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Thread: Alleged Stalker turns out to be Private Investigator

  1. #41
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    Lightbulb Preinvestigation could save face & more...........

    Quote Originally Posted by Fergus Falls Daily Journal
    Minnesota Monday, May 12, 2003

    Gun shots came from confused father
    By Jim Sturgeon

    A report of a gun shot fired during a disturbance Friday afternoon turned out to be a shot into the air, not aimed at anyone, said Otter Tail County Sheriff Brian Schlueter.
    The gun was fired by the father of a woman who believed she was being stalked. It turns out a private investigator, apparently working on a worker's compensation investigation, was the one who was following the woman and watching her house southwest of Orwell Lake, Schlueter said.

    The woman called her father, who came up behind the private investigator as the he was following his daughter's car. The father followed the investigator until he pulled over, and as the father approached the investigator's car, the investigator took off. The father yelled at him to stop and fired a gun into the air.
    No one was injured in the incident.
    Here is the entire news article as it appeared on May 12, 2003, including a typo, which is indicative of a small town newspaper and community mindset. After I read through this thread topic, I had several questions. I wanted more information, so I did some research, including accessing this article.

    In an effort to get an overall picture of the community, and the lay of the land; I gathered information from the Chamber of Commerce, and then also figured I use Terafly, another wonderfull investigative tool I received by reading through a variety of forums.

    To my dismay I had problems with it (Terafly), and will address those problems, but in the meantime I got a good idea of the lay of the land of this community by just researching the towns Chamber of Commerce listings, and by viewing some of the homes listed with Century 21, amongst other things.

    My conclusions, are that this is a very small tight knit community, and especially the area referred to in the article. This puts in perspective the reaction of the father, although by no means justifies his dislodging a firearm, even if just into the air, however this is not unusual behavior in this type of setting, and under the circumstances. If you have ever lived in a rural area you know what I say is true.

    Put in perspective however, and being a protective father, I can somewhat understand his reaction. Remember he thought his daughter was being stalked, and wanted to send a strong & clear message that couln't be ignored by the man perceived as a danger to his daughter.

    Yelling at the suspected stalker I'll call 911, would not be much of a deterrent, whereas firing a shot certainly gives a pretty undeniable message. I could not view the actual location without spending much more time than I want to at this gesture. I can well imagine that the location is quite unpopulated, due to my prior reasearch. For one thing, a town with only two funeral homes is quite small.

    The reaction of law enforcement also seems to concur that no laws were actually broken, and that it was simply referred to as an incident.

    For me it puts everything into a different light when I consider all the various details involved. I believe that this insurance company investigator was unprofessional, sloppy, and unprepared by not doing his homework in the first place.

    Haste makes Waste. I venture a guess that this individual was not, or is not a member of IPIU either. We can here at IPIU can go into this profession with our eyes wide open, and are given every available tool to learn how to investigate before the actual surveillance, and to cover all our bases.

    That angry father may have done that investigator a bigger favor than one might think. We must always think 5 steps ahead before we act, as being discovered puts the entire profession into an unfavorable light, and can put an investigator and or agency out of business.

    In this information age, with everything available at our fingertips through the internet, there really is no excuse to not be thorough. Do your homework, ahead of time and be careful out there.
    Dabra J Grant "DJ"
    "Knowledge is Power." Francis Bacon

  2. #42
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    Hey Dabra:

    Great investigative work. As a mother, I would kill or die for either of my children, as would my husband, their father. So I understand the father's actions if I don't condone them, because what goes up must come down. Besides that bullet could have gone as far as 18 football fields and still had the power to kill someone. But that's neither here nor there. Your investigation was terrific.

    Jackie

  3. #43
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    Great Article,
    These are the kinds of situations that we all need to be cautious of.....


  4. #44
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    Great story. Funny but informative. I liked it I know that there are risked going into any job and now I'll know to keep my eyes and ears open if only for a routine surveillance job Thanks for the info.

  5. #45
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    Great story.

  6. #46
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    Cool Alleged Stalker

    Thank you Robert for the great story, kind of wants you to stop and think and observe everything around you.

  7. #47
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    Be Prepared

    I 100% agree with Robert Donovan. It is a great lesson for us.

  8. #48


    What a great reminder, you can never be too careful with anything your doing.



    Patti

  9. #49

    Thumbs up Thanks Michael !

    Quote Originally Posted by Michael J Johnson

    BTW, if anyone wants to find out more about self-defense from someone who's been there, check out my friends' website:

    http://www.nononsenseselfdefense.com...setraining.htm
    Thank you for sharing that website, Michael. After exploring it briefly I bookmarked it for further reading. I especially was interested in the info on conflict avoidance and escalation of violence. Interesting stuff. I plan on returning to the site to cull through and make notes so I can print up a little "guideline" to pass on to my kids.

    Pam

  10. #50
    There are two things to consider here:
    One is that a private investigator's life is in danger on certain cases such as this...leading to the question: should we carry a firearm?? I believe that this depends upon the case and what activities (such as surveillance) are involved.
    The other is that perhaps a female investigator would have been a better choice here, considering the person being followed was a female. Then if the investigator was ever suspected of following the subject they would not have been viewed as a threat (at least not as much as a male would have been).

  11. #51
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    Thanks Robert for posting this article. It's a reminder of how dangerous it is out their and we need to be alert and aware at all times.

    Katrina

  12. #52
    Todd Heddleson -'s Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by William Brassfield
    Just when you thought only the repo man gets shot at.
    I understand your point, but, i'm sorry this was just in poor taste.

  13. #53
    Todd Heddleson -'s Avatar
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    stalker

    as I said before keep space bettween you and the person you are watching.

  14. #54
    Todd Heddleson -'s Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Don Menard
    Will,

    Funny!

    This is a great reminder for all. No matter what the job there still is a possibility of trouble.

    as a ex cop I don't see the humor in this. we don't need another brother shot!!

  15. #55
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    Great topic for a forum. Did the case go to court or was it all for nothing? I would hope all of his ability to remain unnoticed would count for something.

  16. #56
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    In school to learn & practice our surveillance techniques one training method used was to go to a mall, pick out a subject & follow them thru-out their shopping excursion noting times, places they went, Etc. We were to follow them until they went to their car & got there license plate number. Than you would go to a different mall & start all over again. That was just one of our training exercises. It was really helpful. I just wanted to share that. Michele

  17. #57
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    This is another great post that should be used as a preparation tool for those of us trying to break into the business. I've been paying close attention to posts like these and making notes accordingly. I know I will not be prepared for everything that may come my way, but learning from what other people have done, is helping pave the way for me. Thanks for the post.
    Harrison
    Badge#10733

  18. #58
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    Consider notifying local authorities in advance when conducting surveillance, to avoid embarassing, cover blowing situations.....Telephoto lenses work great also when trying to keep distance between the tail and target, and often eliminate the chance of a bullet

    Ed Dufresne

  19. #59
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    THis post is great for experience. A PI must be on his/her toes at all times. Not only do you have to have the ability to trail somebody and not be seen, you must use your own senses to realize if somebody is aware of you. This goes to show how dangerous people can be if they beleive they are in danger themselves.

    JW

  20. #60
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    Keep an eye out for a situation thats turning bad...so you have time to walk away. If its too late for that...run! Its a lot funner to go to someone elses trial than your own. Explaining self defense is never a good time and can always go wrong. You never know...

  21. #61
    Richard Moschetti Jr's Avatar
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    I've done surveillance on workers comp. cases. Most investigation agencies forbid their investigators from carrying a firearm for insurance purposes. They don't want to pay for the higher premium to have armed investigators. They expect you to flee the scene if confronted by someone armed. Last time I checked I wasn't superman. No'one can outrun a bullet.

  22. #62
    Michael Harris is offline Lifetime Professional Management Member

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    Richard,

    If the insurance companies do not want armed investigators, it might be time to invest in top-of-the-line body armor.
    Michael E. Harris

    Badge #6718

  23. #63
    Anne Friedland -'s Avatar
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    Cool WOW I have a Deja VU

    I had a scary similar experience about 10 years ago. I was on a Repo Mission at a Cleveland laundromat. When we took this guys Cadillac, he freaked pulled a gun and wildly started firing. I got grazed in my left arm I went to the Hospital and they packed it and said it would heal. i went to Florida and it was infected!!! I almost lost my arm.
    The moral: BE REALLY AWARE OF YOUR SURROUNDINGS!

  24. #64
    Michael Harris is offline Lifetime Professional Management Member

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    Anne,

    I see two morals:
    1. Be very aware of your surroundings
    2. Find a decent hospital

    We are glad that you survived and are here with us.

  25. #65
    Marcus Fletcher is offline Lifetime Professional Management Member


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    Re: Alleged Stalker turns out to be Private Investigator

    Thanks for the info.

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