Local Resident Questions If Ludington Police Do Their Job Correctly

[Dave]

Just found this posted on Facebook..... local resident Dave Kosla posted this on his Facebook page earlier today and asked everyone to share it (which is how I came across it). From what he posted, you do have to wonder what exactly the officers were doing... just kind of get the impression that they didn't want to be bothered by this and the paperwork and just kind of blew it off.

Everyone, PLEASE READ AND SHARE THIS. I'm going to do what I can to tell as many people as possible, especially the citizens of Ludington.

This is what happened this morning, to the best of my knowledge.

Sunday, March 31, 2013 (Easter Sunday)

A little background: My family lives on one corner of our block. On our same block, down the street and also on the corner, live my wife’s parents. Their home is a first-floor apartment in a beautiful Victorian mansion that has been converted.

Approximately 9:00 a.m.

My family had just started coming downstairs to eat breakfast and begin getting ready for Easter Mass. My wife noticed a city police car outside the house in which my in-laws live, so she called her mother. A strange man had gone into their entryway (inside the building) through an unlocked outer door and was attempting to enter the locked apartment. My mother-in-law was the only one awake, so she is the one who confronted him and called the police. The man claimed to be looking for his therapist. My father-in-law, brother-in-law, and his oldest daughter (who is a teenager) were also in the home.

The officer (or officers) who showed up never spoke to anyone who lives there. Never asked questions, found out if everyone was alright, took a statement, nothing. Apparently the intruder had left on foot, leaving his vehicle behind. When the police found him, they took him back to his vehicle at the apartment and allowed him to drive away.

Was this man on psychotropic drugs? Illegal drugs? Intoxicated? Did he have a criminal record or a history of violence? Was he armed?

Regardless, he is guilty of trespassing, unlawful entry, and (I would think) attempted forcible entry.

What if our young niece had been the one who found him? What if no one else was awake yet?

What if he comes back? What if he is angry when he does? Why was he not arrested? Why were no questions asked and no statement given? Other than escorting this intruder back to his vehicle so he could conveniently leave the crime scene, why was nothing done by our local police?

[XLFD]

Interesting, but I think there are a lot of local residents who question the professionalism, training, and effectiveness of  LPD by their past actions-- just saying.  I have actually heard of something similar to this incident happening before, complete with the LPD's quick dispatch of the problem with no concern for the victim(s). 

What makes this interesting is Kosla's wife (and daughter of the parties affected) is a Ludington city official on the Downtown Ludington Board so there could be some problems arising here.  Thanks for sharing Dave.

[Dave]

I knew when I saw it that I had to share it here... I'd like to think this is the best forum to share this sort of stuff :-)

[XLFD]

This forum can directly point to the actions of the fabled Ludington PD as a major part of its genesis.  We routinely point out their good and bad points.  What better forum could there be?

[In Dulci Jubilo]

I am the individual XLFD referred to in regard to the "eerily similar" situation.    Again, on yet another holiday weekend, a young man walked into my house at 9 a.m. on a Saturday morning, with an electronic tether around his ankle, higher than a kite.    Due to my profession, I tend to not be afraid of young men wearing tethers (which is probably not a good thing) and I screamed, hollared and harrassed him out of my house, and immediately called the police with a very detailed description.   They picked him up a block from my house, gave him a breathalyzer test which came back negative, and sent him on his merry way, as he informed them that he'd  mistaken my house for someone else's.   They returned to my house and informed me that they had found him, had him "blow", and released him.   I was furious.   I asked them what they were going to next, and they shrugged their shoulders and said they'd figure something out.   I asked if they drug tested him, they said that they had not, and that they could not throw him in jail (even though he was on probation with a tether) because Judge Cooper did not allow them to incarcerate probation violators, only parole violators.    Three days later, this young man crossed in front of my car as I was driving down Ludington Avenue, spotted me, nudged his friend, and pointed at me.    I immediately went home and called the court.  The administrator informed me that LPD's assertion that Judge Cooper did not allow them to jail probation violators was COMPLETELY UNTRUE, and she became quite upset.   The next morning, she had contacted both the judge and the PO, and the young man was picked him and allowed to take a four month vacation in the county clink.   Apparently, he had received a discretionary jail sentence at the time of his initial sentencing, which allowed them to incarcerate him at any time.    He was released in January, and to my knowledge, is back on the streets, which now DOES make me fearful, because he knows exactly where I live.     When I obtained the police report, it stated that the reason he was released on the day in question was because he had "apologized to the home owner."     Go figure.    

[Willy]

Dulci

I agree with you that the police completely botched your case. That man could have had very bad intentions when he entered your home and the police should have held him and notified the prosecutor and or Judge asap.

[XLFD]

In Dulci,

Glad you got that apology, LOL.  Thanks for publicly coming forward with your story.  Policemen make mistakes, they are human and often have a lot of decisions to make, but like with doctors, their mistakes can have very serious repercussions.  Despite what LPD does in the aftermath of your's or Kosla's incidents, their actions or lack of actions, worked against the public's safety.   I think it's time for you to invest in some of your own security equipment if you haven't already.

 

[In Dulci Jubilo]

My husband claims that I am mean enough to suffice as my own security system.   :-)   Seriously though, I am small in size and could not hold my own physically in a struggle.    We have been discussing options for security.

My biggest issue with the events that transpired is that the LPD either lied to me or had a serious breakdown in communications in regard to their "orders" not to incarcerate probation violaters, as the court administrator told me this was DEFINITELY not the case.

[XLFD]

In Dulci, I know exactly how it feels to be lied to (and about) by the local police and a host of other local officials we pay to do the people's business.  If you have the capability to scan, could you send me over the police report you received with any redactions you see fit to make to protect your identity or privacy?  Include a statement about any irregularities you know of between the report and reality, and whether you mind it being shared or not.  Thanks. 

[Willy]

Did the poster or anyone else call the police to find out what happened? That would have been my first course of action if this had happened to me.

[XLFD]

I checked Mr. Kosla's Facebook page to see whether there was anything supplemental, shared it, rechecked it this morning.  No updates of significance, as of yet.   As stated, I have heard another account eerily similar to this episode, one that I cannot share due to an agreement. 

Unfortunately, if you look for someone from LPD to respond to a complaint about their (LPD's) services over Easter weekend, you have the wrong agency in mind. 

[XLFD]

Dave Kosla reports that a resolution is imminent.  Around ten this morning he posted:  "UPDATE: Thanks for the supportive comments and shares, friends, regarding what happened yesterday. I spoke with my mother-in-law, and she is going to contact the authorities today. I also found out from her that not only is the area of the house this man was in part of their rented property (meaning he was IN their apartment), but so is the yard adjacent to it (which is fenced in, for what it's worth). From what I Googled for the legal definition of "trespass," the man had to have knowingly been in the wrong place. As I mentioned, he claimed to be looking for his therapist. Now, I'm not initially inclined to take the word of a stranger who is standing inside my home uninvited at face value, but this very well may have been the case. But, if the responding officer determined this to be true, why weren't the residents informed of this, or of anything at all, while the officer was on the scene? As far as I can tell, this is the best-case-scenario for what happened based on what I know, and I find it unacceptable."

At 5 PM today:  "UPDATE: My mother-in-law has contacted the LPD and gotten the responding officer's information and was told how to obtain the police report. According to the Ludington Daily News, there was an attempt to contact by the officer. The thing is, I think there were four family members at the residence while all of this was happening, and none of them spoke with the officer. TO BE COMPLETELY CLEAR, I am not trying to make enemies. Between the LPD and the county sheriff's office, I know a few officers, and any time I've dealt with officers in the LPD, I've been met with courtesy and professionalism. I simply feel that this situation wasn't handled as it should have been. As a friend pointed out, this may have been a routine call for the officer, but it was quite a scare for my wife's family and ours. I just feel like they deserve to know what happened, and it should have been relayed on the spot. The officer is supposed to be in touch with her. Thanks again, everyone, for your support."

And at 8 PM:  "UPDATE: PLEASE SHARE THIS: Under the circumstances, I believe this situation is on its way to being resolved in the best possible way. Chief Mark Barnett went personally to my mother-in-law's office to speak with her. I understand he tried to get in touch with me, but didn't have contact information. Among other things, he told her the responding officer is also going to meet with her in person. This is the courtesy and professionalism I referred to in an earlier post. For the record, so far, I appreciate the way this is being dealt with. This is one of the many reasons my family lives in a small town."

 

Consider it shared, but I may have to satisfy my own curiosity if he doesn't share more.

[AQUAMAN]

As of the last 10 years or so from what I have heard and personally witnessed on the LPD's actions and inactions around town, I'd say it's the newest reasoning I can imagine, "there was no money to be made in this deal". It's sad and negligent that this ever even happened, and with any luck, Barnett and crew will stand their ground, and apologize to no one, just saying, that's the MO around town nowadays imho. Flimsy is the word I can relate to all of it, and so, that's "Ludville's finest" we can expect? C'mon now!