WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES JANUARY 4, 2018 3
Cops hold meeting with victims of car break-ins
Photo by Ryan Kelley/QNS
Detective Charlie Sadler addresses a group of livery cab drivers whose
cars have been broken into in Ridgewood.
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BY RYAN KELLEY
RKELLEY@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
TWITTER @R_KELLEY6
New details emerged about a
series of Ridgewood livery cab
break-ins when the disgruntled
victims gathered for a meeting
with offi cers from the 104th Precinct
on Dec. 27.
Detective Charlie Sadler addressed
dozens of livery cab drivers who
work for Uber, Lyft and Juno inside St.
Mary & St. Antonios Coptic Orthodox
Church on Woodward Avenue, in the
heart of the area where the break-ins
have been occurring.
Although police previously said
there were 19 reported incidents between
Dec. 18 and Dec. 24, they said
there are now a total of 29 reports.
When Sadler asked if anyone else
had been a victim and did not yet fi le
a report, another fi ve drivers raised
their hands.
“The police department can’t solve
crimes on its own, we depend on the
community as well,” Sadler said to the
victims. “We all do this together.”
As the drivers spoke up throughout
the meeting, they gave police several
pieces of new information about the
perpetrator’s habits. One driver,
Kirolos Kamel, was able to obtain
a surveillance video of his friend’s
car being broken into. When he
played the video for QNS, it showed
the perpetrator pulling up in a car
before getting out to break into the
victim’s car. The perpetrator broke
the small triangular section of the
rear window — the part that doesn’t
roll down – and reached inside to
unlock the door and gain entry. Aft er
rummaging around for a few seconds,
the crook returned to his own vehicle
to fl ee the scene.
According to several more of the
drivers, that small section of the rear
window was broken on their vehicles
as well. Many of them also said that
Grove Street seemed to be the hot-spot
in the spree, which is darker than
some of the surrounding streets.
District 37 Assemblywoman Catherine
Nolan, who said she lives on Grove
Street close to the break-in pattern,
also attended the meeting and off ered
her support to the victims.
“We’d be very happy to talk to Community
Board 5 about the lighting
issues,” Nolan said. “There are things
that we can do to support the police
department and support all of you.”
Sadler was also joined by offi cers
from the detective squad and special
operations unit, who explained in
more detail how they planned to
patrol the area. The offi cers stressed,
however, that it is going to take time
due to the nature of the crime. Most of
the incidents are taking place in the
middle of the night, so unless someone
calls 911 while the thief is being seen in
the act, the police may not be able to
respond immediately if there are more
urgent calls the next day.
The police encouraged the drivers
to stay diligent and patient, and report
anything suspicious activity they see.
To help dissuade the perpetrator, the
police also recommended that the
drivers not leave any valuables in
their cars, take the GPS holders off
their windshields and try to park in
better lit areas.
They also assured the drivers, who
are all from immigrant communities,
that they have no reason to believe
the perpetrators are targeting them
for their race or anything other than
their TLC license plates.
