Then we go downstairs and calls a second officer in, and he does the exact same thing. I give him the same answers, while the first officer searches the house. The second one makes sure he has my attention while he talks to me. Then they both leave, and he says that they'll be back later. Seems the first officer told the second something about my hearing problem, which made things easier.
While the first officer is looking around, the second officer puts his fingers to his lips, points to his eyes and me, and says to me to not say anything, but to listen to him. I do that, and I do have a much better chance of understanding and communicating with him.
Outside, he the inside of my car with a flashlight, and asks me a couple questions about it. He again says a few things I miss and my next-door neighbor, who has been around since they came up, tells me what they said, and they leave. My neighbor says that when they came up, they were checking the windows, before they knocked, and he told them not to shoot no matter what, and said that I was deaf, and that he could help out in communications. He was told by the officers that they will handle it and not to follow them inside. How would things have been had I not had the dog? This officer was told by two people, my neighbor and I, about my hearing problem. Yet, he made no move to make sure I understood him, not even to make sure he had my attention. The second officer did a very good job, and I understood everything he said. The second officer also talked with a family friend who lives across the street from us, and she said that he asked about my computer habits and a few other things. Had my neighbor been inside helping out, things would have been a little different.
I was told later on that the second officer talked with an older family friend who lives across the street. Seems she was asked by the second officer about what she knew about what I did with computers and so on. Two days later, Thursday, October 14, Detective G. and Detective P. come by to talk about what happened. I tell them basically the same story that I told the two cops, and we go up to my room. They look over the computer equipment I have, and I tell them where I got my equipment. They get the serial numbers on my two IBM 8515 monitors, IBM PS/ValuePoint 425SX computer, and the keyboard that is on it. I tell them that the tower 386 is built from parts that I got from hamfests. They then say that we're going to my storage, and then we go to see what I have there. I also show them the file datestamps that are on the files on the hard drives of both systems. Before going, I ask them about what had happened out at the office building, and he shows me the arrest warrant that he had taken out on me, though I didn't get much of a chance to read it closely. I ask him if anything was stolen, and he says that there was none. If there was nothing stolen, then why are they giving me trouble about my equipment? Why did they go through my storage, though they knew that I had a misunderstanding with the officer about that bag-box thing?
Upon arrival, they take a look inside. I have a Toshiba copier and an Apple Laserwriter NT laser printer, which were obtained by a trade at a hamfest, as well as other items that are in boxes and some that are not. Detective G., after looking at the copier, says that the serial number has been taken off, and says that it is an offense. They take a look at my laserprinter, after taking it out of the box, and check the number on it.Det. P. puts the laser printer on the floor, and checks the serial number while Det. G. takes the box out of my storage bin after writing the number on the box. As time goes by, Det. G. starts going through my entire storage bin, while Det. P. stands by. After Det. G. is done, we leave the storage bin, I lock up, and we leave, and Det. G. has my laserprinter box. Det. G. then tells me that he does not want me to go to my storage bin, to remove items or put items in there, until he says it's ok. I later find out that one of the cleaning crew, as I left, said that I should wait for the police, which I did not even hear. And see where this misunderstanding with the "cop" goes? Whatever happened to my interpreter as dictated by the ADA law?
October 25th, I get a call from Det. G., and we talk on the TTY, and he says that he wants to meet me at my storage at 2:00pm. One phrase he uses on the TTY is "I have some good news..." I meet him, with Det. P. and another person, a technician, there at that time, and go up to storage. They look some more, through all my boxes, and the technical person is looking at a listing, and says that the copier, laserprinter, and a software package are all stolen, and have altered/missing serial numbers. I didn't get a chance to to understand what this technical person said. After talking with Det. G. about it, we go back home, and talk about it.
