Downtown Brownwood Crime

Police unresponsive to downtown burglaries, business owners say
Several downtown Brownwood business owners are frustrated that an increase in the use of video surveillance by the businesses does not appear to be helping solve recent crimes. Two property owners say police have shown little interest in viewing crim...
5.2K - Aug. 23, 2001; scored 635.0 Brownwood Bulletin
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FRIDAY, AUGUST 24, 2001 6:40 P.M.

HONORABLE VIRGIL COWIN,
BROWNWOOD CHIEF OF POLICE
BROWNWOOD, TEXAS 76801

DEAR CHIEF COWIN,

THANK YOU FOR YOUR PHONE CALL TODAY AT 10:47 A.M REGARDING THE FRONT PAGE CRIME STORY THAT APPEARED IN THE THURSDAY, AUGUST 23RD, BROWNWOOD BULLETIN .
I’M SORRY THAT I DIDN’T HAVE MORE TIME TO COMMUNICATE WITH YOU, BUT
THIS DOES HAPPEN TO BE ONE OF THE BUSIEST TIMES FOR A RESTAURANT. OUR CUSTOMERS WERE LINING UP AT THE DOOR AS WE SPOKE !
I DO HOWEVER RECALL MANY OF THE LECTURED COMMENTS YOU MADE REGARDING THE ARTICLE AND MY TAPED NIGHTTIME ACTIVITIES IN THE DOWNTOWN BUSINESS DISTRICT.
YOU EXPRESSED CONCERN THAT THE FACTS IN THE ARTICLE WE’RE UNTRUE AND THAT MANY PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY DISAGREED WITH THE ARTICLE. IS THAT CORRECT ? I ALSO STATED, TO YOU, THAT I FELT THE STORY WAS BASED ON FACT AND THAT I KNEW OF MANY IN THE COMMUNITY THAT FELT THE SAME WAY. EXACTLY WHAT FACTS WERE UNTRUE ? IF MEMORY SERVES ME CORRECT YOU HAD TWO “NO COMMENTS” IN THIS STORY.
YOU ALSO STATED THAT NEITHER YOU, NOR YOUR OFFICERS,EVER KNEW A TAPE EXISTED OF THE TAPED, EARLY MORNING, ALLEY ACTIVITIES. I’M ATTACHING A PORTION OF THE EMAIL FROM MARY STANLEY THAT I RECEIVED REGARDING THIS ISSUE.

Subject:
[Fwd: burglary at 516 Center Street Sunday evening]
Date:
Tue, 14 Aug 2001 21:12:14 +0100
From:
Mary Stanley
To:
Steve Puckett or Steve Harris
To:
vcowin@ci.brownwood.tx.us
CC:
"Stanley, Brownwood"

My name is Mary Stanley. My property was stolen from this address
sometime
Sunday evening or Monday morning. Steve Harris has a video tape of some
fellow prying around the alley who fits the description of a guy who was
hanging around while we worked on the weekend. It is now 3:25 Monday
afternoon and no one from your office has been by Steve's to get the
tape or
pictures. I called your office at noon and the fellow who talked to me
wasn't even aware of the burglary. He said he would send someone right
over.
It is three hours later. Meanwhile my equipment is missing and probably
being sold. This is the second robbery I have experienced in Brownwood
since
February. I have had over $20,000 worth of stuff stolen
__________________________________________.
This last event cost me nearly $2,000.00. I would like to see
a little action or does downtown need to hire it's own police force?

I also wanted to know if anyone from your office followed up on the
stolen
credit card usage I turned in which is related to the first burglary.

I UNDERSTAND BY YOUR COMMENT TODAY, THAT YOUR COMPUTER WAS ON THE BLINK ON THAT DAY AND THAT YOU NEVER RECEIVED THE ABOVE E-MAIL. IS THAT CORRECT ?

IT’S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT NUMEROUS LONG DISTANCE PHONE CALLS AND CELL PHONE CALLS WERE PLACED BY MRS STANLEY TO YOUR DEPARTMENT DIRECTING YOUR STAFF AS TO THE WHEREABOUTS OF THE TAPE. DID YOU NOT RECEIVE THESE MESSAGES ?

10 DAYS AFTER THE STANLEY'S BURGLARY, AND 6 DAYS AFTER A LOCAL REPORTER STARTING ASKING QUESTIONS (AND NOT AT MY REQUEST !) ABOUT THE TAPE, YOUR OFFICERS ASKED FOR, AND RECEIVED, THE TAPED ACTIVITIES. YOUR OFFICERS TOOK POSSESSION OF THE TAPE ON TUESDAY (AUGUST 21) AFTERNOON AROUND 3:30 PM. THIS WAS THE FIRST DAY YOUR OFFICERS HAD MADE CONTACT WITH ME REGARDING THE TAPE ! PRIOR TO YOUR OFFICERS ARRIVAL, THE REPORTER VIEWED THE ACTIVITY OF THE TAPE.

THE TAPE WAS VIEWED BY MANY PEOPLE AND STILL PHOTOGRAPHS WE’RE ALSO PRODUCED. YOU REQUESTED OF ME TODAY, THAT I PRODUCE THE ADDRESSES AND PHONE NUMBERS OF THOSE WHO MAY HAVE VIEWED IMAGES FROM THIS TAPE. PLEASE FIND THOSE E-MAIL ADDRESSES BELOW.

bob.brincefield@brownwoodbulletin.com
colmes@foxnews.com
oreilly@foxnews.com
dia.catalani@brownwoodbulletin.com
msnbcinvestigates@msnbc.com
rtomlin@ktabtv.com
djennings@dallasnews.com
brown@ktxs.com
skofler@wfaa.com
lizardproductions@msn.com
nbc5i@nbc.com
jim.looby@brownwoodbulletin.com
mattlum@aol.com
editors@texasobserver.org
newstalk969@hotmail.com

WE HAVE BEEN COMMUNICATING WITH THE OUTSIDE PRESS FOR MANY MONTHS ON MANY ISSUES, AS YOU ARE MOST LIKELY AWARE !
THEY ARE QUITE AWARE AND APPALLED AT WHAT WE, AND OTHERS, HAVE ENDURED FOR SPEAKING OUT ON ISSUES FOR THE LAST FIVE YEARS ! THEY’VE DOCUMENTED THE INTIMIDATION TACTICS (E-MAILS, LETTERS TO THE EDITOR, NEWS COVERAGE (BOTH RADIO AND TV), COUNCIL MEETINGS, ON/OFF THE RECORD COMMENTS, RECORDINGS (BOTH AUDIO AND VIDEO, ETC) THAT HAVE BEEN EMPLOYED AGAINST THOSE WHO SPEAK OUT ON ISSUES THAT DIRECTLY AFFECT ALL OF US.

WHAT IS BROWNWOOD’S CRIME RATE ? I’VE BEEN HEAVILY INVOLVED IN RESEARCHING THIS SUBJECT SINCE WE HAVE HAD NUMEROUS INCIDENTS OF CRIME FOR THE PAST FIVE YEARS AND THIS COMMUNITIES INSURANCE RATES REFLECT THAT FACT (OUR BOTTOM LINE IS AFFECTED !). IS THIS A PRO-BUSINESS MESSAGE ? I AM VERY FAMILIAR WITH THE ANNUAL DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY TEXAS CRIME REPORT THAT GIVES IN GREAT DETAIL THE “GOINGS ON” OF OUR CITY AND COUNTY. IT’S APPALLING ! IN THE 1999 DPS CRIME REPORT OUR CITY AND COMMUNITY SURPASSED EL PASO’S RATE OF CRIME PER 100,000 ! I FIND THIS UNACCEPTABLE AND I’M WILLING TO POINT THE FACTS OUT !

YOU ALSO STATED TO ME THAT YOU TAKE THIS “ BUSINESS ” VERY SERIOUS
AND DO NOT LIKE TO PLAY GAMES WITH PEOPLE. I AM IN TOTAL AGREEMENT
WITH YOU, THAT IS WHY I STATED PUBLICLY THAT WE ARE GOING TO HAVE TO
HAVE HONEST DIALOGUE IN THIS COMMUNITY BEFORE OUR CRIME RATE IMPROVES. YOU OBVIOUSLY NEED THE COMMUNITIES HELP IN TACKLING THIS COMMUNITY PROBLEM ! THAT IS EXACTLY WHY WE WERE SO
FORTHCOMING IN TURNING OVER THE TAPED ACTIVITIES. WE BELIEVE THAT WE MUST HAVE MORE POLICE PATROLS ON THE STREET, BETTER MANAGEMENT AND COMMUNICATION, AND BETTER PAY FOR OUR OFFICERS. DO YOU DISAGREE ? HOW MANY PATROL OFFICERS DOES THE FBI RECOMMEND FOR A CITY WITH SUCH A HIGH CRIME RATE AND OUR POPULATION ? I WAS TOLD BY A POLICE CHIEF IN ANOTHER COMMUNITY COMPARABLE TO BROWNWOOD, THAT 7 PER PATROL SHIFT WAS THE RECOMMEND NUMBER. WHAT IS THE TIME FRAME THAT THE MAJORITY OF PROPERTY CRIME, DOMESTIC ABUSE, INTIMIDATION, AND ASSAULTS ARE COMMITTED ?

REGARDING HATE CRIMES, HAS THIS CITY EVER REPORTED, AS REQUIRED BY STATE AND FEDERAL LAW, A HATE CRIME, OR SUSPECTED HATE CRIME, TO THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY ? WE TESTIFIED AT THE STATE CAPITAL IN AUSTIN, THANKFULLY UNDER OATH, OF SUCH DOCUMENTED INCIDENTS THAT HAVE OCCURRED IN OUR AREA. NONE OF WHICH HAVE BEEN SUBMITTED BY LOCAL AUTHORITIES !

I ALSO WANTED TO MAKE YOU AWARE OF A SERIOUS ALLEGATION THAT HAS BEEN BROUGHT TO MY ATTENTION. DID YOU INFER THAT THOSE WHO QUESTION LOCAL AUTHORITIES (TROUBLE MAKERS !) MAY NOT GET THE PROTECTION THEY DESERVE AND REQUIRE ? DID YOU STATE THAT “STEVE HARRIS AND MARY STANLEY ARE TROUBLE MAKERS” ? I SURELY HOPE THAT THIS WAS JUST A MISUNDERSTANDING ! DID YOU ALSO STATE THAT “IF MARY OR STEVE PRODUCE A TAPE THEY WILL BE ARRESTED FOR WITHHOLDING EVIDENCE” ?

NOTE: YOU REQUESTED THAT I CONTACT MARY AND HAVE HER CALL YOU TODAY AT 1:30PM. I FOUND THIS REQUEST HIGHLY UNUSUAL ! PLEASE CONTACT HER DIRECTLY AS I’M MOST SURE SHE WILL APPRECIATE
HEARING DIRECTLY FROM YOU.

REGARDS,
STEVE HARRIS BROWNWOOD, TEXAS

NOTE: I AM ALSO FAXING AND MAILING THIS LETTER TO YOU..............................