Officers from West Midlands Police have shared their frustration after a resident threatened to clamp their police car for parking in a residents bay, despite the fact that the officers had been called to an emergency.
Response team officers had been sent to a residential address after a 94-year-old victim called 999 having been the victim of a distraction burglary.
A distraction burglary is committed when someone tricks their way into a victim’s property before stealing their personal belongings.
Distraction burglars often target the vulnerable and the elderly and the police will treat such calls with the urgency which they deserve.
When officers arrived at the victims address, the suspect was leaving the property and was arrested by officers.
The quick reaction time of the responding officers meant that the suspect was able to be detained before leaving the victims address.
However, not everyone living in the area was particularly appreciative of the fact that the police had just collared what many people believe to be the lowest of the low when it comes to criminals.
After officers had finished their initial investigation, including spending time with the 94-year-old giving the victim some much-needed reassurance, they returned to their response vehicle only to find that someone took exception to the fact that the police had parked in a private bay as they raced to detain the suspect and assist the elderly victim.
A tweet shared on the @ResponseWMP Twitter page said:
“Solihull, B Unit attended reports of a distraction burglary in progress in Shirley.
“As officers arrived, the offender opened the door of the address and was swiftly arrested.
‘We then spent some time completing an investigation and safeguarding the 94-year-old victim.
“This meant that we had to park our car in a parking space. It was parked professionally and considerately.
“Unfortunately, not all members of the public appreciate the good work we do.
“When at incidents, we do have to park our car. Wherever we are we are always there for a reason”.
However, what the would-be clamper does not realise, is that they could end up on the wrong side of the law for ‘obstructing a police constable in the execution of their duty’ should they decide to disable a police car by fitting a clamp to it…
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What sort of brain dead idiot does this, I’m fed up with the way our service people are treated,u
Words fail me, how can someone be so self absorbed to take the time to write and place this drivel on a Police car?
You know, a ‘person’ like this would probably also be the type to complain when police are late to their call because some other ‘person’ decided to disable a vehicle. I also apologise to every genuine person out there, I like to try and be diplomatic but I understand classifying them as a ‘person’ may be seen as an insult to genuine people.
Surely if the resident did call a clamper, the clamper would just laugh and tell them to take a walk….?
If the writer had their own clamp and used it,they would be committing an offence by clamping ANY vehicle-so how do you like them plums you idiot!