Stolen Car

So I was with a girlfriend the other day.  She needed to pick up her stolen car that was recovered by our Hometown PD.  I was there for moral support.  It was interesting to watch her, as a victim of the crime.  We came armed with antibacterial wipes and rubber gloves, convinced that whoever perpetrated such a crime must've also left all kinds of bodily fluids and goo throughout the vehicle. CA Cop had offered his input:

"The interior will have ashes everywhere and smell like bud. Oh and an empty hard liquor bottle will be rolling around on the floor board of the back seat."

I went ahead and looked up some information online about reclaiming a stolen vehicle and ended up reading horror stories about drug needles left pointing up in the drivers seat and all sorts of awful things. *I recommend skipping this step if you ever have to go pick up a stolen vehicle*

We were greeted by the friendly woman at the front desk of the Tow Company (wolf in sheep's clothing, let me tell you, just wait til you hear what the bill was).  She went on and on about what a cute car my friend had and that it was in great shape.  We followed her out to the tow yard and there amidst crumpled and neglected vehicles was my friend's shiny sedan. It appeared out of place among its current company.  We hesitantly approached it and peered in through the windows.  The driver and passenger seats were reclined so far back that they were nearly resting on the backseat. I rolled my eyes at this observation as I pictured the freakin' thugs who may have been lounging in her vehicle. Other than that the interior looked unscathed, I mean seriously not an ash nor a bottle. Not a hair and certainly no needles.  We gloved up before we touched anything and wiped it down with the germ removers three times over for peace of mind. 

Her car had been in the tow yard for an hour and a half and had been towed less than three miles to the yard.  The bill was $300.  Yup.  I was shocked, I felt like she was victimized twice.

It was an interesting experience, one that I hope to not have to repeat.  Later that evening I was explaining to CA Cop just how clean the interior of her vehicle was when it occurred to me,

"Hey, how come Hometown PD didn't dust for fingerprints or anything? I mean clearly they didn't because there was no dust in her car."

"I never dust for prints"

"Really? Never?"

"Nope, well I guess I occasionally do a what I like to call a 'PR dusting'."

Half joking I said, "What do mean? The owner is standing right there so you sprinkle some dust around his car with no intention of lifting a print?"

:"Yep."

"Seriously? You just sprinkle dust everywhere?"

"Yep."

I sat there and pictured this. Him sprinkling dust everywhere, the poor victim hoping the dirt bag will be brought to justice. But its just not a priority in Baytown or in Hometown. CA Cop says there are hundreds of fingerprints in and around cars and its just not practical to collect the prints.

So what's your experience with stolen vehicles? Is this typical where you live/work? Were you shocked by that tow fee?

Rest In Peace Officer Capoot

My heart is breaking for the family of 19 year police veteran of Vallejo PD, Officer Jim Capoot. He was gunned down and shot in the back multiple times while pursuing bank robbery suspects.  He leaves behind a wife and three daughters.  I ache for them. On the news last night they kept showing the flag draped casket leaving the hospital surrounded by the somber officers with empty expressions as they treated their fallen brother's remains with care and dignity.

Thank you Sir, for your service and your sacrifice.  God bless your family.

The full story is located here.

Overheard At Family Dinner

Seated around the table. We chatted as we chewed our food and enjoyed the meal.  My mom had cooked one of CA Cop's all time favorites and he happily worked away at the meat and potatoes on his plate.

"This ham is great!" He announced in the direction of my mom.

Across the table my older brother couldn't resist, "Isn't that kinda like cannibalism?"

Shoring Up the Castle Walls

"What is the phone number to the alarm company?" CA Cop has asked me this a few times, well actually he has been asking me to call and I keep forgetting, "Will it be on the sign in our front yard?"

You see there has been a RASH of home burglaries in Baytown (technically in the entire bay area and certainly including our home town). 

"I've seen the emotional damage..... and that's my main concern." Then he went on to list the items in our home that may be of interest to the dirtbags.

He is wanting to order another motion detector or two for our home to patrol our darkened rooms while we sleep or to help shore up the castle walls while I am running errands during the day. 

His sleep has been bothered. He dreams of break ins. Often.  Very. Often.  A gust of wind rattling a door caused him to spring up in bed with a "WHAT WAS THAT?" Only to retreat back to his pillow equally as fast with no recollection of it the next morning.

But sometimes he does recall the dreams.  They are vivid as he scrambles to protect his family.

He changed all the batteries in our smoke detectors the other day.......