Posted on 10/26/2004 5:38:03 PM PDT by libertylass
I HAD MY OWN LITTLE EXPERIENCE LAST SATURDAY THAT PROMPTED ME TO CONTACT THE LOCAL POLICE, AND WHEN THAT DIDN'T SATISFY ME, THE HOMELAND SECURITY OFFICE IN SACRAMENTO, CA. THEY IN TURN SENT ME BACK TO MY LOCAL FBI OFFICE, WHO CONSIDERS MY "EVENT" WORTH LOOKING INTO:
I was walking my dog at about 10:30 am when a man pulled up to the curb in front of my condominium units. We have 23 units that are place in a horseshoe shape with the "opening" of the horseshoe facing the street. The "opening" contains the building for our clubhouse and sauna room so you can't actually see into our common area from the street.
Anyway, I didn't pay any attention to him until about a 1/2 hour later when I left with my dog to take her to the vet. As I walked to my truck (on the street) this middle-Eastern looking guy was standing in the middle of the street taking pictures of our condos. Our condos are directly across from a school and less than 1/2 a block from an elementary school where voting takes place for our immediate area.
At first I wasn't going to say anything, thinking he works for a real estate company, but because there are no "For Sale" signs, or "For Rent" signs on our front lawn, I found it odd. I recently refinanced my condo and they never took pictures of the front of the condo units, but only of my interior and immediate outside walls.
So.....as I walked towards him I asked "do you mind me asking you what you're doing?" He replied "I don't know that it's any of your business" at which time I replied "well, I live here and you're taking pictures of my condos, and people are watching out for this kind of thing." (I was getting perturbed at his uncooperative and disrespectful attitude.) I figure if he was a legitimate real estate agent, or an appraiser, he would have offered an explanation or a business card.
He stated "this is a public place" and proceeded to go get in his car. Me, always being a bit bolder than I should be, got a bit mouthy and said "Oh, so now you're going to leave when someone questions what you're doing?" He replied "yeah."
As he got into car I read his license plate number out loud, got into my truck, wrote it down along with the type of automobile (Dodge Intrepid) and drove to my moms to contact the police.
It turns out that they didn't consider him committing any crime (which I knew), so I contacted the dept. of homeland security. They referred me to my local FBI office in L.A. where my story was welcomed, and that I would be getting a follow up call from an agent at some point.
After talking to a co-worker she reminded me that one school is directly across the street from our units and the other one is around the corner just a few houses down.
Perhaps I was overreacting, but taking pictures of PRIVATELY owned homes without offering an explanation from a resident makes me suspicious. He spoke good English, but has a middle Eastern accent.
I keep thinking I'm gonna wake up in the middle of the night with an orange jumpsuit on and my hands tied behind my back. Shiver........
I believe he also wrote down my license plate number, but can't be sure.
Was I over-reacting you think?
post this on the Threat Matrix thread.
For what it's worth, if you had not reported this incident, you would have been remiss (IMHO, of course).
Well done. Keep your head up.
In this day & age? Nope. Not by a long shot.
Maybe this guy wasn't a terrorist, but it sounds like he was definitely casing your home. Either way, you done good.
no over-reaction IMO
You did EXACTLY the right thing. And thank you.
Only the ACLU or the democrats would say you overreacted. What you did was very sensible and you should be very proud that you took the initiative as you did. If that individual was up to something wrong, it is not likely he'll return to your neighborhood.
It makes me about polling places all over the US now, especially in Republican districts. Is yours?
I would have done the same, Good work
No.
No way you over reacted. You did the right thing, but the police sure didn't.
You asked legitmate questions ... legitimate even before 9-11, because he photographing your own home. He was rude not to answer.
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Anyone else had an experience such as this? If so, please share your story and what YOU did about following up on it.
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We spotted the guy arrested in North Carolina shooting video of our office building in Atlanta. It didn't strike me as suspicious, but our project manager, a former Captain in the marine Corps called the local FBI office while we were standing there. Go figure.
I would've done nearly the same thing... (I wouldn't've talked to him, I'm a chicken***.) :)
Someone did awhile back, but it's been too long to find it now. I think you did the right thing.
I hope it was nothing. Give your pup a kiss from me.
You might give this information to the press, I bet they have connections with the DMV that can look up info on this guy.
You most definitely did not overreact, and I admire what you did.
ping for your Philly airport story.
If it wasn't California, I'd have shot him.
No!
Glad it was you and not me. This whole past 12 months have really given me a bad attitude which I am finding hard to keep under control.......I'm even flippin the bird to real old ladies following me too close........
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