Ladue Residents Need to Use Extra Caution If Being Approached
Two men have approached Litzsinger Road residents posing as American Water workers.
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Just this week, a resident on Litzsinger Road was approached by two men posing as American Water workers. They tried to gain access to the home claiming they needed to check under all the bathroom sinks for contaminants.
Residents of Ladue should take extra precaution if being approached this way. This occurred in the 10000 block of Litzsinger Road on July 30.
American Water reported they had no workers in the area at that time. The resident refused entry to the two men. One of the men was wearing an orange shirt and the other a hard hat.
Similar incidents have been previously reported in Creve Coeur and Sunset Hills.
If you have any information concerning this type of incident, contact Det. Ray Hahs at 314-212-2216 or call the Ladue Police Department at 314-993-1214.
A
10:09 am on Thursday, August 2, 2012
The fact that the two men were Hispanic has nothing to do with the story and only perpetuates racial stereotypes. Most reputable journalistic mediums have policies in place to not identify the race of the perpetrator unless it is completely pertinent to the police search, and only if the perp has several NON-CHANGEABLE characteristics (tattoo, etc.) which could then help identify him/her along with the race. This is not the case in this article, and thanks to this particular lead, any Hispanic resident in Ladue now faces prejudice because there are apparently two Hispanic people on the loose trying to break into homes. As if there aren't literally millions of Hispanic people in this country-- how does knowing that two of them robbed somebody help anybody? That's not going to help us find them.
Kurt Greenbaum
10:19 am on Thursday, August 2, 2012
You are right and that's why I removed that reference — actually, before I saw your comment. Thank you fo reading and your comment is actually right on the money with our policy.
Kate
10:46 am on Thursday, August 2, 2012
I personally would rather know in case the same men are continuing to do this. I am tired of everyone having to be "PC" as to offend anyone. If the man was white would you be offended? Probably not. The purpose was to inform all the people that are being approached or may be in those areas. Can't stand it when people focus on the wrong message!
Kurt Greenbaum
10:51 am on Thursday, August 2, 2012
I appreciate your comment, Kate. Thank you. It conforms with what our guidelines are: We want to inform, and a vague description like "hispanic" or "white" doesn't narrow down the suspect pool — so it's not very informative or helpful.
George Fonyo
11:00 am on Thursday, August 2, 2012
Any helpful identification is a positive. If it's a caucasian with a foreign accent it would be helpful to a potential victim. Give all the assistance you can be it white, black or tan.
Katharine P. Rose
12:35 pm on Thursday, August 2, 2012
What does mentioning color or race when describing suspicious individuals have to do with racism? They are what they are and any descriptive details are crucial when trying to identify a criminal.
Kurt Greenbaum
1:39 pm on Thursday, August 2, 2012
Putting aside the issue of whether it is about racism, let me address your question from another point of view. If I describe a suspect as a white man or a black man or a Hispanic man (whatever that means), how is that helpful to you — or anyone?
There are a lot of black men and white men out there (and frankly, I don't know what a "Hispanic" man looks like. I've seen a lot of men who are from Spanish-speaking countries and I am challenged to find a way to lump them into a category).
The bottom line is: The description is not useful because it really doesn't give you anything specific to look for. I'm certain in this enlightened day and age we don't want to look askance at every person of color who walks down the street, right?
If the police had provided better descriptive information with more detail, then the color of his skin would help. Suppose they could say something like this: "A 5-foot-7 black man weighing about 200 pounds with a bushy afro and a tattoo on his neck"? Then, I would see skin color as a useful part of the description.
I'm sure I won't convince everyone, but that's my point of view. We're trying to be helpful. "Hispanic man" isn't. We would happily report additional descriptive information if the police could provide it.
TOM CORI
1:34 pm on Thursday, August 2, 2012
Kurt Greenbaum, when you are robbed or mugged, do not give the police any description that would help catch the perp. "He was short", oh so you hate midgets.
Thank you for keeping Ladue safe.
Katharine P. Rose
1:48 pm on Thursday, August 2, 2012
Thanks for the clarification Kurt! I did not read the original article before you edited it and now understand the point!
Earl Higgins
3:33 pm on Thursday, August 2, 2012
Kurt is right. Think about it this way. If two Asian men now came to your house, with the same claim as the men described in this article, would you be like, "Well, they must be legit, after all they aren't Hispanic!"
Of course not. You would be just as guarded as you would be if they were any other ethnicity (at least I hope so). Therefore, that detail is useless and even distracting. You need to be on the lookout for people committing this crime, not people of a particular appearance.
It has absolutely nothing to do with being PC, it has to do with warning people about that which will help them be safe! It's just common sense, it's not a "PC conspiracy" so please don't pretend that it is.