Decatur PD sent out this alert this morning…
On 06/22/14 at approximately 12:30 am, Decatur Police responded to a residence on Dekalb Avenue in Atlanta in reference to an armed robbery that previously occurred in the 700 block of West Howard Avenue. The victim reported he and a friend were walking on The Path westbound in the 700 block of West Howard Avenue on 06/21/14 at approximately 11:00 pm when they were approached from behind by a red minivan that was traveling westbound but came to an abrupt stop in the eastbound lane. Three males exited the van and one pointed a handgun while the other two searched them. The victim stated his cell phone was taken from his pants pocket by one of the suspects and a bag was taken from his friend by another one of the suspects. The suspects then fled westbound in the van. The victim went home and later contacted the police. The friend of the victim left the scene and has yet to be located.
The suspects were described as follows:
Suspect #1: Black male, 20’s, approximately 6’00”, wearing a red hat
Suspect #2: Black male, 20’s, wearing a blue button-up shirt
Suspect #3 – Black male
Not safe to walk in Decatur late at night. That was true when I first moved here and it seems to be true again. Maybe it was true the whole time but having kids changed my bedtime to 9 PM and wake-up to 6 AM so I’ve been oblivious.
Crap.
Wow. I think I would have run to the gas station (still open at that hour?) or the Thinking Man or the Imperial, and called the cops from there. And I would be pretty irked at my friend for bailing on me like that.
Yeah, and I’m a little nervous about the “…and has yet to be located.” I’m guessing these may be fairly young adult victims, maybe college age, who went home to their families. I hope.
The Valero is not open at that hour, but Thinking Man is.
Walking westbound on Howard that time of night? They probably had just left Thinking Man, to be honest…
Yes, the Valero was closed and Thinking Man still open. Honestly, who cares where the victim was before the incident? This basically happened outside of my front window right after I came home, I feel bad that I didn’t hear anything…. For the last time, the more criminals know they can get away with, the more brazen they will become. How is this not evidence? Is the gun enough for people to pull their heads out of the sand?
So when is the city going to make an official comment / move? So much money and time wasted on a tree ordinance, yet nothing for an actual problem? Based on the precedent, I guess we won’t see anything until someone breaks into the mayor’s house…
The good news is that with all the annexation, the police will have more area to patrol with the same resources.
The $25,000 of “Sensitivity Training” should help with the crime issue too. The criminals will also be deterred by the unprecedented control the UDO will give our city government over property rights – not to mention how sustainable our development is.
Among the UDO proposals I really oppose is removing lighting around the city. Can anyone tell me where exactly we have “light pollution” in this town? Have any of you ever walked the main corridor of East or West Howard Avenue at night between Church Street and the East Lake Marta Station? As a male, I often feel uncomfortable because it is pitch dark in many places on both sides (PATH and sidewalk). Don’t believe me? Try it tonight after sunset. My wife refuses to walk alone at night. Given the high taxes we pay (including nice pay raises for some city employees this year), we have every right to feel safe in our neighborhoods. A lot more lighting would be a good start.
I see this as the city government and some people around here being more concerned with keeping up appearances versus addressing reality. Sensitivity training, compassionate city status, conservation districts, etc. Many of these crimes are targeted toward people walking. For a town that touts walkability, I don’t get the impression that that many actually walk (especially city employees); if they did, you would hear a lot more complaints about (or see improvements regarding) lack of lighting, sidewalks blocked by bushes and cars, tree limbs covering crosswalk signals, etc., things which can also be attributed to safety. The lack of response is likely due to driving everywhere and, therefore, not feeling any potential personal impact.
Commissioner Boykin, I know that you follow this blog and have commented before. Given that we haven’t heard a peep from the city, would you care to comment?
Since it seems that walking around at night is a fairly reliable way to get mugged at gunpoint, how about a police sting/undercover operation?
Sending 14 CoD staff members to the Transforming Local Government (TLG) conference in CO also no doubt helps. What did that trip cost? From page 23 of the June Focus.
Could we get a “Best Concealed Carry Weapon for the Money” thread? I would go with the S&W Airweight .38 with the shrouded hammer. Lightweight pocket carry with no sharp edges to catch while carrying in your pocket.
I like my Bersa Compact Carry .380. Slimline, light weight, single stack, easy to carry and hide, tritium sights for quick acquisition.
Of course, it’s useless to me as a carry weapon. I have a license, but I never carry. I know it’s an option for these types of situations, but I’ve never been able to convince myself that I would be able to actually get to it/use it.
Silly? Probably. But unless I am 100% sure, it stays in the safe.
Rugger LCR . I think it’s the S&W equivalent. Can’t even tell it’s in my pocket. .38 revolver / hammer-less.
Sincerely,
A Law abiding citizen walking around Decatur..
P.S. When a Van stops in the middle of the road and three thugs jump out, my hand will already be on the trigger before they say excuse me… But I count on that never happening nor do I wish it. Be smart and aware..
OMG you guys are so scary! Let’s leave the guns where they belong – in the hands of criminals.
Let’s just hug these criminals!!! That’s all they need.
Feel free to be a victim, that’s your choice. I will feel free to make a rational choice.
Yeah, because a quick draw contest while a gun is pointed at me is totally what I want to get into…
Understand that when someone is demanding your wallet/phone they are often demanding that you put your hand in your pocket and give them something. Hardly a situation that calls for your wild west quick draw scenario.
In this case, it seems like the victims were stopped, and searched– so if you have a weapon in your pocket, the weapon now belongs to the criminals…
Yes, situations are different. Options are there to be taken or not depending on the situation. I like the idea of having more options rather than fewer. And, below, Mr. Buffett has somehow quoted something improperly but it’s not surprising. I never suggested fixing violence with guns. Fixing violence and protecting yourself are two very different things. Those who trust someone who is in the middle of making bad decisions to then start making good ones has always been an interesting thought process to me.
Those who carry such a dangerous weapon around for the very off chance (as in, it’s probably not going to happen, just looking at the odds) that their own life might be in danger is “interesting” to me. By “interesting” I mean, doesn’t make any sense to me, as I’m assuming you mean in your post. So, to J_T’s point, we’ll just have to agree to disagree. Please don’t shoot.
Curious, though, can you see where some people might take offense if DM put up a recommended gun post? It’s not equivalent as a best doughnut for the money post. It’s a raw topic. A touchy topic. A matter of life and death, which can’t be said for most of the other “Best. . .” threads. By the exact same token, I would assume a best abortion provider would similarly not be great fodder for the “Best . . .” series.
I will happily satisfy your curiosity. Not only can I see where some would take offense, I would be surprised if there weren’t many who were uncomfortable with any conversation that doesn’t fit their own view. Now satisfy my curiosity and tell me if you may be able to see where maybe, just maybe, I might have been asking for the thread with my tongue firmly planted in cheek, or at least with a worm firmly anchored to a hook.
“Curious, though, can you see where some people might take offense if DM put up a recommended gun post?”
Temperance advocates were highly offended by the best bourbon thread. Take it down! After all, who needs bourbon? No one! It has virtually no nutritional value, is often abused, and leads to accidents.
I think you’re missing the finer grains, DEM. Keith – good one, bro, you really hooked me with that one.
If it ain’t in a plastic jug, it ain’t worth drinkin’ 🙂
Just want to point out that not everyone gets the “fixing violence with guns” logic. OK? You don’t have to be a pacifist to eschew the idea of packing a gun.
Hey guys! I’m going to be quite busy the rest of the day and won’t be able to check back in here, so could somebody please private message me when we reach a consensus on whether it’s a good idea or not to arm ourselves so that we can shoot these miscreants trying to steal our phones? Thanks!
Quite busy watching the World Cup, I would imagine! 😉
Yup! Croatia-Mexico and Brazil-Cameroon next up!
We’ve been these ‘rational’ aeguements here over and over, and nothing has been solved. Also, no criminal has been shot and the cops always show up quickly.
It’d be nice if the criminals knew that the police would be around before they decided to commit a crime.
Decatur already pays the county for certain police services that the city does not provide; why not find a way to get more police coverage for free by layering county police patrols on top of the city police. The DeKalb Police have jurisdiction here except for the city ordinances but they don’t patrol here because that money from the tax bill goes to CofD. My idea for getting it cost neutral in order for the county to provide the additional police patrols would be to allow the county to enforce their public safety ordinances (traffic laws, etc) and give their Recorder Court the jurisdiction to hear the cases from the county officers. An example would be a county officer giving a red light ticket in the city but the because a the officer was a DeKalb PD the ticket would be adjudicated in the DeKalb Record’s Court. The city gets extra police coverage at no cost and it takes nothing from the city. The county could justify expanding patrol coverage into the city because there is no cost to them. My guess is it would take an agreement between the two governments or perhaps a tweak of the law. Just a thought.
DeKalb PD doesn’t really have patrols to spare. They’re already stretched and if you don’t think so, check their response times.
I’m not sure I believe that whole “spread too thin” or never available line. I’ve read plenty of news accounts where the county police arrived in time to make a difference. Decatur is four and one half square miles with a resident population of twenty thousand. The population swells during the active hours and the five to seven officers on duty are not sufficient. -The only recent press I located on DeKalb PD’s response times was from the Dunwoody Crier. It had their priority 1 response at five minutes while Dunwoody’s was at six minutes and Chamblee’s at four minutes. Since the county pd was covering more area the response times seem in line. Fire departments strive to achieve a five to seven minute response but regardless, my idea would have them out patrolling or looking for criminal behavior and the responsibility to respond to crimes would still fall to the city police. The idea is to produce more visibility and deterrent. The area around the courthouse each day is full of accused criminals but with the large police presence the area is relatively crime free.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Nothing that expands DeKalb Recorders Court jurisdiction can ever be a good thing.