The “Water Cooler” is a feature on Claycord.com where we ask you a question or provide a topic, and you talk about it.
The “Water Cooler” will be up Monday-Friday in the noon hour.
QUESTION: Have you ever witnessed a crime? If so – what happened?
Talk about it….
Yes I did witness a crime many years ago. I saw 2 guys breaking into my next door neighbor’s house. I called 911 and they kept me on the line until the police arrived on scene and caught the burglars in action. My neighbor was thankful that I called the police. However, the neighbor and I had to appear in court to identify the burglars.
What do you call a person who saw an apple store getting robed?
An iWitness.
Good one. With the prices Apple charges these days for their gear, they ought to be thrown in jail for that.
Does being a victim of a crime count? I witnessed a crime when I was the victim. Years ago, about six months after I got out of the Marines, I was the victim of an armed robbery. Some guy pointed a gun at me and attempted to rob me. Because I was fresh out of the military, I was able to disarm him. He then ran away, and I got a free Colt 1911 out of the deal.
for the WIN! and thank you for your service.
I love a happy ending!
You’re lucky you weren’t shot and killed. Is rolling the dice with your life worth it?
awesome. Thank you for your service Dawg!!!! those 1911s are a nice looking tool.
Kentucky Derby, I was fresh out of Vietnam and my wife was with me. Rolling the dice didn’t occur to me when I joined the Marines, and it certainly didn’t occur to me while my wife and I were being held at gun point. I am not afraid of defending the people I love. The only thought in my head at the time was keeping my wife out of harms way. I reacted in a split second, and it was over. The next day, the wife and I went shooting with our new gun.
Maybe you think a wallet is worth more than a life or two. You put yourself and you wife in harms way. I’m glad you were able to disarm him, but it’s a foolish thing to do. A 50/50 shot of ending up dead isn’t worth it. Money can be replaced. Lives can’t.
@Kentucky Derby
Dawg was a Marine, and according to him, newly discharged. He got himself AND his wife out of harm’s way, which is the opposite of what you said. It sounds exactly like what recently happened at that gas station in Arizona. If anyone hasn’t seen that footage, look it up. Anyway, good for you, Dawg. Love, love, love stories like that.
Common sense and good judgment says you give it up. If he has the right angle on you, you’re screwed. How many times have we all heard “it’s not worth it?” If you’re more worried about twenty bucks. You play, you pay. All he wants is your wallet, and it’s real easy to through it on the ground, and walk away. I’ve read that’s what law enforcement recommends.
There are plenty of instances of people giving up their belongings without a fight and being shot, anyway. Tossing your wallet on the ground is no guarantee of safety.
Yes. It was a shoplifting. I look the other way because the store had loss prevention and I figured the DA won’t charge the thieves.
Yes, but I can’t talk about it.
Too traumatic? There’s an NDA? You were the victim?
Hey Gittyup! We might be in the same witness protection program!
Do you know Marshal Maldonaldo?
I can’t talk about it.
Then why even bring it up? 🙄
@LinzerTorte Same reason you chose to comment on it.
About 10 yrs ago, I witnessed an assault and battery in the Safeway (Clayton and YV) parking lot. I had parked and was approaching the front door. Two 13-14 yrs old girls exited the store and walked into the parking lot. Two other teen girls walked out behind them. One of the the girls was yelling about how she was going to “kick that skinny white girl’s ass” and a bunch of other stuff. The other two never said a thing and kept walking.
All of a sudden, the yeller charged and began wailing on the SWG from behind. It happened right in front of me! I grabbed the attacker and placed her in a bear hug. She kept yelling about killing SWG and trying to break free. I kept telling her to stop. She started to relax and I loosened my grip and she attacked again. I wrapped her up again and didn’t let go until the SWG had left. Once I let go the second time, the crazy girl kept ranting about SWG while she pounded on cars all the way to the bakery.
thank you for that vibrant and diverse story. it has brought us all strength.
Every April 15th!
Yep agree!!
Yes
Yes, earlier this year while on BART from the SF airport , a man with a man-bun boarded at the San Bruno BART station with his arms loaded with new clothing from JCPenney. (That BART station stops right next to the mall there)
He spend all his time sorting the clothes and pulling the price tags off in front of everyone.. I got on my cell phone and tried to call the JCPenney store there and it took forever for them to connect me to security, who then hung up on me. ( I wanted to ask them if they know of the theft and that I could tip them off to where the guy was) The shoplifter happily got off the train in the SF mission district with all his stolen rewards.
Really angered me to see somebody steal so much and went free and the store didn’t seem to Care. I guess I should have called the bar police because maybe they could have stopped him.
Almost every day
Witnessed a few…this past year, watched a young man stroll out of Lowes with a tool set, right past the Lowes security guard who tried to stop him, but was limited by the “rules.” The kid was a skinny punk, the guard could have knocked the “censored” out of him, but, not allowed to. Guard told us this happens regularly, costing each store thousands of dollars each year (with no recourse). I will not address the demographics of the perp, nor the guard, to avoid accusations of racism.
While in another state, I witnessed a car smash into another, and before anybody knew what was happening, that car fled like the title of a Meatloaf album from the 70s. This was just prior to the national shutdown/reset start.
Finally, as a yute, at a frat party, while outside in the yard of the house, saw a guy get shot (sounded like, and judging by the wound size, a .22). Did not see the shooter, only the guy shot. Needless to say, ran back into the frat house rather hurriedly. Interestingly, cops did not come around….
Was a eye witness and victim of a serious crime years ago (murder). (wont go into detail, very touchy subject)
CPD treated myself and a few others like we were the criminals. Horrible job by the CPD and the detectives involved. I suffer from PTSD from this event. Changed my life forever. Will never forget how horrible the police on scene and at the station treated us. They for sure did not do their jobs that day.
Dozens, both on and off duty. Have had to pull my gun three times off duty.
108RS
In my younger years I was at the Peppermill Restaurant in Cupertino having lunch with my sister. We were seated in a booth facing the front entrance when two men in heavy jackets came in… one of them pulled out their sawed off shotgun, banged it on the counter, and held up the place! As soon as we saw their weapon, we ducked underneath the table. What surprised us the most was that no one else seemed to notice what had transpired until the cops arrived, whereas we knew the 5 w’s of this incident. These robbers got away, of course, as highway 280 was a hop, skip and a jump away…
.. quite a few – the most outrageous was the Broadway Plaza scam where the police and everybody else just sat back and watched all of the looting of the stores maybe 2 yrs ago… the politicians that told LE to stand down should be embarrassed and voted out…. it’s outrageous
My sister and I were out with a couple guys from work. Their dad was VP of the company so I made the mistake of assuming they were ok guys. Brother A is driving and pissed someone off in a parking lot. The guy returns with another guy and confronts brother A who sticks his head in the door and tells brother B to “give me the gun” I grabbed my sister and hightailed it out of there. As we were walking down Port Chicago the brothers went flying by in their car with the cops in hot pursuit. Had to testify in court. Turns out they were both felons in possession of a stolen handgun.
Several over the years.
Most recently a nervous looking guy in the cold section at Walgreens Walnut Creek was loading up a reusable shopping bag pulling packages off the shelf four at a time. I went up to pay for my items and alerted the youngster at the register. Just then the crankster sprinted out of the store. The confused clerk at the register stood there bewildered so I asked him to get the manager. An Asian woman came out and stared at me blankly as I described what had happened. I asked if she was going to call security or the police and she continued with her vacuous stare.
I drove toward the other end of the strip mall where the shoplifter handed his bag off to a rather rotund young lady. I got a good cell phone photo of her and a photo of him as he dashed across Ygnacio probably headed to raid the Safeway cold medicine aisle. I forward photos to friends In local law enforcement.
Today Home Depot, 6 drones, someone’s getting a nice Christmas gift, 5 finger discount, scumbag
Home Depot in Martinez
a boy around 14 stole several Milwaukee cordless tool kits and exited out the garden section. Guard did not stop him. He got into a beat-up Old’s Alero with a lady driving, they got stuck in traffic leaving the store. crazy.
I live in the Bat Area, so yeah.
Every day I’m witnessing crime.
Dick’s Sporting Goods
Was leaving the Crossroads Center about 2 years back and there was an SUV blocking the lane by the back door. Well, I thought how rude and get your lazy ass into a parking space so others can get by. Well, after I passed this vehicle, suddenly a large woman with arms filled with clothes raced out of the store and dove into the back door of this vehicle. I was watching this in my rear view mirror and they took off like a bat out of hell. No need to describe the perps.
Yes, as I think I have mentioned at my job at Macy’s grab and run, stolen Addidas merchandise 2 women, right in front of me, ran out to the parking lot. Few days later single male, walked in from the Mall cut the wire to 4 Coach handbags and walked back out to the Mall, just saw the back of him, a customer alerted me. Called security and customer described the thief, doubt if they go him.
Dear Hanne,
Please be careful. Thieves are becoming more emboldened due to lack of prosecution in these cases as I am sure you are already aware. My husband and I saw a thief knock down an elderly woman walking to her car and grabbed her purse in Santa Monica last month. I checked on the woman while my husband chased the thief to a waiting car. Report was made to police. Lady suffered a bruised elbow and hand and my husband was able to provide a partial plate reading and description of the thief to police. They just don’t care who it is.
I think the question here is the magnitude, we see people running stop signs and looking at their phones everyday. I’ve seen people fight on BART, I saw a hit and run where a driver was knocked unconscious and stopped to help one time, I saw a woman get killed in SF in bike versus truck a few years back, I saw a knife fight in the Tenderloin one time.
Yeah, everytime I fill up my SUV at the gas station.
Too many to list – but worst was seeing a young man’s face sliced to ribbons (permanently disfiguring him) – and having tried to prevent the crime.