Off-Duty Secret Service Officer Carjacked (He drove a Hummer..lol)

[IChing]

WASHINGTON -- Police say two armed men carjacked an off-duty Secret Service officer early Wednesday morning in Forestville, Md.
Police said the officer was at a gas station at Marlboro Pike and Ritchie Road, with some friends when two armed men approached the group and robbed them of cash and the off-duty officer's Hummer 2.

"We stopped at the gas station to load up another motorcycle to head down south to Myrtle Beach and two assailants came up from behind the gas station waving handguns and basically they took the vehicle," Curtis Thomas, the off-duty officer said.

Police said the chase ended when the men crashed the Hummer, which was towing a motorcycle trailer, into the side of a home near 51st and Fitch streets, in northeast Washington, and escaped on foot.
Police said the agent's weapon was still in the vehicle when the truck was recovered.

Thomas said the Hummer was only slightly dented.>>>snip http://www.nbc4.com/news/9265227/detail.html

[RobertSeattle]

1. He makes enough to own a Hummer?

Hmmmm.

[shadowknows69]

2. When are they going to start paying cops what they're worth

the SS are charged with protecting one man under their charge. Cops protect and serve all of us. No balance.

[reichstag911]

6. Let me guess:

You're a cop, or a dependent/family member thereof, yes?

[shadowknows69]

10. none of the above

But I am the son of teachers and they aren't paid enough either.

[reichstag911]

18. I can agree...

...with that sentiment as it relates to teachers -- assuming their competence and dedication -- but I have real issues with cops being considered "underpaid." I have two sibs on the Chicago PD, and they do quite well considering a) the qualifications they bring to the table, b) the fact that, like most cops in my experience, their "work" is not all that hard, and they get an enormous amount of time off for minor "ouchies" they claim to have suffered in the "line of duty," and c) the agenda of most big-city police agencies is paramilitary and repressive rather than protective. All they "protect" is the moneyed class.

[bpj1962]

11. Secret Service

I am not a Secret Service Supporter but they do far more then just protect the President. They are a division of the Treasury department and anything involving counterfeiting or money laundering falls under their scope. Many of the Secret Service officers are never attached to a security detail. As for the gun being in the car he/she is a federal agent and they are required to both their credentials and weapon with them at all times when they travel in the U.S.A.

[shadowknows69]

13. I didn't mean to belittle the job of a SS officer

Just meant by the nature of each agents assignment they may have one task to accomplish. I just feel regular cops have to be better and more adaptable.

[lynne]

28. The article states he was a SS "officer" -

- not an agent, which makes me think he was uniformed. USSS officers have the same authority as the DC Metropolitan police and, depending upon assignment if uniformed, may have a patrol car and a "beat" to work. They receive more training that regular cops. While SS agents may have one task on their plate, the USSS uniformed officer has more responsibilities than a regular police officer as their jurisdiction also includes federal property and security.

[Bushies gotta go]

20. Everybody has enough to own a hummer

Since when do you think that just because he is a cop, he doesn't make enough to be in debt up to his ears? He's human (and American) the same as all of us. And pays monthly bills just like the rest of us.

[Nailzberg]

27. EXACTLY!!!!

I was gonna make the same point. Overextending credit is the national pastime.

[slackmaster]

3. What the FUCK was the guy's weapon doing in the trunk?

:dunce:

[hashibabba]

5. Cops and Budget Cuts

The cops will never get paid enough with republicans around. Georgie had cuts for firemen and policemen in his latest budget.

Get angry. Call your Congressman and Senators or e-mail them. You can find their information on www.congress.org. Just plug your zip into the box on the lefthand side. You can even e-mail them from that site.

[truthisfreedom]

7. it says truck, not trunk. i'm guessing locked in the glovebox. hummers

don't have trunks, per se.

[slackmaster]

8. Thanks, I need to get my eyes checked

Right you are. But the guy should have had the weapon under his control IMO.

[Bushies gotta go]

21. There is nothing unusual about this

Most off duty cops carry their weapons in their vehicles, within some sort of reach. He's on his way out of state. Should he have to wear a trench coat so that he can put his weapon on his hip? Can he not enjoy wearing "civilian clothes" like shorts and a t-shirt like the rest of us?

Fact of the matter is that it WAS under his control. He's got it with him. If he sees a crime being committed and takes action, he could retrieve his weapon and arm himself. But when you are standing at a gas pump and two guys come out pointing weapons, that weapon 10 feet away doesn't do you any good. In fact, in that scenario, if he were wearing the weapon on his hip, he may well have not even pulled it.

The crooks got the drop on him. What good would it have done for him to play the hero? It would have got him killed instead of a dented hummer.

I agree with the one poster who says "why is it alway us and them?". Victims are victims, regardless of their job.

[yellowcanine]

4. I don't think it's funny because I know that location. Guess I won't

be stopping there for gas, even though I don't have a Hummer.

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

9. They left the gun, but took all the Gvt secrets

he had in there, right?

[LiberalFighter]

12. You mean the SSN, DOB and names of Vets? Hmmmm

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

16. yep, that's what I mean

whose data got taken in this "random" crime

[Miss Chybil]

14. Why is it funny for someone to be victimized?

I hate this "us against them" attitude from everyone in this country. A crime victim is a crime victim is a crime victim no matter what they drive, or what party they belong to, or what church they go to - or don't go to - what color their skin is, or what sex they are. I guess we could be more sympathetic if his bicycle was stolen and he worked at the Goodwill store, right?

[IChing]

17. My apologies to all the Hummer owners here at DU

Sorry, but a Hummer? You got to be kidding me?

Let me show you a website about hummers.
http://www.fuh2.com/index.php

[Miss Chybil]

30. It's not the Hummer, it's the crime! It's a crime to rob somebody of

anything. Have you ever been robbed? Why does what somebody drives make them DESERVE to be a victim? That is the most hypocritical, idiotic reasoning I have ever heard here on DU. Absolutely ridiculous. I suppose, with your reasoning a stripper DESERVES to be raped, or somebody who wears the "wrong" color shirt into the "wrong" neighborhood DESERVES to be shot. We could go further than that - people who go to the "wrong" church, or synogogue DESERVE to be hearded into gas chambers. Or, perhaps, people whose homes are a bit too nice should have them burnt down. Being the victim of a crime is not funny, no matter what you drive, where you live, no matter what's in your wallet, or even if you have a wallet. And, no, I don't own a Hummer and I wouldn't ever buy one. That's not the point. Get over yourself.

[gratuitous]

19. It's not funny

However, when we contemplate the unending stream of nonsense out of this administration, about how Little Lord Pissypants' first job and priority is to protect America, it seems mickle ironic that a member of his own security force isn't immune to theft. And if a Secret Service agent can be carjacked, what chance do any of the rest of us have of not being victimized by crime?

Unless . . .

Unless we approach our society in a very different manner, and quit treating every third citizen as a potential criminal. Unless we decide that the overrich finally have enough money (for example, what in the world does Dick Cheney need with an additional $1.8 million from his tax refund), and that it's time to gear our society's rewards to a greater proportion of the population. Make sure folks have jobs that pay a decent wage, and that health care is not just available for a very high price but affordable as well. I could go on and on.

[IChing]

22. I'll remember what you said the next time the Secret Service takes

away my protest sign or anti-war T-shirt and removes me to a "free speech zone".

As far as hummers go

The H2 is a tax loophole. Under the current tax laws, business owners can deduct nearly half the cost of their H2s. If you are in the highest tax bracket, that's a tax savings of nearly $10,000! The government rewards you more savings for buying an H2 than you'd get for buying an electric car.

The H2 is a polluter. Based on G.M.'s optimistic claim that it gets13 mpg, an H2 will produce 3.4 metric tons of carbon emissions in a typical year, nearly double that of G.M.'s Chevrolet Malibu sedan.

The H2 is the ultimate poseur vehicle. It has the chassis of a Chevy Tahoe and a body that looks like the original Hummer; i.e. it's a Chevy Tahoe in disguise.

Sorry he got car-jacked but driving a hummer just advertises his poseur mentality.
So I do apologize to all DU hummer owners here a DU which is probable zero

[gratuitous]

23. Huh?

I was trying to make the point (and apparently quite badly) that our current obsession with "security" hasn't made us any safer if even a Secret Service agent can be car-jacked, and that maybe another approach is needed. One that doesn't let unreasoning fear take away protest signs or t-shirts.

:shrug:

[Miss Chybil]

31. You're right. It is ironic and it's sad none of us are immune to crime.

And yes, you could go on and on. But, the bottom line is crime is not funny. No matter who the victim.

[brentspeak]

15. Very few safe places in D.C. Unbelievably crime-ridden area

[WorseBeforeBetter]

24. You're joking, right?

I lived and worked in DC (or within 18 miles of DC) most of my adult life and had one minor incident: someone broke into my mailbox and stole a credit card application. Eeeek!

[drhilarius]

26. Not my DC...

I've walked through countless neighborhoods in DC in the dead of night. Like all places, it has its rough patches, but it certainly isn't a crime ridden cesspool (save, of course, for the assholes on Capitol Hill).

[Theres-a]

25. Paging Matcom!

This would be nice in the lounge,too.

[leftchick]

29. barely a scratch...

[Beausoir]

32. LOL! A woman I know got carjacked in her SUV. Hit on the head! LOL!!!

How hilarious. She suffers to this day from memory loss and PTSD. Isn't that just a hoot!!!

Those who drive anything other than a Prius DESERVE to be victimized, assaulted and injured!

:sarcasm:

[Bushies gotta go]

33. I couldn't figure out why you thought this was funny

Then finally, the "sarcasm" icon showed up just before I hit "reply" to begin telling you what a sick fnck you were. Phew, saved by the bell! :shrug: