A Reminder to Talk to Your Kids About Talking to Strangers and Salesmen (UPDATED 1.19.12)
If you're a member of the Southwood Park Facebook group, you've read some posts about a suspicious man over the weekend. It is a reminder that we should all speak to our children about using caution around strangers passing through.I just spoke with our FWPD Liaison Officer, Rick Brummett about the two incidents involving a strange man speaking to, or watching kids.
One was Saturday, January 7th, and one was Sunday, January 8th - both near Indiana-Prange-Sherwood in the early afternoon. Both calls had units respond, but the person of interest wasn't found. A white man, one was described as 30s, the other 20s. Both had knit caps, and green or dark sweatshirts. Saturday was described as the man giving money to kids. Sunday, possibly asking kids for money.A photo of the suspect, taken on that Saturday by a concerned adult as the suspect was confronted by a parent, is included on the left. It's a small photo, but it will help you get an idea.Captain Haffner of FWPD has messaged patrols to pay extra attention looking for this character. Officer Brumett will also message patrols and speak to our security patrol folks at APS at the first opportunity. I will e-mail them ASAP now that I have more complete information.If you notice someone acting suspiciously, please call FWPD at 427-1222 or 911.UPDATED: The Board discussed this issue at last night's meeting. Based on observations of other people in the neighborhood, there was at least one man on Saturday walking the neighborhood as a "replacement window" estimator. He wasn't carrying ID, clipboard, or carrying brochures. He was wearing a sweatshirt with an unknown corporate logo.Don't deal with unknown salesmen without visible ID! Since a person could buy such a used sweatshirt secondhand, please phone police (427-1222 or 911) after you've observed a suspicious window salesman. It could be someone "casing" the neighborhood.--- Steve McCord
