Man caught on doorbell cam claimed to be police and made raid threats
A MAN claiming to be from a Leicester police station has been caught on a doorbell camera threatening to force entry into an elderly couple’s home.
The man first tells the couple he is there about “stolen property”, before ordering them to return home or their home will be raided by officers.
The incident happened on Wednesday, July 27, at the home in Evington.
One of the residents, who did not want to be named, told the Mercury their doorbell rang at around 4.20pm, and he opened their Google Nest camera app to see a young man on the couple’s doorstep.
The stranger alleged he was there because of a stolen mobile phone which had been traced to the address, and asked the householder to come to the door.
When the 71-year-old asked the man to explain further, he claimed to be “from Keyham Lane police station” in Hamilton, and told the householder to return home within 24 hours, or the property would be raided.
When told to go away, the man can be seen grinning. He offers no evidence to support his claim that he is there on official police business; he is dressed in casual clothing, does not show any identification and is not travelling in a police vehicle.
The worried householder said: “I could clearly see that he was not wearing a uniform or anything like that, and had come from a car where two other people were waiting, and it looked like he was sending messages on his phone.”
Footage from the encounter shows the man saying, via the doorbell speaker: “I need to speak to the owner of the property.”
He adds: “It’s to do with stolen property, I’m here from Keyham Lane police station.” When the householder tells the caller he is not at home, the man adds: “Unfortunately, somebody will need to be here within the next 24 hours otherwise forced entry will happen.”
The homeowner, who said he was already concerned about the man’s motives, then loses patience and asks the man not to return to the property.
In response, the man looks away and starts grinning.
“Normally I would have gone to the door but my wife thought something was not right,” the householder said.
“As he left we thought he might go to a neighbour, but he left in a car. We thought he might strike again but he didn’t come back, and we managed to get a good night’s sleep after it all.”
The man has urged his neighbours to be “vigilant” and reported the incident to the police.
He said: “These people need to be stopped because there are a lot of elderly people around here and we don’t know if he will be back.” A spokesman for Leicestershire Police said officers were looking into the incident. The force did not respond to the Mercury’s questions about whether the man worked for the force, or whether he had any link to Keyham Lane police station.
COUPLE URGING OTHERS TO STAY VIGILANT
I could clearly see that he was not wearing a uniform or anything like that
Householder