To the innocent man I sicced the police on this morning...

[Poohgirl]

I apologize...Its just that when I was heading out to work and looked out my rear view mirror to see the exact discription of vehicle and man that was being sought for trying to get a little girl into their truck yesterday on my road, I got a little momma bear paranoid.

After the police finding you, seems your ok and good to go. I hope your day gets better!

I feel like a jerk...

 

[mlynn]

Better safe then sorry. I'm sure he understands after the police told him why he was pulled over.

 

[MelanieC]

Agree- Better safe than sorry! Cheer up, you did a good thing because you never know.

 

[suejai]

How do you know he wasn't the guy they were looking for?

 

[tinkntraining]

If everybody was as vigilent as you, we'd have kidnappers, rapists and murderers apprehended much quicker! Think of it this way: If you'd been right, the police may have caught him before he could lure another little girl in his car. If so, then it's worth a little "mama bear paranoia".

Better to act and be wrong, then do nothing and be right!

 

[Poohgirl]

Thanks for the reassurance. I know it was the right thing to do, I would have just felt better if he were actually guilty!

How do you know he wasn't the guy they were looking for?

A cop called me back to let me know they found him, spoke to him and do not think he is the one they were looking for.

 

[Bren's Mom]

I agree, better safe than sorry. If that man was someone's parent, grandparent, uncle, brother or just a nice guy...he'd likely get over the embarassment quickly and be appreciative that someone out there is looking out for kiddos. I wouldn't worry about it!

 

[erincon23]

Several years ago, my DH was walking our Ds -- then about 7 -- to school. A guy in a car stopped and offered to drive our son to school -- we had never seen this guy before, didn't know who he was. My DH said no thank you and continued on. He remembered the license plate, and when he came home and told me the story, I thought he ought to call the police. He did, they found out that the plate was registered to a car in our neighborhood, and they went over there. Then they stopped by us and said that the guy was driving his daughter to school, had seen us in the neighborhood and was just trying to be helpful. These days, you can't be too careful -- I'd hope that this guy wasn't offended, and took it in the spirit of caution. If you see something that looks like someone was endangering a child, you have to speak up!

Erin

 

[ncmickeyluvr]

Imagine all of the horrible things that people get away with because someone else "didn't want to make trouble". Good for you for being proactive.

 

[disykat]

Many years ago, a good friend of mine looked like a picture of a rapist that was released in the paper. Twice he was referred to the police by strangers. He was honestly HAPPY to prove his innocence. He had a story to tell and it was a little inconvenient, but he wasn't offended at all.

You did the right thing.

 

[dawson5]

Many years ago, a good friend of mine looked like a picture of a rapist that was released in the paper. Twice he was referred to the police by strangers. He was honestly HAPPY to prove his innocence. He had a story to tell and it was a little inconvenient, but he wasn't offended at all.

You did the right thing.

Like this poor man:

 

[Darsa]

Yep, have to agree you did the right thing; so good to see that there are people looking out for the welfare of others!

 

[disykat]

Like this poor man:

Oh my goodness! The age/weight definitely look different, but the features are uncanny! Can you imagine what they were saying in the newsroom?

 

[dislaney]

You definitely did the right thing.

 

[tzolkin]

I called the police on an insurance salesman recently.

I answered the door and this guy had a black binder with no writing on the outside. He had no brocures or business card to give me. He had parked his car down the street out of view. And the whole time I talked to him he didn't make eye contact and kept leaning to peek around me and looking all over inside my house. (We have a victorian home with some architectural details and a fish pond, so he could have just been curious, but the guy was just awkward and made me really uncomfortable.)

As soon as I closed the door I got completely creeped out and convinced myself that he was really just some wacko out canvassing houses in the neigborhood to come back later and rob or kill me.


A police officer found him in my neighborhood and questioned him. Apparently he really was an insurance salesman (didn't even know they did that door-to-door anymore) and this was his first day on the job, so he didn't have business cards yet. I felt a little bad for the guy, but the officer reassured me that he thought the guy was socially awkward and he would have wanted his wife to call the police in that situation.

 

[Imzadi]

Here in NYC, we have signs, posters, loudspeaker announcements in subways and major sports events, and flashing signs all over the place that state, "If you see something, say something." This is in regard to any suspicious items lying around underneath tables or benches, suspicious people acting weirdly, like looking around, stuffing things in garbage cans then covering them up, that could turn out to be terrorist bombs. NYC depends on the eyes and ears of the public. We do not have police on every corner. They want people reporting what they see, even if it turns out false later.

You did the right thing. Hopefully someone else won't hesitate either, and that little girl can be saved. The chances of a child living after the first 24 hours of abduction goes down drastically.

 

[Handbag Lady]

I called the police on an insurance salesman recently.

I answered the door and this guy had a black binder with no writing on the outside. He had no brocures or business card to give me. He had parked his car down the street out of view. And the whole time I talked to him he didn't make eye contact and kept leaning to peek around me and looking all over inside my house. (We have a victorian home with some architectural details and a fish pond, so he could have just been curious, but the guy was just awkward and made me really uncomfortable.)

As soon as I closed the door I got completely creeped out and convinced myself that he was really just some wacko out canvassing houses in the neigborhood to come back later and rob or kill me.


A police officer found him in my neighborhood and questioned him. Apparently he really was an insurance salesman (didn't even know they did that door-to-door anymore) and this was his first day on the job, so he didn't have business cards yet. I felt a little bad for the guy, but the officer reassured me that he thought the guy was socially awkward and he would have wanted his wife to call the police in that situation.

Oh, I feel so bad for this guy now. Here he is trying to make a living and he probably can't get a desk job because it doesn't suit him or because of his social skills and now he gets hounded by the cops. Poor guy.

But I probably would have called, too.

 

[DeluxePrincess]

You have to go with your instincts. You did the right thing. However, if I were accused and stopped by the police for a horrible crime, I don't think I could just go about my day with a smile. Oh well, at least he has an exciting story to tell everyone for years to come. Hope they get the real scumbag.