Input from those in law enforcement

[marlinman93]

We have security cameras all around our home, and Wed. morning I checked them as I do every morning. I saw 3 videos at 1:15 AM of a city police officer at our front door! In the first video he's opening our screen door, and the next video shows him looking around inside and outside the screen door. Then the last video he releases the screen door, and seems puzzled or confused, like whatever he was looking for wasn't there?
We have an enclosed porch, so he had to step up into it to open the door. But in any previous interaction with officers they open the screen door and knock, then let it close and step back off the porch. So this appeared strange, and not sure what he was looking for?
But the video is so clear with him being 2 ft. from the entry camera that I got his name off his vest. I called that morning asking the non emergency number why an officer was at my door. The dispatcher asked if a business card was left, which there wasn't. He asked my address, and when I gave it he said there were no incidents within a 2-3 block radius of my address.
So I drove over to my local precinct to inquire, and they checked his log and said he made no mention of it. Then they checked again for incidents in my neighborhood and none were recorded. The desk officer gave me the policeman's email and told me to ask him via email since he works graveyard.
So sent off an email and got a response in the form of a lie! He said he knocked on our door to see if our cameras caught anything as there was a shooting in front of our house!
Now my wife and I would likely have woken up to shots fired. But even if we slept through it the police wouldn't have told me nothing was reported near our home! I sent him back an email thanking him for his reply, and telling him his department had two people tell me there were no incidents near my house. So why was he really there?
I also spoke with several neighbors and asked if they heard shots, or doors knocked on, and none did. He did tell me he knocked on other doors also. I would think that a shooting would mean an officer would come back during daylight hours to ask for my video, but none have?
So I'm waiting to see how he responds via email, and not sure what I should do next? Do I pursue this or file a complaint? Or just let it drop and wonder why this guy was at my door in the middle of the night?

[GunnyMack]

Whatever you do SAVE those emails and videos.
Makes you wonder if he is part of a crime ring? I'd certainly keep my head on a swivel for a while.

[TedH]

You're right to be suspicious. That doesn't add up at all.

[stretch]

Maybe he just responded to the wrong address.

SWAT Teams have been known to do that with sometimes catastrophic results.....

In any event, DO keep the video, emails, and a brief log of your actions/communications
related to this incident.

Strange for sure.......

-Stretch

[elmo123]

If he lied to you about why he was there then he was up to no good.

Find out if he was assigned to the area where your residence is located, if not and he wasn't dispatched there the you need to find out why.

Unfortunately there a re plenty of cops that are criminals.

[marlinman93]

He is assigned to East Precinct where I live, and that's how I found out what wasn't going on in my neighborhood. Since I had his name off his vest they could check his end of shift report and see he didn't mention he'd responded to any incidents at my house or anywhere near it. Also how they could check and tell me there were no incidents anywhere nearby either that he may have been involved in.
My email reply telling him about East Precinct telling me there was no shooting anywhere nearby last night went unresponded to. So I think he's going to drop it knowing he's caught in a lie. I personally think he did go to the wrong address, but I think it wasn't police business, or he'd have just said he went to the wrong house. I think he was supposed to pick something up from someone's front door, and when it wasn't there he was confused. That's the way it looked to me anyway. Where he was supposed to be, or what he was looking for will remain a mystery.
We now lock our screen door also at night, just for a 2nd level of security before the front door. I doubt he'll be back, or hope he wont be back.

[.45colt]

I would be totally Nuts over this. If it was true They would at least have nocked on the door. around this rural area if You call the sheriff with a problem at night We get two Sheriffs cars that respond and the local city sends a cruiser out to back them up. I bet they are going to try to get Your video and e-mails. This has to be the tip of the iceberg or He wouldn't have lied about it. I would see an attorney. rats always come out at night. Good Luck and God Bless. Stay Safe.

[Tycer]

I would be totally Nuts over this. If it was true They would at least have nocked on the door. around this rural area if You call the sheriff with a problem at night We get two Sheriffs cars that respond and the local city sends a cruiser out to back them up. I bet they are going to try to get Your video and e-mails. This has to be the tip of the iceberg or He wouldn't have lied about it. I would see an attorney. rats always come out at night. Good Luck and God Bless. Stay Safe.

This

[AJMD429]

.
“…If he lied to you about why he was there then he was up to no good…”

THIS

My guess he was to pick up drugs or other illegal stuff.

My fear is he will try to incriminate you somehow to keep you from digging around further.

My sadness is that the system may allow him to get away with it.

[4t5]

Maybe inquire with the state police, to create a paper trail, or maybe they’ll investigate.

[barbarossa]

More than likely he had the wrong house but was not there on non official business for one thing or another.If so he s probably hoping you will let it go and if you don t he will find a way to use his position to make your life miserable one way or another to intimidate you.Like what has been said I would save the emails and video and contact an Attorney and have him put them on file maybe not to pursue it any further but to protect yourself if in case the Officer does try anything illegal.When it comes to corruption one doesn’t know many in a police force have become infected with it and how far they will go to back each other up

[marlinman93]

I have a friend who retired from the force and we are members of a antique arms collector group that met last night. I ran the video for him, and told him what had transpired so far to get his input. He said I should keep copies of the video, and all correspondence by email, plus write down what discussions I had with various police department individuals. Beyond that he said it's probably best to just let it go at this point, and not bother pursuing it further.
His advice was that continuing to try to discover what the officer was up to might result in a closing of the ranks, as even if the officer was doing something that wasn't "police work" that his coworkers will back him up, and pursuing it could just bring retaliation in the form of police ticketing our cars, or looking for reasons to harass us instead. As he said, the officer now knows we have security cameras, and that he's already been recorded on them, so if he accidentally was at our door for a midnight tryst, or to pick up an unknown package, he wont make the mistake of ever coming back again and be caught on camera again.
So at this point I'm saving everything, and just keeping this documented, but not pushing things any further.

[jkbrea]

I bet he had the wrong address. Probably "booty on duty" and went to or given wrong address......
That's why no record or incident reported....
I had a beat partner that used to go to his gf house on duty. He'd park down the street and spend time there. I got sick of it. One night I moved his car to the next block. Then called out for a code 3 backup. He had to explain to the WC why he failed to respond.

[44shooter]

Something shady about this. Don’t expect any resolution as it will likely be covered up. Even if he is questioned, reprimanded or disciplined, you will not know the particulars. Keep everything. If you notice an increased LE attention towards you, go to the media and the SBI. He likely had the wrong house and couldn’t find the key to get to his side piece while on the clock. It’s probably over and not worth pushing.

[COSteve]

You could make a formal inquiry into the reason he was at your door to his superiors and include with it a copy of the video. Not accuse him of anything but just ask formerly why he was there and why the apparent discrepancy between what the personal you asked stated was in his duty report and what your video shows.

State that you're not doing this to get anyone in trouble but rather that there was a reason that he was at my door and without an explanation you're concerned about your safety and that of your family as it appears that the police don't want to tell you why he was there.

[gcs]

Let it drop, but keep copies of all documentation and correspondence, and maybe add another camera to cover any blind spots....

[Lassiter]

^^^^^^^^^^^
This

[marlinman93]

Let it drop, but keep copies of all documentation and correspondence, and maybe add another camera to cover any blind spots....

We have no blind spots with cameras on each side of the house, plus motion and sound activated lights and cameras.

[Streetstar]

So at this point I'm saving everything, and just keeping this documented, but not pushing things any further.

That’s what I’d be doing too most likely