Houston Readers Beware: Third Case of Robbers Dressed as Cops

Anyone who has watched the movie Home Alone must have wondered, why don’t more criminals do that?  Why don’t criminals dress up as police to see when people are going to be home, or even, dress up as police to get people to open the door, then invade the home?  In the 23 years since that movie (and since Macaulay Culkin was a cute kid and not a kid in Michael Jackson’s trial), this seemingly hasn’t happened. Surely, criminals weren’t scared off by some seven year-old kid playing home-Rambo. 

 

Not so funny when it's real

Houston, home of inventiveness, especially in crime, has stepped up.  The Houston Chronicle reports the third recent case (three makes a pattern) of robbers who forced their way into homes after getting the home owner to open the door because they were dressed as police officers.  This one occurred in Southeast Houston last Tuesday at 2 a.m.  Police say that four men armed with guns broke into the home. The suspects identified themselves as police to those inside. They demanded money and then left, driving the family’s SUV.

The Chronicle reports about the prior incidents:

In recent weeks, other suspects posing as police officers have confronted victims in their homes or businesses in apparently unrelated cases.

About 11:50 p.m. Nov. 2, a man impersonating an officer broke into an apartment at 9400 Bellaire near Corporate, police said. The suspect used a crow bar to break into an apartment. He was dressed in a uniform similar to the type worn by Houston police officers. The resident confronted the bogus officer, who pulled out a gun and pointed it at him. The two struggled for the weapon, which fired. The victim was slightly wounded in the arm.

More details about that case can be seen here. 

Crime Stoppers is offering $5000 for information on the robbers. The police are likely to come down supremely hard on these bandits.  They make legitimate police work extremely difficult. Now, when someone in a police uniform comes to the door, the homeowner may suspect they are a fake and things are gonna get hairy.  It makes the job of policing extremely difficult.  It makes the search for fugitives in neighborhoods extremely difficult if the police are trying to go door to door to investigate an active crime and no one will open the door to the police, thinking they are criminals, or homeowners pull guns on actual police, thinking they are robbers. 

So, these fugitives are dangerous for their crimes, and for the breakdown in civil society they are likely to cause.  And, for that the courts and police are likely to show no mercy.  Maybe that’s why this doesn’t happen much.  Not fear of Macaulay Culkin or fear of seven year-olds.