Or how good is your security, really???
I live in a ‘supposedly’ secured apartment complex, which really isn’t…
Yeah, it has gates, keyed entry and all that stuff, but it’s only as good as the last person through the gate or into the parking garage…
Sunday evening, Sumdood showed up at the door (now realize I live on the 4th floor, never got the first beep/call/nothing). I couldn’t see much through the peep hole, so I didn’t open the door fully, just enough to see who was there. And there he stood, in the flesh- Sumdood!!!
It was the old, “I’ze lookin for Latesha/Latasha (something like that) man.” As he tried to peer around the corner of the door and see who else, if anybody was in the apartment…
I said, “Don’t know anyone by that name, sorry, can’t help you”.
Since I hadn’t opened the door fully, I sorta had him blocked and he couldn’t completely see me, but I wasn’t liking what I was seeing, and I squared up a little bit more behind the door and got my foot braced against it.
He started in again, “Well she used to live here, hey man can I” and I saw him look down and I’m guessing he caught sight of the .45 I had on my hip, because he suddenly decided to be elsewhere…
I closed the door, went back to what I was doing, then decided to go check the truck just in case… (as some of you know, my truck was broken into a week after I moved in here). Got out to the parking garage, and who do I see?
The Police!
It appears Sumdood had talked his way into an apartment in the other building that accesses the parking garage (saying he needed to use the phone) and got chased out by the girl’s boyfriend who happened to be there at the time. She called the police, and they were taking a report/checking the garage too! The officer happened to be the one that had worked my truck break in, and he kinda chuckled when he saw me, never saying word one about the pistol on the hip. When I told him why I was there, I got to fill out the usual witness statement, etc…
5’10” BM, est 200 lbs mid-20s either dreads or cornrows, black hoody (hood pulled all the way up), some kind of blue jersey hanging out the bottom, jeans down to his ass, a big R on the right rear pocket, high $$ sneakers on, and a black puffy ski type jacket.
In reality, I shouldn’t even have opened the door, I didn’t know this guy, he shouldn’t have been there, and I was stupid…
I just got off lucky since he apparently didn’t want to try me…
Security, even in a ‘supposedly’ secure place is STILL up to you, and just because you are sitting fat, dumb and happy in your home, doesn’t mean there are those who will take the opportunity to make it a bad day for you.
Don’t let your guard down, practice good physical security and use common sense when you answer your door!
Nobody Asked Me…
Veritas nos liberabit
Glad you are safe. Brazen, wasn’t he?
You know better than that.
Hit the deck and give me twenty!
Glad it worked out okay.
Gerry
Well—–DUH!!
Glad it all came out OK. Learn the lesson.
YeOldFurt
“In reality, I shouldn’t even have opened the door, I didn’t know this guy, he shouldn’t have been there, and I was stupid…”
Yeah.
And thanks for reminding us all.
We NEED the reminder. This sort of thing will get worse, and we all need to BE PREPARED.
The first Halloween I lived here with my sweetie, she went out to see her other son, leaving me behind to hand out the candy. Since I didn’t know the neighborhood very well, and we’re only a couple of miles from one of the seedier parts of town, I had my Sig P226 strapped on, and a couple of more full magazines in the pouch on my belt.
We didn’t have any suspicious people come by, but she was rather amazed that I was taking it so *seriously* that I thought we could, maybe, possibly, have a home invasion on Halloween.
I also wear my Kimber 1911 when I’m out in the garage late at night…..
Thanks for the reminder. When we bought our house, it had a recessed door. No way to see who was there. I asked himself to put in a peep hole. After much pissing & moaning he did, “there are you happy!” “Aaah, it appears to be in backward” More pissing & moaning, and another hole in the door…then it was angled so that you only saw the ceiling of the entry. I gave up at that point and hung a Welcome sign over it.
The D is final this month. Glad to be reminded to be careful.
WSF- Yeah, counting on two stupid people in a row… At least I smartened up half way through…
Gerry- Yes Sir! No Excuse Sir!
YOF- yeah… I know…
Greybeard- I was complacent, which is REALLY bad…
drjim- Good point, there ARE plenty of them in SOCAL.
Brighid- You’re welcome.
Glad you are safe!
Thanks for the post and the reminder.
We are polite people and polite people open the damned door. I don’t fault you a bit. You opened the door in a proper manner…
What if it had been someone who really needed help and you’d chosen not to open the door?
I’ll forever be prepared and just as polite. 😉
Yes, an armed society *is* a polite society!
Thanks for the reminder, as I live in an apartment complex similar to yours. (When my husband deploys sometime in the next few months, I will be a 20-something female living alone for a year, so security was a big deal for me, as I’m also slighly paranoid.)
However, I too, became complacement once and I’m lucky it was only some confused little kid and not someone attempting to break into the house…
Glad to see things didn’t turn ugly, though!
Stopsign- I figure if somebody else can learn from my mistake, so be it…
Snigs- I know… but you will have the 12ga in the off hand… 🙂
drjim- Point 🙂
minimedic- Know your neighbors, know whom you can call on, and if there is ANY doubt, don’t open the door… (and keep the shotgun or pistol handy).
This is a little pricey but just the thing for stuff like this: http://www.homesecuritystore.com/p-1709-ivision-optex-wireless-2-way-intercom-system-with-video.aspx
I am glad your safe and your truck is in one piece.
Keads- I actually looked at that stuff when I moved in, but the complex doesn’t ‘allow’ modifications to the exteriors of the apartments.
Fuzzy- you and me both!
I had a similar experience about 6 years ago. Sumdood showed up and said he was with the gas company, and I had to let him in or the cops were gonna arrest me. So I opened the door with a Giant Ruger P90 in my hand.
Funny how they go from “hey let me in!” to “I dont want no trouble, man” so quickly.
I now have a strict don’t-answer-the-door-unless-you’re-expecting-someone policy.
So, random, food-for-thought sort of question, if I may:
Why didn’t you call the police?
People need to start being proactive about things like this. The man clearly didn’t belong in your secure building. He may have been checking things out for a future return, maybe during the day, when most people aren’t home.
At the very least, he was trespassing.
cjh
Wizard- Good point and one I’m going back to…
CJ- I should have, no question… going forward my SA is going to be a LOT better, and I won’t hesitate to call if this occurs again.
Makes one think.
I’ll answer the door to our home, even knowing that if badness is there… we live out in the country and help won’t be moments away.
Perhaps that is why my foot is usually behind the door, and my hand in my pocket… and not empty.
I am not a small man, and try to be ready for the bums rush. It would probably cause someone a bit of surprise to hit the door… and bounce. Hopefully enough time for me to close the door and/or present arms.
I have had that happen, and in that situation I had the choice of a holstered pistol, a knife, and my own hands as weapons to ward off the person trying to force their way in. Thinking about the incident afterwords, I realized I had mentally escalated all the way up the scale and back down in the space of time the jerk used to shove an arm in the door. The way it played out, I caught the arm with the door and beat it blue with my fist before said jerk could get it back out.
Said jerk had an unhappy encounter with the State Police minutes later, as I also had a cell phone handy.
Carteach0- My number two fail was I didn’t call the cops immediately… Good point on having something in your hand too!
If he knew how well you shoot that .45, he would have had somewhere else to be much more quickly.
I’m glad you’re OK. With this and the vandalism/theft to your truck, it might be time to look for a new place to live.
I let Murphy answer the door. That’s his job.
Wanna borrow him for a few days?
Greetings Old NFO, among our loosely knit group the saying goes like this. I think it came from some DI somewhere.
“Be polite and professional to everyone you meet….but have a plan to kill them.”
Cold as it is, it has been proven to be the way a security minded individual must operate.
Peace be with you, and glad you won that engagement.
Wksaz
Glad to hear you’re okay Jim and glad that you didn’t need to use the friend on your hip!
I think Sumdood was luckier than you were that he didn’t try to press his cause with you.
Impressing the importance of situational awareness was a priority for me as an apartment manager becuause the residents were young, successful people who didn’t really think bad things could happen to them. We are each responsible for our own security.
Glad you came through this one without incident, and I hope the information you gave helped them to apprehend the ne’er-do-well.
TOTW- I’m at the upper end of my price range, without moving 20 miles out… I’ve had a ‘conversation’ with management, and they are addressing the situation. We’ll see…
Me- Don’t tempt me… 🙂
Wksaz- yep. I SHOULD have been ready, but it took a minute before the ‘plan’ came together…
Julie- Mee too! I don’t EVER want to have to use it, but I will to defend myself (as we discussed).
Phlegmmy- Nothing yet…
$299 camera system, two cams included, wireless, at Costco. Got one on my front door. Best cash spent. Do it. Get armed. Buy ammo. I am a cop, and cops can’t protect you. It’s gonna get worse, folks, not better. Black male. There’s a shocker. I was stunned, stunned I tell you.
BZ