The Bitter Buffalo

I live in a small neighborhood, with about a hundred homes in it. It's small enough that I know most of my neighbors by sight. I know, for instance, that there are a handful of teenagers in the neighborhood, of which most are polite and relatively harmless. I also know that at least one of them, a kid who lives with his parents about four houses up the street from me, has a bit of a drug problem. I know this because it's a small neighborhood. People gossip. My wife heard it at a neighborhood function, from a reliable source: his family moved here to get him away from the drug culture in which he had immersed himself in the city from where they came.

I don't think it's working. He is frequently seen moping about the neighborhood, often on his cell phone, occasionally smoking, seemingly up to no-good, sullen and defensive looking. He flipped off my wife one day when she beeped at him to get out of the middle of the road. We've never actually seen him do drugs, but he was arrested in his house when his father (or grandfather, I can't remember which) called police to report a $50 Wal-Mart gift card had been stolen from his mother's purse. This was a matter of public record; it was reported in the local newspaper.

Our neighborhood also has a self-appointed "communications director" (my description, not hers), a ten-year plus neighborhood resident who emails neighborhood-related bulletins to every family that has provided an email address. Her bulletins usually involve details of the next "Ladies' Night," a night when I get to be babysitter for a night while the ladies of the neighborhood shoot tequila and gossip.

A couple days ago, she sent an email to everyone indicating one of our neighbors, a Raleigh K-9 police officer, had been robbed. Someone had broken into his K-9 unit (which had been parked in his driveway) driven it around, then parked it on his lawn. "Items" were stolen from it, too, apparently. Then, the perpetrator broke into the victim's wife's car and stole some more "items."

Predictably, this email triggered a flurry of "Reply to All" emails from concerned neighbors, reminding us to call 911 if we see anything suspicious and suggesting a Neighborhood Watch meeting be called, as soon as possible. Someone even sent an email describing how, the night before, she saw flashlights in a house under construction that turned out to be cops! Yes, cops!

(Now might be a good time to point out that even though every house in our neighborhood has a garage, only about half of the people -- including the K-9 police officer -- actually use them to store their cars. Apparently, using your garage for the reason it was intended has become unfashionable and nobody told me about it.)

Because the criminal left the car in the victim's front yard, speculation centered on one of the "several 16-18 year old teenagers" who live in the neighborhood (of which, by my count, there are maybe six) and who have been in trouble with the law before (of which, by my knowledge, there is just one).

Sure enough, the K-9 officer himself, the victim in this senseless property crime, sent the following email the next day:

"John Rutledge was arrested in the break in and larceny of my police car and other items. We recovered all the items that were stolen. John's residence is at 103 Wall Creek Dr. He is a teenager that has caused problems many times before. Due to his arrest on these charges, he should spend some time in prison.

"I think we definitely need to have a community watch meeting. I would be glad along with the Rolesville Police to put it together. In the mean time, if you see anything unusual always call 911."

The perpetrator's name was highlighted, bolded, and in a larger font than the rest of the message. He was not, as it turned out, the same kid who lives on my street and of whom I immediately thought when the story broke.

Almost immediately, another neighbor sent an email chastising the victim's decision to send the child's name and address to the whole neighborhood because, as she put it, "the parents have had enough already." It was bad enough for them, she said, that the cops spent hours in front of their house.

Forgive me, but that woman is full of shit.

If a criminal is doing criminal things in my neighborhood, I want to know about it. And if he or she is caught, I want to know about it, too. ESPECIALLY if the criminal lives in my neighborhood! If his parents have a criminal living under their roof, I am sure they have much more important things to be concerned about than whether the neighbors know about it.

There is, of course, more to the story (as I learned when I looked at the front page of this morning's N&O).

The "items" stolen (and later recovered) included 10 pounds of marijuana, 33 grams of heroin, 250 grams of cocaine and 11 grams of methamphetamine. In addition, the kid stole three disabled revolvers, shooting blanks, dynamite, a cash box, a camera, a black police bag, black gloves and several dog toys.

Dog toys! The boy stole dog toys from a cop! For that reason and that reason alone, he should go to prison!

Rutledge will, indeed, be punished for his hooliganism. But perhaps my K-9 cop neighbor ought to be disciplined for the lack of common sense that led him to think it was OK to park a car filled with 10 pounds of marijuana, 33 grams of heroin, 250 grams of cocaine and 11 grams of methamphetamine, three disabled revolvers, shooting blanks, dynamite, a cash box, a camera, a black police bag, black gloves and several dog toys IN HIS DRIVEWAY INSTEAD OF HIS GARAGE.

Or am I off base on this one?

That was my question: what the hell is the cop doing with all of these drugs in his car? Someone should call 911!