We have had a rash of "larceny from vehicles" in our Lauraville neighborhood in Baltimore City over the past year and have been meeting with community groups and police to try to stop this. After having some things stolen from my car, I had a Viper alarm installed and have been less than happy with it since it has some quirks and is still being "fixed" by the installer.
I awoke at about 12:25am this morning to the sound of my car alarm going off. I got up and pulled my XDM from my bedside safe and let the dog (german shepherd) out into the back yard. He didn't immediately see anything and I went to investigate the car. I cautiously looked around the yard and circled the car and found the drivers side door was open but nothing appeared to be missing. I shut the door and re-armed the alarm and pulled the video camera feed while calling 911 (about 12:33am). I printed the attached snapshot and waited for the police. At 1:06am, I called 911 again. At about 1:20am an officer arrived in front of my house. I put my XDM on my coffee table and took the photos to meet him in my front yard.
I'm not stupid enough to go toward the officer with a gun in my hand while he is responding to a call and if I left my yard, there is a legal issue. He asked to come in and noticed that I had the XDM on my coffee table. He wasn't alarmed but asked if I had a "license" for it. This is an odd question considering it was inside my home and a "license" isn't required (HQL for purchase is now required and regulated firearm transfers are registered but this isn't the situation). I responded that it was legal and he let it go. I could have seen this going another way if he had not believed me.
It seems that officers should have a better grasp of gun laws given the frequency of issues that arise in Baltimore City. I'm not naming the officer since I believe that may not have received adequate training in this area and he was otherwise professional and handled the situation.
After he arrived, he did some paperwork and about half-way through, I realized that he was under the impression that my car was stolen. I clarified that the car was entered but not stolen and he said that the dispatch put it out as a stolen vehicle. He fixed the paperwork and got another officer to get fingerprints from the door since it appeared to be clear where the suspect touched the car.
Bottom line:
Calling 911 for Police in Baltimore takes about an hour and two calls for 911 to get an officer to the house for a "stolen vehicle" call. I would hope this would be faster if the call was for an imminent danger.
This reinforces that I am my own first line of defense in the city.
I awoke at about 12:25am this morning to the sound of my car alarm going off. I got up and pulled my XDM from my bedside safe and let the dog (german shepherd) out into the back yard. He didn't immediately see anything and I went to investigate the car. I cautiously looked around the yard and circled the car and found the drivers side door was open but nothing appeared to be missing. I shut the door and re-armed the alarm and pulled the video camera feed while calling 911 (about 12:33am). I printed the attached snapshot and waited for the police. At 1:06am, I called 911 again. At about 1:20am an officer arrived in front of my house. I put my XDM on my coffee table and took the photos to meet him in my front yard.
I'm not stupid enough to go toward the officer with a gun in my hand while he is responding to a call and if I left my yard, there is a legal issue. He asked to come in and noticed that I had the XDM on my coffee table. He wasn't alarmed but asked if I had a "license" for it. This is an odd question considering it was inside my home and a "license" isn't required (HQL for purchase is now required and regulated firearm transfers are registered but this isn't the situation). I responded that it was legal and he let it go. I could have seen this going another way if he had not believed me.
It seems that officers should have a better grasp of gun laws given the frequency of issues that arise in Baltimore City. I'm not naming the officer since I believe that may not have received adequate training in this area and he was otherwise professional and handled the situation.
After he arrived, he did some paperwork and about half-way through, I realized that he was under the impression that my car was stolen. I clarified that the car was entered but not stolen and he said that the dispatch put it out as a stolen vehicle. He fixed the paperwork and got another officer to get fingerprints from the door since it appeared to be clear where the suspect touched the car.
Bottom line:
Calling 911 for Police in Baltimore takes about an hour and two calls for 911 to get an officer to the house for a "stolen vehicle" call. I would hope this would be faster if the call was for an imminent danger.
This reinforces that I am my own first line of defense in the city.
