Brazen thieves target District of Columbia police cruisers and officers’ homes, stealing high-powered weapons and expensive equipment, according to D.C. police sources.
Last week, 19-year-old Shawn Grant of D.C. was sentenced to more than four years in prison for breaking into an officer’s Northeast Washington home in February, stealing $15,000 worth of his family’s belongings, including the officer’s off-duty Glock 9 mm handgun.
At least five police cruisers have been broken into in the last month, according to police reports. Three were cars parked at police stations, and two were at the officers’ homes. All of the cruisers belonged to the officers in the emergency response team, who carry extra equipment.
“The [thieves] were definitely following the cruisers, watching and waiting,” said one detective who asked not to be identified because he did not have permission from his supervisor.
D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier has ordered police cars to be equipped with alarms and Global Positioning System trackers that would allow the vehicles to be traced if they are stolen, spokeswoman Traci Hughes said. She said 10 Metropolitan Police Department cruisers had been broken into in the last 2 1/2 years, but there were several in August. She wasn’t able to confirm the exact number late Wednesday.
In July, the FBI arrested a 15-year-old boy in connection with the theft of a cache of weapons from an FBI sport utility vehicle in Capitol Hill.
Seven weapons, including high-powered rifles, as well as ammunition and body armor were stolen.
A teen also stole a gun out of the holster from an armed security guard at a shoe store recently.
When police captured Grant, they recovered two high-powered rifles and a .50-caliber pistol, according to court documents. It’s unclear from thedocuments where the rifles were obtained.
The detective said he did not know the reason the teens targeted law enforcement officers.
smccabe@dcexaminer.com
