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?
I don't think you were over-reacting. I go after "harmless" realtors this way -- anyone taking photographs, or notes, or simply sitting in their car on my street. It's my version of "community oriented policing". :> You did good! Always trust your instincts.
did you check out the license number at DMV?
Better Safe than Sorry. Like they told us at Poll Watcher Training this weekend at Bush Headquarters "Just the fact they you are there PAYING ATTENTION will stop any voter fraud in its tracks. Be aware, be confident and be nice, Trust but verify.
You were all of the above.
century 21 maybe?
Good job.
I have experienced a similar situation, and now keep a portable camera in my car at all times. If I see something again, I plan to snap a pic before addressing the person if at all.
Good job. Keep us posted.
You definitely did right to report this.
If the FBI gets one useful lead out of ten, or even one out of fifty, they are still way ahead of getting no leads at all. The FBI relies heavily on tips and informers. They don't really have the manpower to cover much territory directly.
This guy may have just had a bad attitude, but from what you say his behavior was definitely suspicious.
Too bad you didn't have a camera handy. I would have started taking pictures of him.
A hearty 'pat on the back' for a job well done.
Remember: Eternal vigilence is the price of freedom.
Also remember: lock and load.
During wartime, the thought that anyone can behave in a suspicious manner and not be questioned by some sort of "devine American right" is unrealistic as well as suicidal. I don't blame you at all. If he was not up to anything he should have nothing to fear at all.
I'm glad you did exactly what you did.
Consider, if you had not and something DID happen; would you be able to live with the guilt?
Hopefully, nothing will happen. If nothing happens, you will be able to think that nothing happened BECAUSE you did what you did. Perhaps an attempt will NOT be made, because you stood your ground. If he was casing the condo's for a robbery, he will probably prey somewhere else.
I wish more Americans were as noble as you have shown yourself to be.
You did the correct thing. Great job! This is the only way we can eventually defeat these kind of threats. Eternal vigilance and common sense.
God bless!
Hey, brilliant idea!
:o
I live in Michigan in the middle of the state, no big metropolis is nearby and we can pee off the back porch with no one ever being the wiser. (I have 20 acres surrounded by trees) anyways My cousins live 12 minutes from here. Their school, (Birch Run) showed up on a terrorist computer disc in Iraq. You can never be to careful, You never know who is watching or what they are interested in. You did the right thing no doubt at all.
What building in Atlanta was it?
Anything short of "recon by fire" is not over reacting.
any LE types she could email the plate number to and they could do a discrete inquiry?
Freeprs, don't we have someone who can do this????
Don't question yourself, you did the right thing. I hope it was nothing serious, and if that's the case, then you did no harm. Better safe than sorry!
I'm glad we've got citizens like you keeping a cautious eye on things. =)
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.