| Submit your comments on this article | |
| -Lurid Crime Tales- | |
| Police Invade House At 3am To Warn Homeowner To Lock Doors | |
| 2008-06-20 | |
| Troy Molde awoke at 3 a.m. Thursday to police flashlights shining in his face. Two uniformed Lakeville officers were in his bedroom, knocking on the wall to wake him up. They were there, they said, to warn him to keep his doors closed and locked. Their surprise visit was part of a public service campaign. Officers had fanned out across the city, leaving notices on doors to remind residents how to prevent thefts by keeping garage doors closed, not leaving valuables in cars and locking windows or doors. But at Molde's house, they went further. His two sons, ages 5 and 7, and 5-year-old twin nephews were having a sleepover in the living room. They awoke to find the officers in the house. 'I was violated, but ... I wasn't physically damaged,' Molde said of what he considers an invasion of privacy. The officers told Molde his garage door was open, the TV was on, keys to his truck were left in the ignition and the door to his house was ajar. Police said the intrusion was justified because the officers' initial door knocks went unanswered. Police went inside to check if anything was wrong, Sgt. Jim Puncochar said. He said the kids were afraid to wake their dad, so the officers went upstairs. 'It really was suspicious,' Puncochar said. But Molde, 34, said he went upstairs to bed at midnight. Molde didn't shut the garage door, and he remembers leaving the doors to his house closed — but unlocked. The kids fell asleep watching TV. Three hours later, he had police in his bedroom. He immediately thought something was wrong. 'I was just dazed,' said the 34-year-old dad. 'It's not a safe way of (police) protection.' Puncochar said officers left pamphlets Thursday at eight other houses as a friendly reminder of ways residents can avoid becoming victims of crimes, such as burglary. 'We went there to determine that everyone was safe,' Puncochar said. Officers also leave the messages when checking on a home security alarm or to warn of a law violation they see at the residence. The department began using door hangers a year ago to tackle a rise in burglaries in 2006, Chief Tom Vonhof said at the time. Police say many crimes originate with open garage doors. Last month, a 52-year-old Burnsville man was stabbed and left to die in his burning town house after two assailants entered his home at 4:30 a.m. by way of an open garage door. The suspects, who stole the man's car to escape, entered the garage and home through unlocked doors. Police have not found the assailants. Leaving a door hanger for residents is a method used by other police departments nationally, Vonhof said. It can help create a police presence. Lakeville police gave Molde a reminder he won't forget anytime soon. 'I haven't figured out what I should do with it yet,' Molde said.
| |
| Posted by:Anonymoose |
| #13 the officers' initial door knocks went unanswered. The officers told Molde his garage door was open, the TV was on, keys to his truck were left in the ignition and the door to his house was ajar. And they didn't shake Mr. Molde awake, but knocked on his wall from a distance, when the children were afraid to disturb him. I've had occasional dealings with child services; in my limited experience they tend to assume physical abuse when the children are afraid of adults. Were I he, I'd be grateful for their care and compassion, not to mention guarding a careless neighborhood at 3:00 in the bloody a.m... or taking all the kids away because poor, violated Mr. Molde had endangered them. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2008-06-20 18:26 |
| #12 MODS! I hit send too soon - - the above should read door is shUt (please fix if you can). As long as its shut it doesnt matter how sh*tty the door is. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2008-06-20 17:16 |
| #11 This is more along the lines of why the Drills in bootcamp bust your butt for failing to lock your footlocker (or wall locker). Stop feeding the thieves is a good act of prevention, along with "broken window" enforcement. Open garage and an open house door are in an invitiation to a theif, rapist or murderer. The cops were well within their rights to investigate - and to do so without hitting the doorbell due to the door being open. Had it been a thif, etc, rining the bell or knocing would have only tipped off the criminal and possibly caused them to harm any innocents inthe house. Knock or ring the bell? If the door is shit, sure. But not in this case with a wide open garage and an open door. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2008-06-20 17:15 |
| #10 Cops should enter non-secured buildings. If a door is unlocked, it is possible that a thief picked same. The public tends to focus on the law enforcement aspect of police work. Crime Prevention is equally important. |
| Posted by: Pliny Chinemble6531 2008-06-20 16:34 |
| #9 I guess I disagree with most of you. There are options before you enter the home. The house has a doorbell. Ring it. You have a bullhorn. Use it. Call for backup and get the watch commander to call for a warrant. I repeat, someone's gonna die someday when they wake up with a flashlight in their face. |
| Posted by: Steve White 2008-06-20 15:46 |
| #8 Suspicious? Yeah, sure. Sufficient probale cause to enter unannounced? Not even close. Ring the freakin' door-bell first, huh? Or knock. |
| Posted by: mojo 2008-06-20 13:36 |
| #7 True, not forced entry but that isn't what I was getting at. If I had to guess, the guy was probably drunk and passed out or at any rate not minding the kids. If I were one of the officers I would have done the same thing. I have had a law enforcement officer enter my property gun drawn - we had a laugh afterwards and I realize he was doing the right thing but it was not much fun at first. It is the difference between a law enforcemnt officer knowing the beat compared to going by the playbook. The article reads like a scare tactic police state line. |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2008-06-20 13:16 |
| #6 They didnt kick the door down and come in with a swat team, they came in an open door to investigate why in the world it was wide open at 3AM. Could have been a burglar there and the family was away, could have been a murderer had fled after slaughtering the occupants. Sufficient probable cause was obvious. No warrant needed - it was open and accessable to the public, and was a matter of safety for the occupants. It was not FORCED ENTRY. Sheesh people, read the article. The guy left things wide open and the cops simply walked in. He's lucky it wasnt a nutjob with a shotgun. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2008-06-20 12:35 |
| #5 Little advice to anyone trying to force entry at that hour... Don't. It won't turn out like a daisy. I can understand the police officers were following their instructions, I question the competency of those who implemented the police instructions; especially at that hour. **reading between the lines, if this guy was responsible for the safety of 4 kids, perhaps he should be more aware of his surroundings. |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2008-06-20 11:50 |
| #4 "But police just can't go into a home, even if they knocked, without a warrant." So they find doors open at 3 am but don't go inside because they have no warrant. They do, however, note it in their log, which is available to the public. Next day, worried relative or friend of the occupant goes to the house because the occupant doesn't show up at work or whatever and finds said occupant dead. Autopsy shows occupant was murdered during the night, but didn't die right away - in fact could have probably been saved it they'd gotten help hours earlier. Relatives sue the cops for the death. As the police sergeant said, open doors, lights on, TV on, no answer to their knocks - suspicious situation. It probably would have been better if they weren't standing by the guy's bed when they woke him up, but they did try to get the kids to do it first. Maybe Mr. Molde would have felt better if the two clowns who attacked the other man, stole his car, and set his house on fire had dropped by instead? What absolutely amazes me is that this guy called the media and basically admitted - and asked them to broadcast - that he's an idiot who endangered his kids and his relative's kids as well. |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2008-06-20 11:39 |
| #3 But police just can't go into a home, even if they knocked, without a warrant. A little advice passed on to me from my father when dealing with cops. 'You can right, dead right. Do what the man says and don't hassle him. He's usually having a bad day too.' |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2008-06-20 11:24 |
| #2 ""I haven't figured out what I should do with it yet," Molde said." Try locking up at night? |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2008-06-20 10:40 |
| #1 That sounds like a real dandy way to catch a bullet, Officer... |
| Posted by: mojo 2008-06-20 10:17 |