This afternoon my wife and I were taking a lunchtime stroll when we came across a gentleman who was walking up to cars and trying to open the doors. He was clearly trying to find unlocked cars to steal things from and since there have been a lot of thefts from cars in my town recently I decided to call the police.
For my safety, I walked about half a block away before calling the police. I had been less than 10 feet away form this individual in broad daylight on a clear sunny day and I was making the call less than a minute after seeing him.
Turns out, I was not especially helpful. I could describe the man's general appearance but had no memory of his clothes. My wife remembered that he was wearing a white t-shirt, neither of us could remember what color or style his pants were.
About 10 minutes after my initial call to the police, I received a phone call from a police corporal. They had sent a car to the scene and found somebody who matched my description. The police officer asked me if I could verify the man's pants. I said I could not and apologized. It turns out the suspect they had picked up was wearing bright red pants: if that was the guy, I had missed a pretty flamboyant article of clothing.
So there you go. I trust Lawende et al a little bit less today than I did yesterday.
For my safety, I walked about half a block away before calling the police. I had been less than 10 feet away form this individual in broad daylight on a clear sunny day and I was making the call less than a minute after seeing him.
Turns out, I was not especially helpful. I could describe the man's general appearance but had no memory of his clothes. My wife remembered that he was wearing a white t-shirt, neither of us could remember what color or style his pants were.
About 10 minutes after my initial call to the police, I received a phone call from a police corporal. They had sent a car to the scene and found somebody who matched my description. The police officer asked me if I could verify the man's pants. I said I could not and apologized. It turns out the suspect they had picked up was wearing bright red pants: if that was the guy, I had missed a pretty flamboyant article of clothing.
So there you go. I trust Lawende et al a little bit less today than I did yesterday.
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