Not really. Well, at least the employees aren't.
I saw a drug deal at Wendy's tonight. It was equally clever and stupid, all at the same time. I pulled in behind a car in the drive through line. There wasn't anyone ahead of us, so the white car before me pulled right up to the speaker to place an order. A man got out of the passenger seat and walked to a car pulled into a space at the very back of the parking lot. This was, of course, only about two car lengths from the drive through lane. He got in the passenger seat of the parked car (which had a man inside) and made his transaction. Meanwhile, the lady driving the car in front of me took FOREVER to place her order. It was obvious she was stalling. First she ordered a burger with so many changes that it filled the entire order screen. Then, she orderd a kids meal, made all the choices that came with it, then cancelled that and ordered an adult meal, and, well, you get the point. After about a minute or so, the guy walked back across the parking lot, got in the car, and they pulled forward.
I say it was clever because a fast food joint is expected to have a high volume of in and out traffic. Doing it while in the drive-thru lane was even better...I mean, who looks behind the restaurant? Nobody except for other drive-thru patrons, which is where the stupidity comes in. I sat behind them and watched all of this. Wrote down their tag number, make and model of their car, descriptions, time, etc. Anyone with a set of eyes and half a brain could tell what was going on. Granted, I don't know that I'll do anything. I didn't actually SEE drugs...just the exchange of something.
This is where I always get stuck -- do you call the police when you have no proof that something illegal happened? Do you wait for a second occurrence just to make sure that you're right? I don't want to seem presumptuous, but at the same time, I don't want it to keep happening.
I did act quickly one time, but to no avail. There was a very distinctive smell in my backyard, to the point it was overpowering. I had to come inside to catch my breath. It was meth. No doubt in my mind. I called the police and the fire department was here in the shortest amount of time I've ever seen. But of course, no smell when they got here. Are they keeping an eye out in the area now? I'd like to think so, but who knows. All I got was a group of firemen sniffing, literally, around my backyard. Upon leaving, the head guy told me to "keep a sniffer out." Righty-oh, will do.
Anyhow, I don't think it was a total waste to have them come out, but when something is so fleeting, here for a moment and gone the next, it's hard to get people involved. Even if I had called GPD about Wendy's, the people were gone.
Clearly, this is an ongoing question. I don't know why I'm so reluctant to call the police about some things...
1 comment:
Dayna -
Having been involved in law enforcement in some area or other for the past 11 years, you should definitely call the police whenever you see something like this happen. Give as much detail as you can about the persons involved, the vehicles, including the license plate. The police will probably send a car to see if the parked vehicle is still there and can go check the person out based on your information. It helps to give your name but its okay to remain anonymous. Here's the important thing: even if the police don't get there before everyone is gone, they now have the information, which they keep up with. They are now aware that a person in that vehicle was probably selling drugs and that people are selling drugs in the Wendy's parking lot. You'd be surprised at how that information can be used later, for example, if they know the vehicle's license tag, they know the address its registered to and can use the information you've given (along with other investigations) to get a search warrant for the owner's house. I see no disadvantage to calling it in, other than the five minutes you spend on the phone.
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