Heading to the baseball field for a game, peanuts and that familiar tune when the pitcher is winding up to pitch and the batter plants his feet to swing is a popular pastime here in the United States, where the game originated. However, playing an impromptu game of “swing-a-bat” and striking the windows of a parked vehicle in a multifamily community’s parking lot is not our idea of fun.
Here’s how Stealth helped to deter further damage to a parked vehicle from a bat-wielding woman.
At 8:39 a.m., a highly trained Stealth monitoring operator saw a woman wearing a white t-shirt and black pants and carrying a baseball bat approach a blue car parked in a multifamily community’s parking lot. She raised and swung the bat violently a few times, each time striking a windowed portion of the car.
As the woman walked away from the car, swinging the bat by her side, our operator contacted police. Dispatch informed our operator that officers were already in route, so the call was ended. However, our operator kept watch on the situation.
A police cruiser arrived and parked adjacent to the car. An officer exited and walked over to assess the damage to the bat-beaten car. Another police cruiser arrived, and two more officers walked toward the car. Joining together, all three officers followed in the path of the woman, made contact, spoke with and arrested her.
How Stealth’s Proactive, Preventative Security Solution Helped Create Valuable Evidence
As the multifamily industry continually changes and evolves, one thing remains: when problems, issues or incidents are identified and remedied quickly, the happier the residents and the more successful the community is and remains. With live video monitoring, damage to property assets and resident property, such as their vehicle, is usually deterred. They often end in police arriving while the suspect is still there, and the incident is in progress.
Additionally, because our solution includes high-definition video cameras, recorded data can be offered to authorities, the community’s insurance companies to help prevent liability, as well as to affected residents for evidence.
This “Bat Woman” isn’t fighting crime; she’s fighting windshields. While it’s unclear why she had a vendetta against the parked, blue car, this situation illustrates how Stealth caught the behavior, acted and followed through in making sure the situation was deterred. When our operator saw the individual’s abnormal behavior, police were immediately called. Dispatch let our operator know that officers were already on their way to the property and the call was disconnected.
Our operator went a step further and continued to watch the situation play out through Stealth’s advanced analytics that came pre-programmed onto the cameras deployed at this property. The operator concluded watching when officers had made direct contact with the suspect as this situation was no longer posing a threat to the community.
Because our solution produced recorded video data of this incident, it is likely that the community will not be held liable for this incident as it was no fault of theirs. This helps to encourage the community to figure out the owner of the vehicle and be proactive in contacting him or her to show recorded video evidence of the incident.
The vehicle owner can also use this video data by giving a copy to a lawyer as well as his/her insurance company to help get the vehicle repaired. Additionally, because police were involved and intercepted the suspect, there will be a police report to use as well, perhaps with the suspect’s name and other helpful information.
For a resident to know that the community has their back in all situations – even when it comes to parked vehicles – increases residents’ trust and overall happiness in their choice to reside at that community. This helps the community retain a positive reputation, fewer vacancies and monetary success.
Contact our multifamily security experts to discuss how Stealth can help deter similar situations on your property.
