the Stolen Camera Saga Continues
yesterday after the kids were asleep...
lisa requested that I check on her car... her oil light was on
so I went out to her car and poured a few cans of oil into the engine
with the woods of Rock Creek Park by my side I simply tossed the empty oil containers into the woods
the cans feel comfortably next to the other various trash
the empty radiator fluid bottle made it all just seem right
then once inside the house I got a call on the phone
it was a DC police officer calling to make a follow up on my stolen camera
seems that they ran the tags
chased down the thief
got the camera back
made the streets safter and the world a better place
ah... my tax dollars at work!
rewarding knowing I had done the right thing by going to the police
good to know that we have these people working for us


okay... hold on
that is not how things happened
yes, I did put oil in Lisa's car
yes, there is various trash in the woods including an empty radiator fluid container
yes, the police did make a follow up call
but
no, I did not toss my trash into the woods
no, the police had not caught the criminal
as a matter of fact... the police had done nothing on this case since I was proactive and went to the station to file my report
the courtesy call from the Keystone Cops was fluff
since the time of my call there had been no research of the suspect in question
not only did I have my camera missing but I had to give up my personal time to deal with this incompetience
this fluff was just more fuel to my already existing anger
their calling me over a week later simply showed that they did not follow up on my report
the police had done nothing with the information I had given them

the call was just a superficial niceity
something to make the citizen feel as if their hired guns were on the case, which they were not

not only was nothing done it was clear that the case was not understood
the officer calling did not have the tag information that I had given them
there was no data on the report to show his tag
the officer calling did not understand that this theft was not a camera thief, but rather a person who was paranoid that their illegal behavior was "caught on tape"
the camera had been stolen not for the value of the camera
but rather for the information that it stored

don't police watch police shows?

so... frustrated and irrate I asked the officer to hold and went to find the tag information
although the officer took the paper with the tag information from me without returning it I had scribbled it down again before I left the station
thinking that I may want to follow up on this further on my own

once I had the tag information in hand I returned to the phone composed
a tad winded I tried to aid the officer in further understanding this case
starting with the idea that a camera was stolen
but that this person was not a camera thief
then going onto the idea of the image and the tag information
if this is the correct tag information and it did not match the vehicle that was being driven....
does this tell you anything?
yes... the tags may be stolen, the tags may be to another vehicle registered to this man, this vehicle may not be registered...
okay, take it from there as there are multiple scenarios

our converstation ended pleasantly enough
did she get on her computer and start chasing criminals?
more than likely not
more than likely this officer got on the phone and made more vacant phone calls
I had recieved similar such calls
calls responding to email complaints
calls responding to phone call complaints
in some cases the officer talked at such great length that I felt that they may be punishing me
causing me such great pain that I would think twice before calling the police with information


this my stolen camera story
keystone cops

calling the police
involving the police
it just is not my style
in front of my house a car has been in front of the hydrant for 5 days now
my wife wants to call the police
I would prefer to leave a note
or just make mention to the car driver when/if I see them moving their car
clearly we can resolve things fine on our own
and in the case where we try to involve the police.... unless both parties are on the site
well
there is just nothing that they can do
or better yet
there is just nothing that they are going to do