Cops Now Stealing Your Stuff to ‘Protect You’ from People Who Might Steal Your Stuff

Hopefully they are video taping all of this:

"I see a pair of $500 sunglasses sitting on the seat...I am now taking these for safe keeping, and documenting all of this for the official record..."

How do we know they're turning it all in?

So what are these cops doing, running around looking in car windows and rattling windows? What happens if its dark and someone mistakes a cop going through their car for a thief and attacks them, or the cop thinks the owner isn't the owner and feels "threatened"?

What's next, homes?

I can see this going very badly.

This seems to me like an excuse to get into someone's car or house when they aren't home without a warrant.

So if I find an unlocked cop car I can "caretaker" the guns, radios, computers, and anything else not nailed down?? a reply to: alienjuggalo

Yeah, they could also just leave a note on the car under the windshield wiper or on the dashboard or something saying "Hey, I'm a police officer and I noticed your car was unlocked." It would accomplish the same thing and with less effort.
Thieving rats.

A quick perusal of this "caretaking" thing leads me to believe they are in the wrong.

Apparently, there is yet *another* exception to having to have a warrant to enter a home or vehicle. Along with exigence, imminent destruction of evidence, hot pursuit, and a warrant, you now can enter a citizen's home or vehicle "to help them".

Originally, the intent was to allow cops into vehicles at accident scenes, or homes where there was a reasonable suspicion that you were dead or incapacitated. So far so good.

But then came "Cady v Dombrowski", the sort of # you just can't make up. Apparently there was a cop in a rental car who had a wreck, and was hospitalized, unconscious. Knowing there was no firearm found on the guy, they went to the impound and looked through the car to secure it. This is now known as an "inventory-type search", in that they were trying to "inventory" his service weapon.

They found a dead body in the trunk.

The cop had murdered someone, and got in a wreck whilst fleeing to dispose of the body. After a few yeswecan-noyoucants over the evidence, it was determined that as the cops were doing a 'public service safety' entry into the car looking for a sidearm, it was fair to use any evidence they accidentally found oozing out the trunk.

And that's where this started. Eventually, it began oozing into other situations. Yes, if they claim "you look like you need help", they can break, enter and search your car, instead of just dragging you out and bludgeoning you to death as they so often do for emergency medical care for strokes and diabetic shock.

Now, the "caretaker inventory" function is, as far as I can tell, limited to situations wherein you are found down in the car and removed, in which the cops can then collect your goods for you. Sounds ok. Or, if your car is impounded, they can inventory your car contents and remove them for safekeeping to keep them from being stolen in impound (ironically, the point was made for this one that it 'keeps the leos from being accused of impounding cars to steal the contents').

But nowhere have I found precedent saying it's ok to break and enter a properly parked car and steal the contents when no incapacitation of the driver is present, no accident has occurred, and the cops have not been placed in nominal possession of the vehicle in some way (guarding or impounding it).

In fact, the entire 'caretaker' thing is apparently really shaky legally outside of very blatantly obviously caretaking sort of circumstances like Aunt Mabel with the heart problem who dropped the phone mid convo with an "aargh".

It would be nice if the ACLU put a nice bait car for the cops out, and either caught them red-handed stealing something and not "inventorying it", like a nice Mac or iPod, or used it to cause a decisive precedent to be set at the expense of the local PD.

This is the sort of thing that doesn't sit well with the electorate, and in a time where police are looking like buttholes, it's probably not a great community team-builder to start rifling people's cars "to help them" by making it really irritating to get your stuff back. What's next, you start walking into my house, shooting my dog and stealing the TV because I went next door and left the door open?

A spin on the same:

citizensvoice.com...

The FBI staged a sting operation Jan. 29 in which the officer called Glodzik to tow a vehicle supposedly involved in a drug arrest — a vehicle that contained $2,100 in bait money, the affidavit says.

Glodzik towed the vehicle to LAG Towing, where the officer saw him remove the cash from an ashtray and put it in his pocket, police said. In the office, Glodzik pulled out the cash, counted out $1,100 and gave it to the officer, saying, “What time is it, 11?” — referring to the amount of money, according to the affidavit.
Glodzik then pocketed the remaining $1,100 and was advised that he was going to be arrested, police said.

www.wbcitizensvoice.com...

a reply to: alienjuggalo

Good news for the criminals, they be all like..........

Break into cars unhindered - no questions asked, especially if you pull up in this....

Sorry even for a cop thats against the law. I don't think it's been thought too well but if the people fall for it??? Stealing is stealing.

Removing without a warrant or permission is going to get people arrested.

I have always gone by the rule that "locks are to keep your friends honest". If a thief wants into your car/home, they will get in.

I don't keep valuables in my car, but I don't lock it either. Usually the keys are in it too.

I see this getting very ugly. I'd hate to see an officer get a lesson in minding ones own business, while attempting to teach others a lesson in locking up their vehicles.

Whilst sometimes you can be in the wrong place at the wrong time,but I learned in life that the majority of people are actually honest and your belongings are more often than not, exactly where you left them...unless the police got there before you?

a reply to: darkbake

If you saw some of the technology they have access to these days, say light bending fabric for suits and almost invisible nano drones and "nano dust", you would also come quickly to the conclusion that they already do whatever they want. With or without a warrant. Especially violate your property and enter your home. Even with you in it. Cause there's always the ever convenient "confidential informant" that gave them the info they got by violating your constitutional and human rights

a reply to: alienjuggalo

Can someone define "valuable?"

I am going to use the same philosophy this holiday season in regards good booze. I intend on cleaning out every house I visit because the owners of said booze may end up drinking too much of it and act the fool.

I will safe guard it for them until after the holiday season.

originally posted by: eluryh22
a reply to: alienjuggalo

Can someone define "valuable?"

Yep ,,the police..

originally posted by: alienjuggalo

originally posted by: eluryh22
a reply to: alienjuggalo

Can someone define "valuable?"

Yep ,,the police..

HA!!! Love it!

Perhaps they'll be so good as to take care of my pet timber rattler "Chompy". He goes with me everywhere in the car.

originally posted by: Bedlam
Perhaps they'll be so good as to take care of my pet timber rattler "Chompy". He goes with me everywhere in the car.

Oh Lord, please... PLEASE let what you said be exactly true! At reading "Chompy" I lost it! Fantastic!!!!

a reply to: alienjuggalo

This is New Haven you're talking about.

Yet another incident in a long line of civil rights abusing police tactics committed by New Haven cops.

One day, they're going to steal from the wrong car and something bad is going to happen to that cop.
Or the ACLU is going to get on this flagrant abuse of power.

"We can steal but you can't because we're the law"
That is the message being told.

a reply to: alienjuggalo

I think you're focused on the wrong BS part of the story. Stealing things aside, the biggest issue that I see is that those who run governments think that it's their duty to hold our hands through life, and will deploy LEOs to help us keep out possessions "secure."

It's utter horse pucky, and a very thinly veiled attempt to instill in us the feeling of victimhood, even if nothing happens, and to take away personal responsibility.

This hand-holding crap in modern society has to stop soon.

I one time had a thief break a window to get in my car to look for something to steal.
Problem was the car was unlocked on my property over 100 feet from the street and there was nothing in it to steal.
Plus it was covered by three security cameras.

I took the security tape to the cops and they did not charge the thief.
So i then got the name of the thief and had him served with a small claim court notice that i was suing him.

He showed up in court!!!! and lost as soon as the judge saw my security tapes.
He was so high on something that he did not even understand why he was in court.
The court officer was waiting for him in the parking lot and got him for a DUI.

And the judge had a number of choice words for the police department and the DA as to why thief was not charged.