Posted on 06/20/2008 6:42:16 AM PDT by LibWhacker
Troy Molde awoke at 3 a.m. Thursday to police flashlights shining in his face. Two uniformed Lakeville officers were in his bedroom, knocking on the wall to wake him up.
They were there, they said, to warn him to keep his doors closed and locked.
Their surprise visit was part of a public service campaign. Officers had fanned out across the city, leaving notices on doors to remind residents how to prevent thefts by keeping garage doors closed, not leaving valuables in cars and locking windows or doors.
But at Molde's house, they went further.
His two sons, ages 5 and 7, and 5-year-old twin nephews were having a sleepover in the living room. They awoke to find the officers in the house.
"I was violated, but ... I wasn't physically damaged," Molde said of what he considers an invasion of privacy.
The officers told Molde his garage door was open, the TV was on, keys to his truck were left in the ignition and the door to his house was ajar.
Police said the intrusion was justified because the officers' initial door knocks went unanswered. Police went inside to check if anything was wrong, Sgt. Jim Puncochar said.
He said the kids were afraid to wake their dad, so the officers went upstairs.
"It really was suspicious," Puncochar said.
But Molde, 34, said he went upstairs to bed at midnight. Molde didn't shut the garage door, and he remembers leaving the doors to his house closed — but unlocked. The kids fell asleep watching TV.
Three hours later, he had police in his bedroom. He immediately thought something was wrong.
"I was just dazed," said the 34-year-old dad. "It's not a safe way of (police) protection."
Puncochar said officers left pamphlets Thursday at eight other houses as a friendly reminder of ways residents can avoid becoming victims of crimes, such as burglary.
"We went there to determine that everyone was safe," Puncochar said.
Officers also leave the messages when checking on a home security alarm or to warn of a law violation they see at the residence. The department began using door hangers a year ago to tackle a rise in burglaries in 2006, Chief Tom Vonhof said at the time.
Police say many crimes originate with open garage doors.
Last month, a 52-year-old Burnsville man was stabbed and left to die in his burning town house after two assailants entered his home at 4:30 a.m. by way of an open garage door.
The suspects, who stole the man's car to escape, entered the garage and home through unlocked doors. Police have not found the assailants.
Leaving a door hanger for residents is a method used by other police departments nationally, Vonhof said. It can help create a police presence.
Lakeville police gave Molde a reminder he won't forget anytime soon.
"I haven't figured out what I should do with it yet," Molde said.
Years ago. I got a phone call in the middle of the night. It was the Cobb County dispatcher asking me if I owned a canary yellow olds Delta......I said no I sold that to my sister across the road, etc. She said the police were on the property looking for a distraught teenager missing from his nearby home after a fight with parents. They were searching the area. I told them okay but to call FIRST like you did with me, because in my family we believe in the 2nd amendment and loaded weapons are no strangers to us....
Yes they should have rung the bell, but after they did enter, and found sleeping kids in the living room, probably in sleeping bags, I'd think they'd have figured out why the TV was on. After determining that the father/uncle was upstairs sleeping, it might have been the better part of discretion to tell the kids to go back to sleep, lock the doors, and leave a note. Waking the man up by knocking on his wall and shining a light in his eyes is just plain stupid. Unless you're in Gun Free Chicago or DC, and *know* that the man is a law abiding disarmed citizen. Otherwise someone is likely to get shot.
“I left my garage door open one night in Lino Lakes. The police rang my door bell.”
That is the way it should be done and IMO, that is good policing. The police performed unlawful entry the way they did it in the article.
LOL! You must live in an area where it’s only safe to live behind locked doors. There’s more to life than that and it’s 100% bona-fide legal.
Ditto me, last summer. I thanked the sheriff’s deputies and closed the garage door. The whole interaction took about 30 seconds, and I truly appreciated their concern.
That said, the Lakeville cops are knuckleheads & should be disciplined. The actions they took are totally unwarranted.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.