I Stopped a Crime, and got my First Smiths Watch

Retired on February 1st after 33 years policing. I was never much of a ticket writer (Kojak did not use the Kodak (radar))

I often joked when teaching at the academy that my boss once said “you wrote one ticket last month!” And my reply was “yes but he was a real asshole and deserved it!”

Still, I stopped lots of bad guys, seizing over half a million in drug money, plus illegal firearms, drugs and other contraband.

One of my most memorable case was when I checked a car parked in a field. There was a guy sleeping inside. Earlier that day, he had violently and sexually attacked a woman. She managed to get away, injured and naked, and ran to a nearby house. My suspect still had her blood covered clothes in his car. He got 7 years in jail.

A good case initiated out of curiosity.

Two days ago my wife and I drove past a large building that is used as an antique store. It was early in the evening and I noticed a really skinny guy on the side of the building. He was looking in the windows. I know the owner of the store - although I have not visited in years.

I called the owner, who lives nearby and told him what I saw. The owner showed up and the suspect was stealing. He also appeared to be under the influence of drugs.

Theft and possibly Break & Enter prevented.

I stopped in at the store yesterday for an update. The real boss - the owner’s wife - was there and gave me the details. While I was talking to her I looked at the watches for sale and saw the Smiths. I took a photo and went home to research it.

One of my first search results was yesterday’s WRUW post by our own Alpha. Very similar watch. Alpha explained that these are not prize watches but he likes them.

I picked it up today. ($80). Keeps decent time and looks nice. An added bonus is the leather fob that shows how this one was used at one time.

Moral of the story - one that I often shared with police recruits and members of the public - is that if you see something suspicious, consider reporting it. Don’t be Batman or the Lone Ranger, but if you are inspired, make a call. A victim will likely benefit.

The watch…

I ran a downtown Calgary jewellery store for ten years. One day, one of my staff was threatened with a Gerber Legendary butcher knife with an 11 inch blade. The punk girl told her to open the till and empty of the cash. My clerk said the till could not be opened unless a sale was made. She said she’d give the punk all the money in her purse. I found out about the threat when the clerk came to the back office for her purse. I dialed 911 and held for about 30 seconds, then hung up, walked out onto the sales floor to where the action was. I pretended not to have seen the knife, walked up to her, and calmly took it away, I then booted her in the a$$, and dumped her on the floor, and landed on top of her. When the police got there, it took 3 of them to handcuff her! They let her chill in a padded room at the precinct, and when they spoke to her, she said would have killed for the contents of the purse.

I spoke to one of the officers who told me that, with his bullet proof vest, he worried more about knives since his vest couldn’t stop a knife! Gulp! I destroyed my belt, trying to tie the girl up. I got a new belt from the company, and a plaque from the police.

We live near a large city park. Pulling into the driveway two days ago, my wife hears what sounds like a car crash. About 200 feet away I look to see a guy dive into a parked car's passenger window and pull out a backpack.

He hurrys to his idling car nearby. Having seen this before, i quickly grab my phone and flip open the camera. He has to drive right by me because that's the only way out of the park. He sees me and quickly accelerates.

I get a front picture but he has no front plate. Turning I get the back of the car just as he screams down the road and makes a sharp right turn.

Zooming in, the license is clear, as is the make and model car. Called 911 and left a note for the owners.

Unfortunately, crime is pretty normal here. It's a revolving door of assholes and meth heads. The camera phone is the best we can hope for.

@Duracuir1 … Great stories and that watch for $80 CAD? WOW! Beauty.

@Duracuir1 - Great pick up on that Smiths piece and congrats on your retirement. It wont be too long before you are wondering how the heck did I ever have time to go to work. 😁👍👍