Burglars Posing as Cops Invade Lubbock Home

Paladin · #1

http://www.kcbd.com/Global/story.asp?S=4887406

"5/10/06
Burglars Posing as Cops Invade Lubbock Home

Lubbock Police have some positive leads after five men allegedly broke into a home, then beat and robbed the two people inside.

The incident happened at 233 Grover, just blocks away from Shadow Hills Golf Course in northwest Lubbock. Five men, who claimed to be Lubbock Police Officers, kicked in the door. When they entered, holding a shotgun, they told the two men inside that they were with the ATF.

Police arrived just before 2 a.m. on Wednesday. 21-year-old Antuwan Johnson and his roommate told police that the men tied their wrists with plastic restraints and demanded money and weapons. When they said they didn't have any the suspects kicked them and hit them with the shotgun. Then one of the suspects held a shotgun on the victims while the others ransacked the house and stole more than $450.

"They said, 'Don't move!' They all had walkie-talkies, and I hear a guy come on and he said 'The front's clear, everybody move out!' When they came in they knew what they were doing. They had planned this from... they had planned this for awhile," Johnson said.

The victims told police that the five men were wearing ski masks and bandanas to cover their faces. They also had on camouflage and ATF shirts. But police say they probably just associated what the suspects were wearing with what they heard.

Police say the suspects knew the victims and probably knew that there was cash inside the house. "

longtooth · #2

Hope this wakes up the Father-in-law. Lubbock is home & Shadow Hills is his golf course. This type home invasion is getting more frequent & closer to home for all of us. Reason I & many others stay armed at the house.

sparx · #3

longtooth wrote:This type home invasion is getting more frequent & closer to home for all of us. Reason I & many others stay armed at the house.

+1, though it's still very scary.

I've often wondered what the best course of action would be should one hear pounding on the door from a group announcing that they are the police, and you know that there should be no reason that they are there (being a law-abiding citizen, it would have to be either a mistake, or a home invasion).

I know that if I saw bandanas covering their faces, I would certainly be suspicious, but when you've got uniformed guns at the door banging and a look through the peep hole doesn't reveal anything to tip you off that it's bogus and a home invasion is occuring, what's the best thing to do? The last thing that anyone would want is a true LEO shot by accident due to a homeowner thinking that it was a home invasion.

longtooth · #4

Yes Sparks you are right on the last thing you want to do is shoot a LEO that has the wrong house. Problem is that you will probably not even wound him. He will be armored & as soon as you fire there will be immediate return fire from them. There is really not a good answer today. I know there are some LEO depts that are addressing this issue of hard entry due to the incident stated and also "wrong house" Real LEOs but mistaken addresses. Every one has to spend much time thinking it through, then make their own decission what to do. I have spent the time & made mine.

HighVelocity · #5

My wife and I have talked about this A LOT.
If it's a home invasion and one of us uses a firearm to defend ourselves/family then great, but if it really is the police then the one of us with the weapon would probably be killed.
A split second judgement that nobody wants to make, hopefully we'll never have to.

GrannyGlock · #6

This was two miles from our house

Police say the suspects knew the victims and probably knew that there was cash inside the house

Important to know your acquaintences. Apparently there was some marijuana taken too.

TxFire · #7

I am not engaged in any activity that would give any LEO agency the need or reason to make entry into my home in any manner similar to these raids. So that being said I feel pretty confident that any persons approaching my humble abode in that manner are up to no good. It is remotely possible that it is legit LEO's w/ the wrong house. My plan would be to call 911 immediately to inform/verify. Either way at least one REAL LEO will be enroute my way then and he/she can detemine the intentions of those persons, unless they have broken down the door. If that is the case and they are not in FULL tactical gear (not just black clothing and bandanas) they will likely be receiving fire from me.

j1132s · #8

Internet rumor? that has been circulating around mentioned that a guy was killed in his living room because he was cleaning his gun and the police stormed his house (wrong address).

I've had police show up at my house once (mentioned that somebody dialed 911 although nobody did). He didn't storm the house and waited outside while we called the station to verify. His attitude wasn't very nice, so we never openned the door and made the situation lasted longer than needed.

sparx · #9

longtooth wrote:Yes Sparks you are right on the last thing you want to do is shoot a LEO that has the wrong house. Problem is that you will probably not even wound him. He will be armored & as soon as you fire there will be immediate return fire from them. There is really not a good answer today. I know there are some LEO depts that are addressing this issue of hard entry due to the incident stated and also "wrong house" Real LEOs but mistaken addresses. Every one has to spend much time thinking it through, then make their own decission what to do. I have spent the time & made mine.

And to make matters worse by adding even more variables to the processing, some home invaders are wearing armor these days, too, which needs to taken into account.

longtooth · #10

Not only home invaders but the street hoods that shot the Trooper just out of Tyler a few months ago were also wearing it. You bet it is a war & the good guys are now as out gunned as they say the LEOs are. Refuse to be disarmed.

KBCraig · #11

On a police forum, I recently decried the militarization of police forces, saying it creates an attitude that progresses from "All Of Us Good Folks v. The Bad Guys", to "Us Cops v. Criminals" to "Us Cops v. Everyone Else".

Kevin

longtooth · #12

Thanks KB. and Good morning.

Paladin · #13

This is certainly not a situation I'd want to be in. I've never been in that kind of situation... so I can only speculate.

Hopefully my dogs would alert me before anyone made it into the house. They're very good about that kind of thing ... so it should work.

SWAT may be using a marked vehicle, they may not be. If it's a marked vehicle, then things are easy.

If unmarked... things will get interesting.

SWAT seems to tend to yell "POLICE" and "SEARCH WARRANT"... and throw in flash bang grenades first.

The bad guys seem to yell "POLICE" without the "SEARCH WARRANT" part and just storm the place.

That could be clue.

I've noticed that in a surprise raid, SWAT will change tactics after they've taken gunfire. They slow down and do a slow tactical search... which takes a lot of time.

So some early gunfire may prevent an accident, by slowing down the tempo. Obviously you don't want to meet SWAT face-to-face with a gun in hand. For them a threat with gun in hand = shoot.

Just my thoughts... I don't have a true answer.

gigag04 · #14

Well...the absolute last thing I wanna do is shoot a cop so what I may do is comply, but with my CHL and carry piece well hidden on me. That way when they tying up starts I can maybe make a move or something.

This may be too passive, but I refuse to shoot at cops...sorry.

GrannyGlock · #15

The victims told police that the five men were wearing ski masks and bandanas to cover their faces. They also had on camouflage and ATF shirts. But police say they probably just associated what the suspects were wearing with what they heard.

Apparently the BGs were wearing black, but no markings on their clothes.
The first one has been apprehended and other arrests are pending.