Carol, you're absolutely right. A hoody is a pretty good clue to me, though that may be regional. I don't know.
I suspect its more regional
Zimmerman to face Wrongful Death Civil Trial
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I suspect its more regional
Tgace
Grandmaster
It's not about being offended Steve. It's about the "well you only see the bad" argument tactic that always seems to pop up in these types of discussions. The fact of the matter is that we deal with people from everything from ducks down the storm drain calls (done that) to homicide scenes (been there). We are also people with families, homes, and "people" experiences beyond our job just like anyone else.
If anything most cops I know have a WIDER experience with people than a narrower one...but that can depend on where that cop works. I'm not a metro cop working the same 100 blocks in a high crime area. Im a municipal cop in a Town with poor/high crime areas on one side of town and suburban bedroom communities on the other.
Steve
Mostly Harmless
Tgace, I think that the conversation has seriously gone off the rails. We were discussing "suspicious" and now we're discussing the roles and experiences of being a cop. I can comment on the former (at least, offer my opinions), but I really don't think I know enough about the latter to have an intelligent discussion. I see the discussion moving down a path where pretty much whatever I say will be viewed in some way as negative toward LEO, and that is absolutely not how I would want things to go. If you ask me what I would view as being suspicious in my neighborhood, I can tell you. If you ask me how many cars were stolen within a 2 mile radius of my house, I wouldn't know. Does that make my opinion invalid? Maybe. I guess. But, Zimmerman was more like me than you. I mean, he wasn't a cop, like you, and whether he wanted to be one or not, he didn't have the training, the experience or the perspective that you have (good or bad.)
Frankly, I've said many times I pity Zimmerman and don't believe for a minute that he ever wanted to kill or hurt anyone. And yet, because the conversation is otherwise so one-sided, I think I'm coming off as pro-one side over the other. My thoughts on Zimmerman get lost because there are so many assumptions being made about Martin which I think are a little out there.
I think that there are many lessons that could be learned and the discussion could be very interesting, but I'm going to go ahead and bow out of this one now.
ballen0351
Sr. Grandmaster
I wear hoodies all the time. (But my heads to damn big to use the hood part. Booooooo)
Big Don
Sr. Grandmaster
Carol, you're absolutely right. A hoody is a pretty good clue to me, though that may be regional. I don't know.
EVERYONE wears those here. Me, my kid (17) my sister's kids, (4 and 3) my preacher, my sifu, everyone.
NOT everyone attacks people.
Big Don
Sr. Grandmaster
Zimmerman was tried, not because the prosecution had any reasonable chance of conviction based on the facts at hand, but, because Martin was black and Zimmerman has a muddled racial make up with a light skin tone.
You can deny this, but, that won't make it less true.
ballen0351
Sr. Grandmaster
That I like hoodies but I got a big head
Well...personally I don't think delineating between teens and adults is necessary in an awareness/self defense situation.
What matters is assessing whether someone is a threat or not. Someone under 18 can hurt me badly, just as someone 18 or over can. Someone mentally ill can hurt me, just as someone mentally well can. Someone high or drunk can hurt me just as someone sober can.
Plus I like hoodies, too.
What matters is assessing whether someone is a threat or not. Someone under 18 can hurt me badly, just as someone 18 or over can. Someone mentally ill can hurt me, just as someone mentally well can. Someone high or drunk can hurt me just as someone sober can.
Plus I like hoodies, too.
Big Don
Sr. Grandmaster
I googled for Cobra hooded sweatshirts, you know like the Army's goretex parka that has a hood big enough to cover a helmet, but, my google fu is weak...
Oooh...great idea. An outdoor outfitter may have hoodies for folks that wear helmets as well.
ballen0351
Sr. Grandmaster
What you trying to say about my head............
The dispatcher actually said, "We don't need you to do that." This suggestion can mean different things to different people. Someone involved in the community and feeling and that freely gives personal time looking out for neighbors and tutoring children may see such a suggestion differently. I know it's happened to me, I'm sure it's happened to a lot of people, where I have offered to help someone out and they insisted I don't need to do that, but yet we still provide a ride, hold the door open, or something else to help that person out. I've also been on the receiving side where someone has helped me out even after I initially insisted they don't need to do that, yet I very much appreciated the offer and assistance.
I understand. It seems likely to me it as meant as a polite way to say it's better you not do that. But it sounds to me like he was a bit overzealous overall:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articl...an-s-history-of-911-calls-a-complete-log.html
ballen0351
Sr. Grandmaster
An average of 6 times a year. I'm not sure that's overzealous for a neighborhood watch
I imagine a lot of communities, especially ones where criminals are invading occupied homes in the middle of the day, would like someone to call 911 if they saw something suspicious, even if it turned out to be a false alarm. The one time it wasn't a false alarm would be more than enough justification. I happened to catch part of Katie Couric's show. She had on the crime where the two men in Connecticut followed a Mother and Daughter home from the store and invaded their home. They beat the husband with a baseball bat and raped and eventually murdered the mother and her two daughters, burning them to death. It may not have saved them, but cases like this make me happy when people report "suspiciuos," behavior in my neighborhood. You never know when someone is in trouble for real.
I suppose--but some of them sounded pretty trivial. One was a 7-9 y.o during daylight hours?
In retrospect, of course, In prospect, you risk being the little neighborhood watcher who cried wolf or of repeatedly taking police from elsewhere to your location, which isn't sustainable if too many people do it. Judgment is required.
Keep in mind that in testimony we know about multiple burglaries in that community, one of which as I mentioned happened with a woman and her infant at home, locked in a bedroom while the two teenagers ransacked the home. They were caught, released and it was learned that they lived right there in that area of homes. His 911 calls were less and less about false alarms.
My whole family where's hoodies. Particularly the ones that zip down the middle. I was the last hold out until I tried one a year ago and was won over!
