban Dallas man.

Dallas police say the 44-year-old Southlake man watched from his van early Tuesday as a man threw a brick through a restaurant's glass door and started grabbing items.

Police say the witness was wearing a police raid jacket and bulletproof vest and armed with a gun, plastic handcuffs and pepper spray and that he identified himself as a cop while pointing his gun at the suspect.

Police say that when the burglary suspect dropped to the ground, the witness put his knee in the suspect's back, sprayed him with pepper spray and put him in cuffs.

Arriving police officers arrested both the 36-year-old burglary suspect and the witness, who they said was held on suspicion of falsely identifying himself as a police officer.
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oops! was he also carrying a briefcase lined with kevlar and ceramic plates? Mall ninja alert!!

by the way, what's a convergence editor?
 
Kinda sounds like he was doing a pretty good impersonation.
I expect that there was a time when the LE response to his actions would be to offer him a job instead of busting him for helping them out.
 
:rolleyes:

This, folks, is what's known among cops as a "strange ranger". :scrutiny:

Such critters are NOT OUR FRIENDS. They give the entire concept of CCW a bad name.

The good news is, they're not exclusive to shall-issue areas. They're found in zero-CCW zones too, at around the same frequency or even higher, where they cause just as much trouble.
 
Burglary suspect catcher cleared

By Eva-Marie Ayala
Star-Telegram Dallas Bureau

DALLAS - Steven Jobe's shopping center -- which houses nine businesses -- had been burglarized 13 times within the last year.

His tenants on Wycliff Avenue demanded he do something about it.

So in January he began watching the property overnight -- armed with a gun, a raid jacket with "police" printed on it, body armor and a pair of plastic handcuffs.

He was able to catch one burglary suspect without incident in January. But when he caught another Tuesday, he found himself arrested and charged with false identification as a peace officer.

"It's not fair, and it wasn't right," Jobe said. "I'm doing what any citizen has the right to do -- to protect their own property."

On Friday, police agreed and dropped the charges against Jobe.

Police spokesman Sgt. Hollis Edwards said police didn't have evidence to charge Jobe because no one corroborated that he actually said he was a police officer.

Jobe said he never identified himself as an officer and that his brother, a Dallas lawyer, told him he could legally wear the raid jacket because it did not have a department seal on it.

"I only wear that so no one mistakes me as a bad guy," Jobe said.

Jobe said he is concerned that neighbors and associates will feel differently about him since his publicized arrest. But tenants say they already do -- they call him their new hero.

"The police came and they took Spider-Man to jail -- that's what Steve is like, he catches the bad guys," said Gilberto Perez, general manager of Juanita's Restaurant No. 2, which was the business burglarized Tuesday.

Perez said that since the restaurant opened in the shopping center a year ago, it's been burglarized four times, including this week's incident.

"Now I'm going to sleep better because Steve is watching. … I know he's protecting my restaurant," Perez said.
 
Hrrrm. Doesn't sound QUITE as bad.

But he still screwed up: he could just as easily have gotten such a jacket that said "Private Patrol" in big letters. THAT would have been perfectly legal; on your own property, you ARE a "private security force" and imitating one isn't "wrong" at all.

That said, it's not like he was running around all over the place set up like that. THAT is typical "strange ranger".

Sidenote: some California sheriffs are putting CCW applicants through a three-day community college course originally designed as a "crash course for renta-cops" and includes such stuff as "private powers of arrest", use of handcuffs and whatnot. I consider this a mistake, potentially a big one, as it might "breed strange rangers".

Some are doing even worse: equipping their cronies with genuine reserve deputy status (typically "level 3", no training required, needs intense supervision to do anything even remotely cop-like). And yes, they get a little gold star/badge. THAT breeds strange rangers like crazy, and out of embarassment the sheriffs in question try and cover for the fools. Two documented cases that I know of:

http://www.ninehundred.com/~equalccw/colafrancescopapers.pdf

http://www.ninehundred.com/~equalccw/lastory.pdf

It also seems to happen on the Fed level:

http://www.sheeple.com/herd/marshal.html - and the official court proceedings on the same incident: http://www.ll.georgetown.edu/Fed-Ct/Circuit/dc/doc/95-3148a.txt
 
But he still screwed up: he could just as easily have gotten such a jacket that said "Private Patrol" in big letters. THAT would have been perfectly legal
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I understand your point, but as you can obviously see his choice of jacket was “perfectly legalâ€.


Despite our resident lawyers’ constant berating of people like this guy as “batmanâ€, I’d like somebody to tell me what exactly was done wrong here? You know since some people felt the need to call this guy a cape wearing “batmanâ€, “strange rangerâ€, “NOT OUR FRIENDSâ€, and “&^%$^#@ wannabes†I figure the least they can do is back the comment up...

All I can say is I’ll take a “cape wearing batman†over somebody cowering in the corner any day of the week.
 
What he did exactly wrong was impersonating a law enforcement officer.

Personally, had he done everything he did but wearing the jacket that identified his as the POLICE, I would have been all for it.

You have to wonder what happened to the original witnesses that reported he had identified himself as police, however.

I understand the property was owned by the guy, but you do have to wonder about how bright he was in doing what he did in regard to personal safety. Given Texas law, that the property was his and was occurring at night and that he probably could argue that he did not feel he could recover said property without significant risk to himself, he would have have been fully justified in shooting the burglar. He still would have been arrested and since he was the owner of the property would have ended up just as released and if it did go to a grand jury, no billed. The bonus would have been that he could have done all that without ever having to get close enough to the bad guy to get into a scuffle or to risk being infected by the bad guy's blood as a result of scrapes and scratches in the scuffle.

Jobe should consider a security service and/or his tenants should consider alarm systems. There was nothing being burglarized there that was worth risking Jobe's life over in a hand-to-hand confrontation.
 
I think Jobe is worthy of a pass and adulation on this.

He was NOT impersonating a LEO. "POLICE" isn't any special word nor is "FBI", "SWAT", etc. Those vests are just for purposes of recognition without any official imprimatur. Criminals can wear them too, and they do. If the Texas Lege wants to make such vests illegal for non LEOs, it can. But it hasn't.

While he could have shot the perp without risking a grappling contest he might lose, that old Situation #2 El Tejon is always railing about would have bit Jobe pretty hard.

The guy's a hero. Live with it.
 
DNS,

Are you sure wearing a jacket is impersonating an officer? I agree it was less than brilliant, but if he hadn’t worn the jacket most here would be completely on board with what he did. As I said, the jacket was a little less than “swuft†but I’m not sure it was illegal (neither apparently does the DA). And to be fair to the man, there is even some reasonableness to his choice of that jacket. It does help readily ID him as a good guy when the other good guys (cops) show up. I can see his thinking on it. I still agree with you that he probably would have been best served accomplishing this some other way, but I don’t think he should be berated for his jacket choice.

There was nothing being burglarized there that was worth risking Jobe's life over in a hand-to-hand confrontation.
Click to expand...
I think that is a personal choice and I don’t fault or even really disagree with the choice he made. Sometimes a stand has to be made, even at great personal risk. He made his stand and he won. I wish him the best and I hope he continues to win.
 
AHenry: when I first used the term "strange ranger" for this case, I wasn't aware that he was providing "private security" for his own building and in that context, I agree the term is overboard. I think he still screwed up a bit, but not bad enough to warrant charges and I'm glad they were dropped. Still, I hope he switches to a "Private Patrol" or similar logo, as it would be adequate for his purposes, and I'd be willing to bet he's been told this.

-----------

There is a huge difference between a legally armed civilian and a real cop. The cop generally has more firepower on tap, usually has better training (NOT always, granted!) and most critically, he has a RADIO and fast backup.

That means that while a CCWer can defend himself, even defend others, if he actually pursues a fleeing crook he's nuts outside of very peculiar (and dire) circumstances like a crook fleeing with a kidnapped baby or something.

A permitholder should also be VERY wary about "taking prisoners", it's incredibly risky without specialized training and fast backup...even cops dread solo handcuffing and some (most?) departments ban the practice.

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El Tejon, if you don't believe that this "cronies with badges problem" exists in California...

posse1.gif

posse2.gif

That is side one and two of a one-page form. The "Posse" in question is NOT a law enforcement group, it is a political org tied directly to the sheriff's campaign finances and electoral activities. 30+ years ago it was the sheriff's search and rescue team.

In the "letter to applicants", note the paragraph starting "Members accepted by the membership committee..." - I've seen one of those "gold stars", it's exactly the same size, number of points and layout as any other star for that department, yet the membership of this group is *secret* unknown even to the County Board of Supervisors.

I've talked to a local business owner who was told by two department sargeants that his "only chance" for a CCW permit was to join this "Posse".

Oh no. HELL no. I don't THINK so.
 
Jim, oh, I believe you, but good grief, that could go wrong in so many ways. Why would he set himself up to be a magnet for the cape-wearers?

BTW, Jim, the radio report I heard said the DA declined to prosecute and the coppers cut him loose, so no charges were brought, which according to the reported evidence, is probably for the best. Hope his brother tells him to ditch the po-po jacket now. Better a cape than that silly "POLICE" jacket.
 
You're underestimating the level of digging I had to do to GET that crap. :scrutiny:

Believe me, this has been quietly going on for decades, hell, generations. I appear to be the first one to notice :rolleyes:.

Second issue, what makes you think the SHERIFF is doing it? Or at least causing it? Put it another way: get 380 of the richest people in the county together, almost half of 'em millionaires, at least one *billionaire* and I suspect two others (the one I know about used to own an NFL team!), and it's not the sheriff that owns the political club. It's the club that owns the sheriff. Every single sheriff transition in that county for 40+ years has been "friendly", where an incumbent moves on to higher office, dies or retires. No challenger has ever won a race. It's machine politics, bud, and if the sheriff does NOT keep the "Posse" happy, he's *toast*.

Welcome to nice modern "progressive" California :barf:.
 
Isn't there a Who song to this effect, Jim? "Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.":uhoh: But, we all know that, especially in light of the history of gun control.

ahenry, the reason I used to come down hard on wannabes is that they impacted the legitimate authority of LEOs and the State (but that's when I swung the sword). Depended upon what they did, of course. Sounds like this guy needs to lose his jacket (or sell it on Ebay) and he'll be fine.
 
AHenry: when I first used the term "strange ranger" for this case, I wasn't aware that he was providing "private security" for his own building and in that context, I agree the term is overboard.
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‘Preciate you saying this.

ahenry, the reason I used to come down hard on wannabes is that they impacted the legitimate authority of LEOs and the State (but that's when I swung the sword). Depended upon what they did, of course.
Click to expand...
I hate to be blunt but you are wrong, and in the mind of a few here should retract your comments about this guy. I know all about authority of LEO’s and “swinging the sword†and I know many, many LEO’s from a wide variety of enforcement venues, from the fed level down to small town LE. While some would tend to laugh at somebody doing this, I am not aware of any of them that think his actions (or rather actions like his) actually impact their authority. Catch a clue man.

Sounds like this guy needs to lose his jacket (or sell it on Ebay) and he'll be fine.
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Why? You’ve said this several times and I’d like to know why. Perhaps other methods would serve his purpose better, but wasn’t he readily Identifiable as the good guy here? Wasn’t his purpose served? I swear, you sound just like lawyer. :rolleyes: ;)
 
ALL commissioned law enforcement officers were "wannabe's" at one time or another, it is only when they fail to pursue thier goals do they undermine the authority and status of the law. I am considering a career change myself and at 35, might be a bit late, but I have ALWAYS had respect for LE and admire the personal challenges that had to be overcome to be one.
 
Jim,

Sheriff Rump's letter. His signature at the bottom. What's this Sheriff-Coroner business. In Georgia, the coroner is the ONLY state official with the power to arrest a sheriff. I understood that to be descended from English common law. Is it different in California or is Rump supposed to arrest himself?
 
ahenry, got the clue long ago.:D I never said what this guy did was wrong. In fact, you see, I believe that the Texicano DA did the right thing in "no filing" the case.

If no crime, why should there be a prosecution? The DA has bigger battles to fight (ones that involve evidence of crimes are always helpful). If this guy is not a "wannabe" and he did the right things, why do anything to him?

As far as the jacket, remember what the wise man in Tejas sez, if you look like food you will be eaten? Well, if you look like you should be arrested, you very well may be.

You're right the jacket violates no law apparently in Texas. However, if I were going around swooping down on eeevil-doers, I would want to distance myself from the stranger rangers. How about a nice suit?:D
 
In Montana, in the smaller counties at least, the Sheriff IS the Coroner. Can't afford to hire that many people with very small population base.


Of course, the Sheriff is also just as likely to be the local used car dealer, too :D

(ever heard "The Sheriff of Boone County" ?)
 
In California, the only guy that can arrest the sheriff is the state attorney general or the Cal-DOJ staff under him on the AG's authority.

Most sheriffs in CA are also the coroner.
 
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