Third home invasion by fake police
For the third time in a week, city police are investigating a home invasion in which men identifying themselves as police rushed into a home and bound and robbed its occupants.
“We are enormously concerned about this,” said police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi. “This is an egregious violation of the trust that individuals place in police, and we are working very hard to catch them.”
At about 6 a.m., police were called to the 2800 block of W. Garrison Ave. in North Baltimore, where the homeowners said they were sleeping when three men dressed in “police-like clothing” entered the room and placed them in plastic “flex cuff” handcuffs, officials said.
The men took an undisclosed amount of cash and electronics, including a video game system, before fleeing.
The incident comes on the heels of a similar home invasion last Monday, when a 32-year-old man was shot when three suspects pretending to be police entered his home in the 1500 block of Medford Road in Northeast Baltimore and bound him and his wife with flex cuffs.
Then, on Friday morning in the 1600 block of Elkins Lane in South Baltimore, a couple said they were bound and robbed by three men who identified themselves as police.
Guglielmi, the police department’s chief spokesman, said investigators are trying to determine whether the incidents are linked, or if others are copying the robbery method. “There’s no correlation based on geography,” he said.
In the North Baltimore incident, police said the suspects were black males, between 5-foot-5 and 5-foot-11, of medium build and about 30 years old. They were wearing black shirts with “police” written on the back and displayed some type of badge, and wore blue latex gloves.
Anyone with information was asked to call the Northern District detective unit at 410-367-3105.
Categories: North Baltimore, Northeast Baltimore, South Baltimore
Comments
Is it me or are these people going around 83 from 95 sort of in a circle?
Posted by: Lynn | July 5, 2011 4:26 PM
Wouldn't be a bit surprised if they turned out to be real cops.
Posted by: Billy | July 5, 2011 4:41 PM
Can you report HOW they are breaking in? Do they just break down the door after identifying themselves as police? Or wait for the occupant to answer? That information would be helpful to know. What should the public know to do? Call 911 the moment you hear someone knocking on your door claiming to be police?
Posted by: Nancy | July 5, 2011 4:57 PM
It'd be nice if the police included information about avoiding this type of attack. What can people do at the door to reduce the risk of letting police imposters into your home?
Posted by: Stacey | July 5, 2011 5:02 PM
How do the police imposters differ from the tactics use from the actual police? If the real police want to search your home and look for people they don't knock on the door and show the occupants a search warrant. They do what exactly these imposters do at 4AM. Resisting the real police will get you killed.
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For those asking about what they should do in the event that this happens to you, Cham is not entirely off base here. The police say you should call 911 if you doubt the authenticity of the officers in your bedroom, but I'm not sure how understanding the real officers will be in a high-stakes scenario like that. I've never heard of someone being allowed to make a phone call to find out if the officers are legit...
Posted by: Cham | July 5, 2011 5:20 PM
Peter or Justin,
Could you please press Anthony Guglielmi for more detail on these attacks. As a resident of Baltimore City I, like many others, would appreciate some detail here in order to prepare for such a possibility in our own homes. Some questions I have are;
1) How exactly are these men getting into the homes they have broken into? Is it the same pattern? Do they use force?
2) What time are these break-ins occurring at?
3) Did any of these homes have a security system in place? Any sort of alarm system intact?
It is astonishing that there is a home invasion spree happening, and the police are not releasing more information. This kind of crime is particularly frightening due to its caviler nature. Any pressure you can apply here would be very helpful.
- Chris
Posted by: Chris | July 5, 2011 5:22 PM
Rule of thumb if pork knocks on your door shoot it
Posted by: MJG | July 5, 2011 6:07 PM
When the police act like criminals in the first place who can tell the difference? These type of SWAT raids shouldn't be done in the first place, except in emergency situations.
Posted by: Bill | July 5, 2011 8:04 PM
Did the victims have criminal records?
As a law-abiding citizen without a criminal record, I would assume that a group of guys breaking down my door were criminals first and police second, regardless of what they said.
The police have no reason to break down my door, unless it's a very rare mistaken address on a search warrant. Why did these folks assume that they were police?
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Police say they do not believe the victims were specifically targeted. As far as why they assumed they were police, in at least two of the instances, police have said the victims figured it out pretty quickly, and, in the case of the man who was shot, that's why he was shot.
Posted by: V | July 5, 2011 8:21 PM
This is a predictable consequence of the excessive use of SWAT tactics.
Posted by: bacchys | July 5, 2011 11:18 PM
If someone calls you and says there the cops and they caught you doing something illegal likely you’ve been lying to someone and saying your gay and aren’t claiming to lol be a bad boy now there mad you lied about being gay and calling and saying there the police you cant lie about being gay some people take it seriously now im being gay lol w.e. and you wear dolce and gabbana glasses and arent gay and are pi&sing the off or they think you have drugs in your house and want to rip you off
Posted by: RayumonOnotO | July 6, 2011 5:44 AM
from what i read it looks like they are breaking in the houses. one report i believe was at 3:45am that the occupants were asleep until they heard something downstairs. the next one said they were asleep at 6am and they were awakened by guys coming in the room and plastic cuffing them. doesnt tell us what made the first guy realize they werent police and fight back before getting shot.with three cases in less than a week i think a press conference needs to be held with information alerting us with as much proactive tips and information as possible. im sure they have detectives with details and putting those details together to determine how these houses are being chosen and dont want to put everything out in the media but im sure they can give us a little more to go on. at this point i feel like they are using us as bait to keep the crime spree going until they have enough to catch them.
Posted by: chokboywunda | July 6, 2011 10:38 AM
When there is an encounter with real police inside your home, there are no cameras. This is not a television show with police respecting your rights. Once they are inside your home, they may order, push you around,and even abuse you into humilation. They may falsely arrest you and create a mound of legal problems for you in addition to robbing you of your dignity. When criminals enter your home, you are also in deep trouble. What can you do? very little, except hope for the best. Teddy
Posted by: Teddy | July 6, 2011 11:47 AM
Truthfully who can tell the difference. The police bumrush your home like that without even presenting a warrant, and when they do show the warrant, most times it's not even signed.
My cousin is a bad seed, hate to say it that way but he is. When he was out of jail, he visited my home a few times when I was at work. Because he had frequent my home they came looking for him on an outstanding warrant. Just like the people in the article, I and my boyfriend were awakened by police while in our bed. When asked to see a warrant they presented a piece of paper unsigned. Just like in these cases they could have been anyone, but how in the world can you tell. It seems that most cops are criminals anyway, if not worse. Luckily for me they were the actual cops. But obviously these people know how the police operate and how they intimidate people when they do search your premises, so they have learned from the best.
FYI: no my cousin wasn't in my home at the time, and I do not associate with him on family terms. He is not even allowed in my home. For those who like to form opinions.
Posted by: Tina | July 7, 2011 12:42 PM
The best thing the police can do right now is announce that they're putting a stop to their forced-entry SWAT procedures.
When the suspect is actually dangerous, they don't burst in...they make a phone call:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/06/fbi-used-ruse-to-lure-bulger-from-santa-monica-home-authorities-say.html?lanow
When the location is dangerous, they use PURE GENIUS!!!
http://thelawdogfiles.blogspot.com/2008/08/pink-gorilla-suit.html
Posted by: Cormac | July 8, 2011 5:11 PM
I must say, I always keep my weapon on me around the house and under my pillow when sleeping. If I hear an intruder, especially in the middle of the night, I will be having them in my sights and ready to shoot. If they come at me I am shooting until the threat is eliminated. I think 17 rounds is plenty for starters. Any questions?
Posted by: Mac | July 8, 2011 10:47 PM
Remember in Baltimore City it's not legal to keep an unlocked loaded firearm in your residence. Hopefully the uninvited predatory filth (who knows he will do LESS time for mayhem rape. robbery and murder than a crack charge) will allow citizens time to unlock and load a firearm.
Posted by: fred | July 16, 2011 11:52 AM