Dont go door knocking in Lemont, Illinois!

[zrickkid]

So my buddy E-Trac Tim and I decide to do a bit of door knocking in the town of Lemont, Illinois incorporated in 1836. We go to a couple of doors and get two NOs right off the bat. So we get back in the car and head off to the next location. I capitalized the NO for a reason. So......on the way I see the always dreaded lights of a police car on my tail in my rear view mirror. So I get out my license and Ins card and ask the officer what was going on and he asks me if we knocked on a couple of doors in the previous neighborhood and we politely say yes. He asks why and we tell him a bit about our hobby and why we door knock, etc, etc. He goes back to his squad and two more squads pull up. (must have been a slow day) The cops are walking around my car and looking inside the windows all the while with their hands on their service weapons. Then the first officer comes back and says there had been some residential burglaries in the area recently and a "concerned citizen" notified the police of two strange men casing the area! We again said what we were doing and told the officer we would leave the town and look elsewhere. He counter with 'thats a good idea". So we left. The whole situation was not as tense as it seems but but if we handled ourselves differently I am sure it would have had a much different outcome. Has this ever happened to any of you folks? My Aunt lived in this town for decades and we never had any problems there. Oh well.

[Full Metal Digger]

Were you wearing panty hose over your head when you asked? LOL. Bummer you had to encounter that. Thanks for the heads-up though. I will avoid Lemont. HH, Dave.

[Digger Don]

I was going to call you earlier to see how you and Tim did today. I guess not so well. LOL
Maybe they thought you were going to tunnel your way into the houses with your lesche.
Seriously, I'm glad everything turned out Ok.
As you know, Lemont is where I dug the Morgan earlier this year. Don't think I'll be going back after hearing this.
Were you able to get a hunt in somewhere else after that?

[leslie(nova scotia)]

Wow...wrong place at the right time. Never know what the next door knocker will bring!

[Beartoe]

We have a problem in my area with burgleries. Ever since the down trend in our economy the amount of thefts has increased significantly. We had a little neighborhood meeting with the police to discuss what we can do to deter the thefts. I and my neighbors are now a lot more aware of the unrecognizable folks who enter our neighborhood. When we see an unrecognizable person our radar senses perks up and we pay attention.

The police and concerned neighbors that you encountered were doing what they considered a necessary function of having a safe living environment.

It is unfortunate but in many areas it has become all to common. Be sure to thank the police for their service as they are only doing their job to Serve And Protect.

[Skamaniac]

If it's a small town I stop first at the city hall or police department and ask if there's any ordinances in place regarding metal detecting. That way you know whether you can hit parks, etc., and if you go door knocking, someone at the PD or city hall has already had a face-to-face with you. I can understand people being suspicious though, especially if the neighborhood had been hit by burglars recently.