Strange encounter last night

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Permalink Reply by Bridget & Chris Carson on August 13, 2009 at 11:39am

I don't blame you for feeling cautious about such an encounter. If this happens again, I would call 911 right away. There have been a lot of muggings in the Village area recently, so it's better to be safe than really sorry later.

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Permalink Reply by Sharon Butsch Freeland on August 13, 2009 at 11:47am

Megan,

I would recommend that you always report these kinds of encounters to IMPD. If you don't fee it's threatening enough to call 911, then call the non-emergency IMPD dispatch number, 327-3811. I can appreciate that you don't want to report something that may have been harmless. At the same time, this could be valuable information to the police department. It's possible that they are actually looking for a van with that description. It's possible that other people have had strange encounters with a van of that description. The more reports IMPD receives, even if there is currently no crime in progress, the more compelled they are to police the area and help make sure it remains safe.

FYI, two men in a cruising van were arrested this past Sunday. They are thought to have been responsible for many violent muggings in the dark, residential fringes immediately south of the Broad Ripple commercial area. There's an article in today's IndyStar about the apprehension.

Here's the link:

http://www.indystar.com/article/20090813/NEWS02/908130405/1195/LOCA...

I know it's hard for honest, law-abiding, kind-hearted citizens to assume the worst in other human beings, but it really is better if IMPD is kept informed of these events. It establishes trends and hot spots for IMPD to monitor, and occasionally it results in arrests.

Sharon Butsch Freeland

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Permalink Reply by Megan Sullivan on August 13, 2009 at 12:06pm

Bridget/Chris and Sharon,

Thanks for your quick feedback. As Sharon recommended, I called the encounter into the non-emergency IMPD dispatch number so there will be a record. In the future, I will also call 911 immediately. Sometimes it is difficult for me to know the threshold for action so it is nice to get your advice on this.

Thanks,
Megan

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Permalink Reply by Heather Lusk on August 13, 2009 at 12:53pm

I know how you feel Megan. There have been many times even when I've seen solicitors to think, "it seems harmless enough," or to try and deal with something unusual on my own. It's a sad mindset but an important one to keep IMPD in the loop with any occurrences around here even if it isn't blatantly harmful.

thanks for posting the word of caution!
BTW - your puppy has gotten HUGE!

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