Brainerd Couple Watches As Neighbors Broken Into:

[www.nooganews.com]

A Brainerd couple said they watched Friday afternoon as a neighbor's house was burglarized by two men in broad daylight.

Robert Maner of Lerch Street said his wife, Tara, called police when she first saw the men casing the house at 304 Oriole Dr.

He said his wife called him also, and he made it back from Hamilton Place Mall in time to also see the burglars. He said police officers arrived too late.


www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_145213.asp


... and response from Robin Ruben Flores...

Yet another home invasion around the corner from my home in Brainerd. Two robbery acts last night in the business section of Old Brainerd. Continued car burglaries.

The crime has skyrocketed in Brainerd. The thuggery surrounding two nusiance clubs in Brainerd, the constant and now almost nightly car burglaries (homes in the day - cars at night), compels me to consider moving. But now during the depressed home sales market? Nope.

www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_145214.asp

[Kordax]

"Neighbors, we are in real 'big' trouble here. We have absolutely no protection from the thugs and thieves in this city."

That's the kind of citizen outrage that moves things in the right direction; people like this seem to get results one way or another, but in any case, I hope the parts of Brainerd where non-thugs live & work can be reclaimed before permanent blight critically debases larger swaths of once decent neighborhoods....

[duke]

Place call to Police dispatch. No one available now?
Call back and declare that the thieves have been killed and husband is getting ready to leave town before the cops arrive.

Thieves caught and cops says I thought you said the thieves were killed?

And I thought you said no one was available?

[Police Moderator]

Why is this such a surprise?

We (The LE on here) have been telling you folks (And anyone else who would listen) that the local police departments are dangerously understaffed and it was only a matter of time before it caught everyone with their pants down.

20 minute response time? Try fighting your way out of a bar and have to wait 20 minutes for back up.

From the article, "The officers on the scene got an earful from me and then another earful when the homeowners showed up." Brilliant strategy..... Screaming at those who are not making the decisions, but are reaping the whirlwind.

We have also been telling everyone who would listen that there is a revolving door criminal justice system in Hamilton County, one that Mr. Flores plays a great part in. (Talk about killing your parents and then bitching you are an orphan!)

A vast majority of all property/person crime is committed by those who are out on early release or probation/parole.

Your pants are down and your asses are showing, Mr. Mayor (Claude and Ron) and City/County Commissioners, but damn we have some nice art around town, we got SROs and VW is coming!

Woofuckinghoo!

Don't say we didn't tell you years ago.

[Thanatos]

The man in the article is quick to bitch....with all the time he spent watching....he should have run into his own house..drank some Hero milk.....and done some-fucking-thing. People like this talk the most shit...but piss their pants when it's time for them to shine.

[Police Moderator]

People like this talk the most shit...but piss their pants when it's time for them to shine.

Well, at least he took some pictures! Had the dude actually done something risky and lit the suspects up, Flores would solicit the case* from the poor, grieved families of the suspects and sue the shooter, Walmart, The Police Blotter and the CPD. Probably best the man just made a couple of calls and yelled at the responding officers (That'll show 'em!).

CPD will track these guys, arrest them, get the man's stuff back, (It might take more than 20 minutes, though), get their probation/parole revoked, then Flores will represent them (For free!), they'll get their typical judicial slap on the wrist (Or get it pled down to misdemeanor criminal trespass with time served) and finally, they'll be back on the streets in 3 weeks or so, doing the same thing again.

By then, Mayor Littlefield will have seen a new piece of art he likes, decide that the McKamey Animal Center needs a couple million dollars more, VW needs another entrance (With fountains and blue balls) or the Riverfront needs to be repaired before Riverbend, thereby forcing him to place CPD on a hiring freeze, cut the cop's pay and benefits to pay for these much more important projects. So the next time a house is being burglarized, it will take the CPD 40 minutes to respond and here we go again.

*In my opinion

[augie47]

I wish Longshot had replied, for any words I might mummer, are frail to the master wordsmith.
It appears we have a situation with strong sentiment on both sides, but, more importantly, from other articles published, we do appear to have an overall serious situation on our hands.
The one item lacking here is details.
Although this is just an example, it needs to be thoroughly scrutnized by CPD officials.
Exact time and exact statements are important here, not hearsay.
With reason, the CPD officers are disgusted with the current situation within the department. Low morale, insufficient pay, indaequate funding, possibly poor leadership, and obviously lack of support from the Mayor's office are indeed a factor.
All of these obviously have an effect on respone, but, to their credit, they continue, for the most part, to provide the best service they can. Officers seem to be dedicated to the job regardless of outside factors... always have been, Thank God.
The facts need to be brought to the surface. What are the exact times of the 911 calls. What was said, and how was it handled ?
The citizens deserve an investigation to reduce the possibility of this happenining again. Does someone need more training ?, is a reprimand in order?, if "shift changes" are effecting response time on serious calls, whay are we not "satggering" shifts ?
Victims and the citizenry at large will obviously speak out when dissatisfied, and the "blue line" will understandbly tighten when
challanged.
What is needed, albeit just a house burglary, is a thorough investigation with results and methods of rectification reported to the concerned citizens. As of late, we don't see enough of such investigations from a department which appears to have inadequate leadership and motivation.

[gdnwade]

Feb 21, 2009 23:46:17 GMT -5 Thanatos said:

The man in the article is quick to bitch....with all the time he spent watching....he should have run into his own house..drank some Hero milk.....and done some-fucking-thing. People like this talk the most shit...but piss their pants when it's time for them to shine.

So your telling me you would have played the hero??

[frayne]

Sad reality of life, police are a reactive force by and large and tax payers want to bitch about higher taxes for increased protection. You can't have it both ways and with the way the economy is going down the tubes, increased unemployment, look for crimes against people and property to increase. Homeowners need to protect their property using means available, security systems, neighborhood watch groups, dogs, etc., etc.

Of course it is a known fact that in the town of Summerville, Ohio, once the Krispy Creme Donut Shop closed down, police response times were 25% faster.

[Police Moderator]

Of course it is a known fact that in the town of Summerville, Ohio, once the Krispy Creme Donut Shop closed down, police response times were 25% faster.

I'm sure the cops in this instance stopped at a donut shop, or coffee bar, while en route on the hot call. Why else would it take them so long?

Those cop/donut jokes are always so humorous, no matter how many times you hear them.

[mikeydokey]

VW needs another entrance (With fountains and blue balls)

Uhh, that was Bob Corker that put in the "fountain and blue balls", not that it has any thing to do with the point you were making.

[bhmc449]

Feb 22, 2009 12:05:06 GMT -5 mikeydokey said:

VW needs another entrance (With fountains and blue balls)

Uhh, that was Bob Corker that put in the "fountain and blue balls", not that it has any thing to do with the point you were making.

Actually it is a very valid point in terms of Bob Corker. The problem can be seen many years ago when Bob Corker was in office. He lied his way into the mayor's seat and broke promises to the police and fire department alike. There was always never enough money to give to the deparment because it was always tied up in making his properties look so appealing along with downtown. "Our" money went to a defective waterfront project and art...Thanks. The question was also posed, "Who is going to protect all the crap" At the time of Corker being in office I said my goodbyes to many of boys in blue.

We now have an integrated 911 system, which personally I just plain hate. I think it was the worst idea and the above listed incident is a clear reason why. There is break down between what the caller is relaying to the 911 call taker from the call taker to the dispatcher, and from the dispatcher to the responding officer. Ofcourse its going to be jacked up.....Its just as frustrating for the police officers because WE WANT TO CATCH THESE GUYS!!! Its not like there is no incentive for us to catch them and that incentive is.....less paper work..

Lerch St, just one of the many streets in AMERICA feeling the effects....what more can I say. The CPD is just fingers in the dike

[Scarlet&Gray]

How Corker got elected is still beyond me. Mayor and Senate he is as crooked as a country road.

[Thanatos]

"So your telling me you would have played the hero?? "

Yes, I would have challenged them......but thats what I do. It's just amazing to me that people get pissed when someone doesn't do what they themselves wouldn't. It's not that the Officers were scared....or lazy.....they were not dispatched properly and there was an obvious delay.

[shaneda79]

Littlefield has understaffed the CPD. Period.
When he's not using VW logos to claim that "z0mg I got all y'all some car building folks with jobs" or pretending to be a local, he's making hay about "Northerners" & being just a big jerk about everything that's not in line with his politics. He's been a terrible mayor because:
1) Crime has increased, check the FBI crime stats over the past four years.
2) Chat has lost jobs & businesses, faster than other major TN cities. (Well except Memphis but that's a poor comparison.)
3) Most of the city is underdeveloped, and not much has happened in the last 4 years. That's objective; look at the stats for new businesses licenses over the past 4 years. Compare to Corker if you wish.
4) There is a general feeling that Chat is a slow town, and the Mayor seems happy to keep things that way. He is quoted as saying that he's happy with Chat being #3 in Tennessee. My god...
5) He touts pie-in-the-sky projects like a fast train to Atlanta as a major benefit to the city, rather than focus on using existing infrastructure to generate jobs
6) He's been totally corrupt; he fires those that disagree with him & causes trouble for his political enemies

That's why he is not getting my vote on March 3rd.

If the police and firefighters have any balls, they'll start a massive protest to get Emperor Littlefield dethroned.

Set your watches. March 3rd is the election. It's do or die time for Chat. We can't afford this buffon & screw-up as mayor for another four. Chat deserves better!

[LimitedRecourse]

I think I may like Shaneda79.

Sat and watched them for 30 minutes...did nothing to stop it. But was quite the man for yelling at the responding officers, knowing they wouldn't smack his sorry ass because it's not professional.

It seems that there was miscommunication somewhere...it will stick to the right person...mostly.

[Police Moderator]

Indeed, Mayor Littlefield is the Worst Mayor Ever, at least from my point of view.

I think I am gonna get one of those T-shirts.

[LimitedRecourse]

Doesn't Robert T Nash live on Lerch Street? Where were he and his dogs?

[Police Moderator]

Doesn't Robert T Nash live on Lerch Street?

I believe RTN would have resolved the problem, then called the police and we would be hearing about it until the next ratings period!

Where were he and his dogs?

He was on the air at the time. Don't know what his dogs were doing.

[Police Moderator]

I'd almost be willing to bet that these complainers have formally complained (At least once) about police cars exceeding the speed limit, "For no reason".

[RuneDeer]

Feb 23, 2009 4:53:12 GMT -5 Police Moderator said:

I'd almost be willing to bet that these complainers have formally complained (At least once) about police cars exceeding the speed limit, "For no reason".

Lerch is an obstacle course of speed-humps. No criminal in their right mind would try to do anything hasty on that street unless they were planning to abscond on foot.

[bhmc449]

What Shaneda said is the absolute truth. Actually some of the things she said I had not realized until now. I mean atleast Corker was doing something for the city regardless of who it might benefit. At this point I cannot think of a single thing Littlefield has done. I think I'm pretty sure police officers predicted this type of behavior by Littlefield. He's trying to win again. pffffffffff.....ok dude

[LimitedRecourse]

I think he has hired some outside consultants to study his re-election plan.

[snarkalicious]

But Littlefield is reducing BLIGHT (from his campaign commercials).

I think BLIGHT=HOMELESS PEOPLE SEEN ON STREETS in his lingo

[cadillacdude1975]

next time tell the dispatcher your going to shoot the intruders as soon as you hang the phone up. 10 to 1 the police get there a hell of a lot faster.

[bhmc449]

Feb 23, 2009 15:17:34 GMT -5 cadillacdude1975 said:

next time tell the dispatcher your going to shoot the intruders as soon as you hang the phone up. 10 to 1 the police get there a hell of a lot faster.

WOW that was really your response? Thats all you could muster. Hell who needs the police? With guys like caddydude the world should just adhere to his fantastic advices.....please stop giving out your free words of advice I am able to lose my job because of it.

[Tsavodiner]

That's why he is not getting my vote on March 3rd.

But You, Shaneda, just might!

[Tsavodiner]

Chattanooga's been a 600 member Department since the 1980's, still manned by 400 Officers.
Blame for this belongs to several administrations. I've said it before: If this sh*t were happening in the up-and-coming areas of the New East, or parts north of the River, the National F*ck'n guard would be out in the streets. Berz voters, get what you paid for!

[TNBear]

"Sat and watched them for 30 minutes...did nothing to stop it."

He called the police. Is it then his sworn duty to place himself and possibly his family in harms way to stop these criminals. If he had hauled out a shotgun and blew their asses away he'd be the one behind bars. Just what exactly is a civilian to do in this situation other than to call 911??

[Kordax]

Chattanooga's been a 600 member Department since the 1980's, still manned by 400 Officers.

I've meant to ask forum LE's this for a while: is there an accepted formula that certified (or non-certified for that matter) LE agencies use to determine the number of officers for their jurisdictions? Could it be that X number of crimes in the prior year requires Y number of cops the following year or X number of people living in an area requires Y number of cops. How is it determined what size a police force should be?