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Rudyjohn

SoWal Insider
Feb 10, 2005
7,744
233
Chicago Area
Liv's mom. Definitely call the sheriff's department and let them know. And please tell us what the sheiff's office says about the situation and let them know the date and time and location so they can track down the officer.

We've told our kids not to go with a police officer or even a security guard even at a mall/school because they could be fake officers or security guards. They should go to someone in charge at the store/principal's office and they should call us first. We tell them we'd stand by them if they got in trouble for not going with a guard/officer. I don't really know what they would do, but we've done our best to warn them. It's too bad we have to think like this, but after reading about sexual abuse in the churches, schools, and some people posing as officers to rob people or whatever, you can't be too careful. And, there are convicted sexual predators living in too many communities, including in vacation communities.

Oprah did a show once where she went to a park while parents were with their kids and, while the kids were playing behind them in the play yard, she asked the parents if they thought their kids would go with a stranger. Most parents said "no" and that they had told the kids to stay away from strangers. in the background, one of Oprah's staff members pretended to be someone asking the kids to come to his car to see the puppies (or something like that). Most kids went, even as their parents were saying they told their kids not to go with strangers. It was a very scary show.
I saw that show, too. I remember a few parents were saying that it scares their children to talk about such horrible things, and they preferred to "pad" the converstions. He bluntly said, "Believe me, it's better to scare the s**t out of your kids than to have them end up dead." That did it for me.
 

ShallowsNole

Beach Fanatic
Jun 22, 2005
4,292
849
Pt Washington
No he didn't seem to take it lightly at all. He was borderline skeptical, which is of course understandable. If you find out through your husband who the officer was, please don't post anything eluding to his identity. I'm sure as an officer's wife I don't have to remind you of the importance of discression. If it was a mistake, I don't want him to suffer any embarrasment over this whole thing. Thank you for the support.

Hubby didn't know who was in Inlet Beach Sunday afternoon, and since he has been on his "weekend" since Monday night, he hasn't been in contact with anyone to hear any scuttlebutt. But, rest assured that he is very sensitive to discretion - he has been in law enforcement for 23 years and has seen and heard it all. And I certainly don't want to embarrass anyone - many people from time to time make a serious error in judgment. My concern is the same as yours - hopefully an error in judgment is all it was.

One thing I thought about this morning...there are several security companies that operate in this area that put their security guards in uniform and paint their cars to resemble an official vehicle. The only thing that is required to work for these companies is a security guard license (can't remember what it's called right now - Class G?) and there may or may not be background checks involved, depending on the the company. To a nine-year old, there may not be a noticeable difference between one of these guys and a uniformed LEO. Not saying this is what happened, but it is a thought.

In any event, good luck and hug your girls for the rest of us. :love: As has been alluded to earlier in this thread, folks tend to think SoWal is Mayberry. I can assure you it isn't.
 

Liv'smom

Beach Lover
Oct 5, 2006
245
11
Inlet Beach
www.myspace.com
Hubby didn't know who was in Inlet Beach Sunday afternoon, and since he has been on his "weekend" since Monday night, he hasn't been in contact with anyone to hear any scuttlebutt. But, rest assured that he is very sensitive to discretion - he has been in law enforcement for 23 years and has seen and heard it all. And I certainly don't want to embarrass anyone - many people from time to time make a serious error in judgment. My concern is the same as yours - hopefully an error in judgment is all it was.

One thing I thought about this morning...there are several security companies that operate in this area that put their security guards in uniform and paint their cars to resemble an official vehicle. The only thing that is required to work for these companies is a security guard license (can't remember what it's called right now - Class G?) and there may or may not be background checks involved, depending on the the company. To a nine-year old, there may not be a noticeable difference between one of these guys and a uniformed LEO. Not saying this is what happened, but it is a thought.

In any event, good luck and hug your girls for the rest of us. :love: As has been alluded to earlier in this thread, folks tend to think SoWal is Mayberry. I can assure you it isn't.

ShallowsNole,
That is a possibility I hadn't thought of. The SO patrols my neighborhood at least twice a day, so I didn't even think about anything else. We don't have any kind of security that patrols, but it could be that someone was just driving around on their lunch break. It was around noon that this occured. Or, it was a freak cruising around looking for 2 little girls to snatch.:creepy: Maybe he got spooked and changed his mind. I shutter to think. Thank you for your take on it. Yet another thing we can all be on the look out for.
 

Smiling JOe

SoWal Expert
Nov 18, 2004
31,648
1,773
As I asked earlier, how do you know it was a real officer? Anyone can buy a Ford LTD , red and blue lights, a siren, uniform, gun, and a badge. Look no further than ebay to buy any badge you want. Even adults have been tricked by people pretending to be cops.

If it were me, I would want the full report, in case it was a cop who also happend to be up to bad, bad stuff. A criminal, lawfully wearing a badge, is no different than a bank robber being in charge of the bank vault for his night job.
 

Liv'smom

Beach Lover
Oct 5, 2006
245
11
Inlet Beach
www.myspace.com
As I asked earlier, how do you know it was a real officer? Anyone can buy a Ford LTD , red and blue lights, a siren, uniform, gun, and a badge. Look no further than ebay to buy any badge you want. Even adults have been tricked by people pretending to be cops.

If it were me, I would want the full report, in case it was a cop who also happend to be up to bad, bad stuff. A criminal, lawfully wearing a badge, is no different than a bank robber being in charge of the bank vault for his night job.

That's just it SJ, you don't ever know when it's a good guy or a bad guy. For all any of you know, I'm a perv who made up this whole story just to find out who of you has small children. I gain your trust as a concerned parent. I start asking questions about where your children go to school on the pretence that I am looking for a school for my child. I am in essence, grooming you to get to your child. Although I thought Shelly went about his/her comment in a harsh way, I did agree that it is ultimatley my responsibilty to make sure my kids are safe. I just wanted to make sure that "if" it was an officer, we could take them out of the equation by reminding them that it was inappropriate. We have to teach our children and obviously ourselves, to always be aware of what is going on. A parent is supposed to be the most trusted person in a childs life and how often do we see on the news where a parent has murdered, molested, or raped their child. Evil is everywhere. I thought I had my eyes wide open before, now I know they were half closed. Lesson learned.
 

Smiling JOe

SoWal Expert
Nov 18, 2004
31,648
1,773
good points. Thankfully, most people are good people with good intentions. As for sex offenders, I recall reading statistics that the majority know their victims and often they are friends or family members. I think we have to go through life with a hint of caution, a bucketfull of awareness, and a world of love, all while keeping our fingers crossed that all will be good in the end.
 

SHELLY

SoWal Insider
Jun 13, 2005
5,770
802
Although I thought Shelly went about his/her comment in a harsh way, I did agree that it is ultimatley my responsibilty to make sure my kids are safe.

Given the situation and the posted comments that I read up to the point of making my statement, I felt it needed to be said.

When it comes to a serious situation like this...like the cop on Oprah said, "it's better to scare the s*** out of the kids"--the same can be said for a well-placed blow with a 2x4 between the eyes of the parents to make the situation come into clear focus. You now know you can no longer be the "laid-back parent" you said you once were--not here, not now.
 
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Liv'smom

Beach Lover
Oct 5, 2006
245
11
Inlet Beach
www.myspace.com
Given the situation and the posted comments that I read up to the point of making my statement, I felt it needed to be said.

When it comes to a serious situation like this...like the cop on Oprah said, "it's better to scare the s*** out of the kids"--the same can be said for a well-placed blow with a 2x4 between the eyes of the parents to make the situation come into clear focus. You now know you can no longer be the "laid-back parent" you said you once were--not here, not now.

Shelly, Shelly, Shelly. Such violent tendencies. Should I be more frightened of you or my child's potential molester? JUST KIDDING:!: :!: :!: I will continue to be laid back. That is my personality, and believe me it took many years and some medication to become this person.
You have to understand my definition of laid back. I won't get into it, but I can assure you it isn't, "Go ahead and sit on "Uncle Gary's" lap honey. I know we don't know him, but it's okay." I'm just not a spaz, okay? Thank you as always, for your insightfulness. I always look forward to your posts.
 

Rudyjohn

SoWal Insider
Feb 10, 2005
7,744
233
Chicago Area
Shelly, Shelly, Shelly. Such violent tendencies. Should I be more frightened of you or my child's potential molester? JUST KIDDING:!: :!: :!: I will continue to be laid back. That is my personality, and believe me it took many years and some medication to become this person.
You have to understand my definition of laid back. I won't get into it, but I can assure you it isn't, "Go ahead and sit on "Uncle Gary's" lap honey. I know we don't know him, but it's okay." I'm just not a spaz, okay? Thank you as always, for your insightfulness. I always look forward to your posts.
Well, the rest of us knew what you meant. Laid back dosen't mean negligent.;-)
 
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