Episode #34 – CopTalk Podcast

Ask a Cop? Worst Part about being a Cop?: Thanks Matt

I listen to your show regularly and really enjoy the wealth of knowledge that your team offers. Keep up the good work! I’ve worked my way through almost all of your episodes, and haven’t heard this question come up yet: For each of you, what are your most and least favorite things about being an LEO? Also, I know you guys are exposed to a wide variety of threats as LEO’s; what are some things you guys do to stay sharp on the job? Do you have mental/physical daily routines, or weekly ones? How do you guys stay up on new case law, which could affect how you perform your duties? Do your departments offer opportunities for continuing education or is that something that you pursue on your own?

13 Things a Burglar won’t tell you……

URL : https://www.coptalk.info/2010/02/21/13-things-your-burglar-wont-tell-you/

1.  Of course I look familiar. I was here just last week cleaning your carpets, painting your shutters, or delivering your new refrigerator.

2. Hey, thanks for letting me use the bathroom when I was working in your yard last week. While I was in there, I unlatched the back window to make my return a little easier.

3. Love those flowers. That tells me you have taste … and taste means there are nice things inside. Those yard toys your kids leave out always make me wonder what type of gaming system they have.

4. Yes, I really do look for newspapers piled up on the driveway. And I might leave a pizza flyer in your front door to see how long it takes you to remove it.

5. If it snows while you’re out of town, get a neighbor to create car and foot tracks into the house. Virgin drifts in the driveway are a dead giveaway.

6. If decorative glass is part of your front entrance, don’t let your alarm company install the control pad where I can see if it’s set. That makes it too easy.

7. A good security company alarms the window over the sink. And the windows on the second floor, which often access the master bedroom-and your jewelry. It’s not a bad idea to put motion detectors up there too.

8. It’s raining, you’re fumbling with your umbrella, and you forget to lock your door-understandable. But understand this: I don’t take a day off because of bad weather.

9.. I always knock first. If you answer, I’ll ask for directions somewhere or offer to clean your gutters. (Don’t take me up on it.)

10. Do you really think I won’t look in your sock drawer? I always check dresser drawers, the bedside table, and the medicine cabinet.

11. Helpful hint: I almost never go into kids’ rooms.

12. You’re right: I won’t have enough time to break into that safe where you keep your valuables. But if it’s not bolted down, I’ll take it with me.

13. A loud TV or radio can be a better deterrent than the best alarm system. If you’re reluctant to leave your TV on while you’re out of town, you can buy a $35 device that works on a timer and simulates the flickering glow of a real television. (Find it at faketv.com.)

8 MORE THINGS A BURGLAR WON’T TELL YOU:

1. Sometimes, I carry a clipboard. Sometimes, I dress like a lawn guy and carry a rake. I do my best to never, ever look like a crook.

2. The two things I hate most: loud dogs and nosy neighbors.

3. I’ll break a window to get in, even if it makes a little noise. If your neighbor hears one loud sound, he’ll stop what he’s doing and wait to hear it again. If he doesn’t hear it again, he’ll just go back to what he was doing. It’s human nature.

4. I’m not complaining, but why would you pay all that money for a fancy alarm system and leave your house without setting it?

5. I love looking in your windows. I’m looking for signs that you’re home, and for flat screen TVs or gaming systems I’d like. I’ll drive or walk through your neighborhood at night, before you close the blinds, just to pick my targets.

6. Avoid announcing your vacation on your Facebook page. It’s easier than you think to look up your address.

7. To you, leaving that window open just a crack during the day is a way to let in a little fresh air. To me, it’s an invitation.
8. If you don’t answer when I knock, I try the door. Occasionally, I hit the jackpot and walk right in.

Sources: Convicted burglars in North Carolina , Oregon , California , and Kentucky; security consultant Chris McGoey, who runs crimedoctor.com; and Richard T. Wright, a criminology professor at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, who interviewed 105 burglars for his book Burglars on the Job.

NEWS:

• STUPID CRIMINALS LINK: CLICK HERE

• Police: Man steals lawnmower from Conn. school

The Associated Press Posted: 04/28/2011 09:13:42 PM PDT Updated: 04/28/2011 09:14:39 PM PDT

EAST LYME, Conn.—Authorities say a man who was drunk and looking for a place to sleep broke into a trailer behind a Connecticut high school, then instead stole keys to a lawnmower and went for a joyride during which he mowed his parents’ lawn.

Police in East Lyme say 22-year-old Nikolaus Trombley was caught on tape early Wednesday stealing the lawnmower from East Lyme High School.

Police say Trombley told them he was looking for the keys to the school when he found the keys to the lawnmower. He rode it three miles to his parents’ house, mowed the lawn and started to head back to the school but abandoned the mower on the way.

He’s charged with third-degree larceny and burglary.

Ohio DUI suspect keeps cop waiting at drive-thru

The Associated Press Posted: 04/28/2011 06:19:55 AM PDT
NORTH ROYALTON, Ohio—Police in Ohio say a woman insisted on picking up some fast food before she allowed an officer to charge her with drunken driving.

The Plain Dealer newspaper of Cleveland reports police in suburban North Royalton got a call about a car weaving and going off a road at a little after 1 a.m. earlier this month. A patrolman tracked the vehicle to the drive-thru of a Taco Bell restaurant and pulled up alongside.

The police report says the driver had sunglasses on and her speech was slurred. She was ordered to get out of the line, but first she proceeded to the second window to grab her order.

Police say the woman’s blood-alcohol level tested at nearly twice the legal limit.

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NJ town limits when roosters, hens can hook up

The Associated Press

Posted: 04/27/2011 06:46:02 AM PDT

HOPEWELL TOWNSHIP, N.J.—A New Jersey town has adopted an ordinance that regulates when chickens and roosters can hook up in backyard henhouses.

Roosters must show they’re disease-free and they better not crow about their conquests.

Hopewell Township residents can have up to a half-dozen hens on half-acre lots. Roosters would be allowed only 10 days a year for fertilization purposes.

Mature roosters are not allowed because they’re too noisy. Any roosters that crow too long can be banned from the property for two years.

Mayor Jim Burd told The Times of Trenton the ordinance is a compromise between today’s lifestyle and the township’s agricultural history.

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Misaddressed marijuana goes to elderly Pa. couple

Associated Press

Posted: 04/25/2011 07:55:59 AM PDT

UPPER DARBY, Pa.—Police say an elderly Pennsylvania couple was the unintended recipient of a very seedy delivery: a five-pound brick of marijuana.

Police in Upper Darby, just outside Philadelphia, say the couple paid little attention to the package when it was delivered last week. Not recognizing the name, they left it on their porch, expecting it to be picked up.

When nobody claimed the package, the couple opened it to find what police say was $10,000 in high-grade marijuana.

Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood tells the Delaware County Daily Times the couple gave the package to police, who determined the return address in Tollison, Ariz., was fake.

Chitwood says the department sees about a half-dozen similar deliveries a year and can sometimes track down the sender.

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Man dressed as clown going to prison for blackmail

The Associated Press

Posted: 04/25/2011 03:15:58 AM PDT

SAN FRANCISCO—Despite the clown outfit, the threat was no joke.

A Redwood City man who police say wore a clown suit to pick up extortion money from his immigrant relatives has been sentenced to three years in prison.

A U.S. District Judge sentenced 46-year-old Frank Salvador Solorza in Oakland last week.

Solorza was arrested in 2009 after he showed up at a San Mateo County home on a child’s bike and wearing a clown suit, wig, and pirate hat.

Authorities say Solorza picked up a case he believed contained the $50,000 he demanded from his cousins, who emigrated from Mexico.

Officials say Solorza’s scheme included threatening to have them deported for lying on immigration papers if they didn’t pay up. He apparently wore the disguise to protect his identity from them.

The San Francisco Chronicle reports a federal jury convicted Solorza of conspiracy, impersonating an immigration officer and attempted extortion.

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UPDATE *** Ohio man challenging law on teasing police dogs

The Associated Press

Posted: 04/22/2011 09:09:15 AM PDT

MASON, Ohio—A southwest Ohio man charged with teasing a police dog by barking at it says a city law violates free speech.

The Cincinnati Enquirer reports the attorney for 25-year-old Ryan James Stephens says his client was not striking the animal in suburban Mason. Lawyer Jim Hardin says barking may not be seen as intelligent speech but is “still speech.” He questions the validity of a city law that bars taunting police dogs.

A police officer investigating a car crash at a pub on April 3 reported he heard the dog barking uncontrollably. The officer said he found Stephens making barking noises and hissing at a dog inside the police car.

The officer’s report quoted Stephens as saying “the dog started it” and said the man appeared highly intoxicated

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Conn. man charged after dumping $200 worth of gas

The Associated Press

Posted: 04/21/2011 07:38:29 AM PDT

Updated: 04/21/2011 07:38:30 AM PDT

BRIDGEPORT, Conn.—Maybe he just didn’t get the math.

Police say a Connecticut man poured about $200 worth of gasoline onto a city street then went to a scrap metal yard and tried to sell the empty container worth $60.

Emilio Valentine of Bridgeport was charged Tuesday with illegally dumping hazardous material. He was released on a promise to appear in court.

Stephen Scholz of PC Metals tells The Connecticut Post that the 52-year-old Valentine dumped the fuel as he was driving and the metal container was still dripping when he pulled into the scrap yard. Scholz told Valentine to leave. Police say Valentine admitted dumping the gas only after failing in efforts to sell it.The state Department of Environmental Protection cleaned up the mess

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Ariz. sheriff seeks votes on ‘Mugshot of the Day’

The Associated Press

Posted: 04/19/2011 07:55:37 AM PDT

PHOENIX—The Arizona sheriff known for dressing inmates in pink underwear and feeding them green baloney is inviting people to choose the most popular jail booking photos posted on his website.

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio (ar-PY’-oh) allows online users to browse through the photos and then vote on their favorites that will be highlighted on a “Mugshot of the Day” section. The top picks so far aren’t unexpected: They’re the most disheveled, unusual looking people among those booked into the downtown Phoenix jail. Arpaio says he hopes the increased Web traffic will highlight the work of his employees. He also says more crimes may be uncovered if the public can view the photos. The website is http://www.mcso.org

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RI man’s 1974 traffic violation dismissed in Mass.

The Associated Press

Posted: 04/20/2011 06:41:45 AM PDT

Updated: 04/20/2011 06:41:46 AM PDT

ATTLEBORO, Mass.—A Rhode Island man has finally settled a warrant issued for a traffic violation in Massachusetts nearly four decades ago.

Michael Young, of Warwick, R.I., asked a judge in Attleboro District Court on Tuesday to dismiss a driving to endanger charge issued in September 1974.

He was 23 at the time. The now 60-year-old told the court he found out about the warrant recently when he went to conduct business at the Rhode Island Registry of Motor Vehicles.

The Sun Chronicle of Attleboro reports that Judge Daniel O’Shea noted that half the people in court had not even been born at the time of the traffic violation. He granted Young’s request, dismissing the case with payment of $100 in court costs. Prosecutors agreed with the dismissal.

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Fleeing Suspect Hitches ‘Getaway’ Ride With Police Chief

The Boston Herald via YellowBrix - April 22, 2011

BOSTON – A no-luck suspect who had just taken a beating when he tried to steal a farmer’s truck might have thought things were looking up early Wednesday morning when he finally caught a ride to get the heck away from the scene of the crime, cops said. “He said, ‘You look familiar,’ and my response was, ‘I should look familiar, I’m the police chief,’ said Salisbury Police Chief Richard Merrill Jr., who welcomed the fleeing hitchhiker, Joe Dastous, 26, of Salisbury, into his unmarked cruiser. “He just said, ‘Oh (expletive), I made a big mistake,’ ” Merrill said. “In 33 years, I’ve never had anyone run towards me. Usually, they’re running away.” Dastous’ trying day had begun hours earlier when he allegedly tried to steal a pickup belonging to John Sanborn, 64. When Sanborn saw someone in his driveway in the early morning hours, he ran out barefoot to confront the man, the farmer said yesterday. “He actually started the truck and I grabbed a hold of him. I just started swinging at him and clocked him a little silly,” Sanborn told the Herald. “I pulled him out. . . . He got up and ran off.” The suspect ran all the way to what appeared to be a welcoming motorist parked near Interstate 495 — only to be cruelly disappointed by a twist of fate. “Once he jumped inside, he thought he had it made,” Merrill said. “I wear a shirt and tie, so to him I was probably a businessman of some sort.” Dastous, who was sopping wet, shivering and bruised when he was apprehended, was charged with attempted car theft and burglary.

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PORTLAND, Ore. — A man behind the wheel of a stolen car plowed through crime scene tape near the Lloyd Center mall, where a 14-year-old was shot in the head Monday, Portland police say.

When officers found the driver, identified as Kevin Signalness, they said he had his pants unzipped and a pornographic magazine laying on the passenger seat.

Signalness appeared in court Tuesday to face charges of driving under the influence of intoxicants, reckless driving and public indecency, among others.

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SALT LAKE CITY – A wrong-number dial landed one man in jail for drug possession Wednesday afternoon.

The 30-year-old man was looking to purchase Oxycontin when he mistakenly called a police officer’s cellphone, Salt Lake City police said.

The officer made arrangements to meet the man near 2100 South and 700 East. The man had a pound of marijuana, scales and other paraphernalia with him when police arrested him, officials said.

He was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail on suspicion of multiple drug offenses.

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