Cops Hung Up Phone On Beltway Shooter(!)

Houston Chronicle ^ | 10/23/2002 | Sari Horowitz and Carri Morello

[Dirk McQuickly]

An angry letter found tacked to a tree behind a restaurant where the sniper wounded a man this weekend complained of six failed attempts to reach police, and threatened more killings, of children in particular, if millions of dollars were not deposited in a bank account within two days, law enforcement sources said.

The letter listed half a dozen calls that had been "ignored" by operators answering phones at the command center in Rockville, Md., the Montgomery County police station and the FBI. It even named some of the people who had answered the phones.

[Dirk McQuickly]

Will someone explain why we're negotiating with this sick #*&!#? He's obviously not going to be stopping by Mailboxes, Etc. to pick up a cashier's check for $10 million. I think they need to call his bluff and draw him (them) into the open. At this point, what's the difference? By placating him, we set a vicious, ugly precedent whereby any tinhorn terrorist can extort his way to riches. The minute any kind of money hits a Swiss bank account, this guy will vanish and these murders will unsolved. They have to call his bluff, hold up a collective middle finger, and tell him to give it his best shot.

It's their only chance at this point. It's an ugly predicament, and one I pray involves no more victims (especially not children). But if we give in to his demands, no one's children will be safe ever again.

That said, I find it curious that there's no description of the caller. No talk of whether or not there was an accent. I'm betting there's an angry Palestinian (or Palestinians) on the loose (funded by Saddam, of course)...

[spokeshave]

Must be using Cingular

[Dirk McQuickly]

Could someone add this to Front Page News?

[Howlin]

Can anybody explain to me why WE should believe ONE WORD this guy wrote down?

[hole_n_one]

Will someone explain why we're negotiating with this sick #*&!#?

Where does it say that "we're negotiating with this sick #*&!#? "?

[nunya bidness]

What guy?

[per loin]

No wonder the cops are refusing to release the letter. I believe in bureaucratic circles such a refusal is called CYA.

[nickcarraway]

He thinks he's in control...but he can't even get through a call to the police.

[paul544]

Isn't a sad commentary on the crap quality of police work, that this guy had to actually call the police and tell them there was a big letter tacked to a tree? For gods sake. The police didn't see this??? Bunch of keystone cops.

[Malesherbes]

Is an "undocumented worker" the same as an illegal alien?

[clintonh8r]

I'm having difficulty being surprised by all this.

[norraad]

What a world, Keystone Cops & God can't spell.

[PokeyJoe]

I know.

Let's challenge him.

Chief Moose, "We have this poor bastard shooting innocent people. I bet he doesn't have the guts to shoot at that person standing over there holding that CNN microphone.

[HairOfTheDog]

I'm betting there's an angry Palestinian (or Palestinians) on the loose (funded by Saddam, of course)...

Why again? I was with you will the last sentence. Why does this sound like anything but a new twist on the old ransom gambit? - By one of our own... Why would a political terrorist ask for money and not a political goal?

[Fred Mertz]

Isn't a sad commentary on the crap quality of police work, that this guy had to actually call the police and tell them there was a big letter tacked to a tree? For gods sake. The police didn't see this???

The cops picked it up. They were stalling. That's why they won't release the note...it's too chilling.

[clintonh8r]

Try calling the cops in any metropolitan area, and unless you're dialing 911 you're going to get an automated menu. I guess they haven't installed,

"If you're a crazed serial sniper calling to make demands...press 9 now..."

[Thud]

I watched a kidnapping trial once where the following actually happened (attorney William Martin of Modesto, California, represented the defendant). The DA played a tape recording of the ransom call (from a pay phone) in which the operator broke in to demand another quarter. The jury cracked up.

[hole_n_one]

Can anybody explain to me why WE should believe ONE WORD this guy wrote down?

Does it really matter?.......

Lately, accuracy doesn't seem to be as precious a commodity at FR as it used to be.

[Shermy]

Jeez, even the crooks are complaining about LE now!

[Deb]

Yeah, that's what we need...more trainees involved. Wasn't it trainees who were in charge of looking for Chandra Levy in the park?

Of course, it is fun to think about the sniper stomping around his dirty apartment after being hung-up on by some female, FBI cub.

Seems to me, that's exactly what they should have done from the beginning. Hang up on him.