Small town cops, gotta love em

While waiting for my daughters in a Girl Scout meeting, I spied a very large, old apartment house being renovated nearby. Being an electrical contractor, curiousity got the best of me. So flashlights in hand and pockets, I explored the gutted building.
I had a RAW, L4, and a Wolf-Eyes Eagle 4.
Real 2x4 wood, old coal burning fireplaces, various generations of wiring and a very cool "lookout" room on top..
So I am done with my history lesson, and standing outside in the driveway I can see 2 figures inside the building I just left. Cops! They said they have a report of someone with a flashlight inside the building. (who me? :Flashlights bulging out of my pockets) I confessed right away, and as they holstered thier weapons, (whew!) The next words out of thier mouths were, "what kind of flashlight is that?'(The RAW) These poor guys had one Stinger and what looked like a 3 cell rechargable Mag, but I wont even call them lights. I didnt even know they were using the lights. Clearly the batts were old and weak. The RAW on low blew them away. So we talked about lights for 15 minutes, comparing beamshots, showed them the SF L4, then to affirm their suspicions I was a "live"one, I pulled out the Wolf Eyes. I must say, it was a true Mayberry moment. We talked about the old building, flashlights and bid a pleasant good night. We are lucky to have such guys on the PD.

Great story. Did you tell them about CPF? Sounds like a good recruitment opportunity.

Cool story!

Around here you might just get shot first.... but probably not if it's a couple of them I know.

why is it that people associate the use of flashlights with crime? As far as I am concerned, it just means that their is a guy there who cant see without light.... I dont think I'd report it unless I had any reason to suspect foul play. Gee, its only a matter of time before I get called in . It is cool to have people like that keeping our streets safe.

-David

cheapo said:

why is it that people associate the use of flashlights with crime?

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It's an unidentified individual walking around a construction site (private property?), it's dark, they have a flashlight (or a bunch of them)... who knows what they're up to? That seems suspicious enough for me to call the police.

Their Mag Charger must have been in serious dis-repair. (old version bulb plus busted battery) Mine is very impressive, even with the stock bulb. Not to mention a brand new pack and an 1160. WOW!

I guess they thought their lighting instruments were inferior, so theyd just shoot allittle to the side of your lights.

It was not the association of lights that made it a possible crime, the flashlight just allowed someone to see him, and since it is a building site, very possibly he was there to steal equipment, tools or plumbing copper. It happens all the time.

A few weeks ago I went to the mailbox after dark, using an arc for a little extra light (and to play, of course). My older, rather eccentric, neighbor sat there and watched and watched to see what was going on...I've only lived in the same place for 7 years.

Sometimes I wonder about people. Most of them are great, but sometimes I don't know.

prof said:

...My older, rather eccentric, neighbor sat there and watched and watched to see what was going on...

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Buy him a light.

I must admit that I try to refrain from shining my lights on the house or the back yard late at night for fear a neighbor might think a burglar was "casing the joint".

Geoff

I don't know about you guys but if I was trying to steal something I'd do it WITHOUT the aid of a flashlight so that I wouldn't be spotted from miles away...

Nice story though. Nothing ever happens to me and my lights ....

Turns out, the local homeless settled in soon after the work started, and the apartments wern't quite ready yet! Go figure!
It is the type of place where you might like to spend the night and tell ghost stories. I emailed the department with a link to CPF, I really hope they upgrade their lights.

PlayboyJoeShmoe said:

Cool story!

Around here you might just get shot first.... but probably not if it's a couple of them I know.

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If they shoot any thing like some I have shot with at the range, the scare me with how bad they are. Half the time there lucky to just keep it on the paper.

greenLED said:

It's an unidentified individual walking around a construction site (private property?), it's dark, they have a flashlight (or a bunch of them)... who knows what they're up to? That seems suspicious enough for me to call the police.

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really?? I might only call the police if they looked like they were doing something wrong.

-David

Ok, yeah, that makes sense. If he was in a building and he was "allowed" to be there, he would be comfortable to have turned the lights on, and he'd have no reason to use a flashlight.

-David

Robban said:

I don't know about you guys but if I was trying to steal something I'd do it WITHOUT the aid of a flashlight so that I wouldn't be spotted from miles away...

Nice story though. Nothing ever happens to me and my lights ....

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for real.

greenLED said:

Buy him a light.

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Not sure he'd appreciate it...although he spent $800 for a dog that he can't house break...my humane society puppy managed that in 3 days...

joined the club last night.

had a knocking at the door around midnight. i thought, did i have my music on too loud? it's an officer. someone reported flashlight seen and thought it was a burgulary. and just then a big police truck pulled in and the officer waved him away.
good thing i heard the knocking otherwise maybe if no one answered.
it's weird. i had my lights on upstairs. just used flashlight to go downstairs for a midnight snack. car in the parking spot too. i guess they have to check if it's reported.
do burgulars actually use flashlights? i wouldn't. i would just go in the daytime with some fios jumpsuit pretending to be a repairman.
weird also that the officer didn't check id, just asked for my info which i could've made up. ben dover? hugh jass?

i guess a good reason to have moonlight mode. use a flashlight in your own house in peace.

I've had a similar experience...

I was walking around my house after 11 PM with the lights out, a flashlight in hand, a couple months ago. As I walked by the front door, a cop happened to be driving by. I believe he thought the flashlight looked suspicious, because he slowed down and stopped just down the road from my house. After about 30 seconds, he continued on, though.

On another occasion, though, I was playing with a new SF in my backyard, and a neighbor thought I was a cop.

cm_mtb said:

On another occasion, though, I was playing with a new SF in my backyard, and a neighbor thought I was a cop.

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Been there, done that.

I guess sometimes the bright light scares away the bad guys by making them think there's a cop or something in the area. I guess it could get you shot at by someone thinking you're a cop, too.