Gettysburg Cop Arrests Ghost Hunters
The caption in the Gettysburg Times on December 9, 2013, read: "Visiting ghost hunters mistaken for burglars."The story, written by a Times Staff Writer , describes something that no paranormal investigator ever wants to happen; a run-in with the law.
On Thanksgiving night, a ghost tour group was inside a place of business on a busy street, investigating the establishment. If you are not familiar with what a ghost tour is, a tour guide, who is usually also a ghost hunter, brings paying tourists along on a ghost hunt. The tourist pays a fee to be along for the ride, so to speak. The tourist is rarely an experienced ghost hunter, but simply wants the experience, wants the thrill of being on a ghost hunt like they do on the TV shows. As is usual on a ghost hunt, the lights are off and everyone is carrying flashlights.
On this particular occasion, a police officer from the Gettysburg Police Dept, reported that he was passing the establishment when he saw the front door of the business closing and a flashlight was being used inside in the dark. The officer radioed in a burglary in progress. The officer then entered the building and found three people inside, who he immediately detained at gunpoint. Three additional officers arrived, handcuffed the three ghost hunters, searched them and obtained their ID. Then, the officer contacted the owner of the business, who verified that he had, indeed, given permission for the ghost hunters to be in his place of business that night. The head of the ghost tour also verified that permission was given for the group to do a tour in the building that night.
After discovering that the three had permission to be in the building, the officers released them. The tourists who paid to be on the ghost hunt, a married couple from North Carolina, were upset enough over the incident to write a letter of complaint to the Police Chief. The letter describes the couple's shock of staring down the barrel of a Glock and the humiliation of being handcuffed, patted down and forcibly detained. The letter asks for a formal apology. The couple has expressed their desire to never return to Gettysburg ever again. They claim that the incident was traumatic and they felt "roughed up" They are considering legal action if they have sufficient grounds to do so. The incident destroyed a trip he and his wife had been planning for years.
The commander of the squad of which the officer is a member, has been assigned to investigate the incident. The Police Chief told the Times that he sees nothing in the report that is inappropriate...If the officer did anything wrong it will be addressed. A second ghost hunter representing another ghost tour group also called the police to voice a complaint on behalf of the tourists.
Ok. Now, lets calm down and think about this. Put yourself in the position of the police officer. He is on patrol. Apparently, there had been a rash of burglaries in the neighborhood recently, so he is on alert. He witnesses someone inside of a closed place of business, in the dark, waving a flashlight around. That is what burglars do, right? So the officer entered the building, and witnessed three people standing around in total darkness with flashlights.
Now. I know it is hard to imagine, but try. Imagine that this particular officer was not at all familiar with ghost hunters. Maybe he had never heard of a ghost hunter, and had never, Heaven forbid, seen a paranormal TV show in his life. He's a big football fan. I don't know. I am making that part up, but you know what I mean...he is not at all versed on ghost hunters and what they do. They stand around in the dark with flashlights, right? So, I believe, and this is just my opinion, that the officer had every right, and a certain duty, to do exactly what he did. He pulled his gun on them, held them there, handcuffed them, pulled their ID and then called the owner of the building and his boss for back up. If your place of business was being burglarized, wouldn't you want the officer to do exactly the same thing? Of course you would. Isn't it completely understandable that if it barks like a dog, looks like a dog, smells like a dog, it's a dog? They looked and acted like burglars. So the officer assumed they were burglars and detained them, called for back up and then asked questions. You don't expect an officer of the law to enter an establishment in the dark, suspecting a crime in progress, without a gun, and start....asking polite questions of the burglars, do you? No, of course you don't. But the ghost hunters did. Ok. I get it. It's terrifying to have a cop with a gun pointed in your face accusing you of a crime, handcuffing you and threatening to throw you in jail. But, within an hour, the Gettysburg Police had everything straightened out, the three were released and all was restored. Only now we have furious and humiliated tourists and righteously enraged ghost tour guides threatening lawsuit. Wonderful.
I have been in the exact same situation as these ghost hunters, and in Gettysburg. I once investigated a restaurant with large plate glass windows facing the street. Here the five of us were, wandering around in the dark waving flashlights and it occurred to me. Huh, we must look just like burglars from outside these windows. I hope no one notices. We could get arrested. That never happened to me. But here we are. Predictable as all get out.
Here is my issue. Ghost Tours. Any and all ghost tours.I hate them. They are run by former or active ghost hunters for profit. Usually a ghost hunt can run you anywhere from $15 to over $100, or more. Do the ghost enthusiasts, the tourists, get any training before leading them into a supposed haunted location? Nope. Do they get a warning that it may be dangerous and that there are certain risks involved in ghost hunting? I doubt it. So the ghost tour people take their money and, in exchange they get a "real-life ghost hunt". Not really. They get what is, at best, a short ghost hunt with instruments that do not detect ghosts, but the clients are told they do. It's nothing like an actual investigation. It's a very poor excuse for an investigation. I hate to even use the word in the same sentence with ghost tour. It's more in the realm of paying to get on a ride at Hershey Park. It's an amusement park ride in the dark with K-2 meters and a ghost hunter doing an EVP session for dramatic effect. If I were the tourists I would be upset with the ghost tour folks, not the police, for leading them into a situation ill prepared and unaware of the dangers and the risks.
So here is my suggestion. Next time any ghost tour group knows they will be leading a ghost tour inside of a public place of business late at night in the dark with flashlights, call the local police and notify them. As a courtesy, let them know what you will be doing, when and where, so that this sort of thing can be avoided. Common sense. I am sure the police would appreciate a heads up so that this sort of thing can be avoided in the future. All ghost tour groups and paranormal investigators should all make this a policy and do it. It could also avoid a very tragic result in a situation like this. When guns are involved you never know what may happen. Someone could be shot and injured or killed by tragic mistake. Everyone in the ghost tour and paranormal investigation business needs to take responsibility. Lets all do the right thing to keep people safe.
Source of story: Gettysburg Times, Staff Writer
P.J.
On Thanksgiving night, a ghost tour group was inside a place of business on a busy street, investigating the establishment. If you are not familiar with what a ghost tour is, a tour guide, who is usually also a ghost hunter, brings paying tourists along on a ghost hunt. The tourist pays a fee to be along for the ride, so to speak. The tourist is rarely an experienced ghost hunter, but simply wants the experience, wants the thrill of being on a ghost hunt like they do on the TV shows. As is usual on a ghost hunt, the lights are off and everyone is carrying flashlights.
On this particular occasion, a police officer from the Gettysburg Police Dept, reported that he was passing the establishment when he saw the front door of the business closing and a flashlight was being used inside in the dark. The officer radioed in a burglary in progress. The officer then entered the building and found three people inside, who he immediately detained at gunpoint. Three additional officers arrived, handcuffed the three ghost hunters, searched them and obtained their ID. Then, the officer contacted the owner of the business, who verified that he had, indeed, given permission for the ghost hunters to be in his place of business that night. The head of the ghost tour also verified that permission was given for the group to do a tour in the building that night.
After discovering that the three had permission to be in the building, the officers released them. The tourists who paid to be on the ghost hunt, a married couple from North Carolina, were upset enough over the incident to write a letter of complaint to the Police Chief. The letter describes the couple's shock of staring down the barrel of a Glock and the humiliation of being handcuffed, patted down and forcibly detained. The letter asks for a formal apology. The couple has expressed their desire to never return to Gettysburg ever again. They claim that the incident was traumatic and they felt "roughed up" They are considering legal action if they have sufficient grounds to do so. The incident destroyed a trip he and his wife had been planning for years.
The commander of the squad of which the officer is a member, has been assigned to investigate the incident. The Police Chief told the Times that he sees nothing in the report that is inappropriate...If the officer did anything wrong it will be addressed. A second ghost hunter representing another ghost tour group also called the police to voice a complaint on behalf of the tourists.
Ok. Now, lets calm down and think about this. Put yourself in the position of the police officer. He is on patrol. Apparently, there had been a rash of burglaries in the neighborhood recently, so he is on alert. He witnesses someone inside of a closed place of business, in the dark, waving a flashlight around. That is what burglars do, right? So the officer entered the building, and witnessed three people standing around in total darkness with flashlights.
Now. I know it is hard to imagine, but try. Imagine that this particular officer was not at all familiar with ghost hunters. Maybe he had never heard of a ghost hunter, and had never, Heaven forbid, seen a paranormal TV show in his life. He's a big football fan. I don't know. I am making that part up, but you know what I mean...he is not at all versed on ghost hunters and what they do. They stand around in the dark with flashlights, right? So, I believe, and this is just my opinion, that the officer had every right, and a certain duty, to do exactly what he did. He pulled his gun on them, held them there, handcuffed them, pulled their ID and then called the owner of the building and his boss for back up. If your place of business was being burglarized, wouldn't you want the officer to do exactly the same thing? Of course you would. Isn't it completely understandable that if it barks like a dog, looks like a dog, smells like a dog, it's a dog? They looked and acted like burglars. So the officer assumed they were burglars and detained them, called for back up and then asked questions. You don't expect an officer of the law to enter an establishment in the dark, suspecting a crime in progress, without a gun, and start....asking polite questions of the burglars, do you? No, of course you don't. But the ghost hunters did. Ok. I get it. It's terrifying to have a cop with a gun pointed in your face accusing you of a crime, handcuffing you and threatening to throw you in jail. But, within an hour, the Gettysburg Police had everything straightened out, the three were released and all was restored. Only now we have furious and humiliated tourists and righteously enraged ghost tour guides threatening lawsuit. Wonderful.
I have been in the exact same situation as these ghost hunters, and in Gettysburg. I once investigated a restaurant with large plate glass windows facing the street. Here the five of us were, wandering around in the dark waving flashlights and it occurred to me. Huh, we must look just like burglars from outside these windows. I hope no one notices. We could get arrested. That never happened to me. But here we are. Predictable as all get out.
Here is my issue. Ghost Tours. Any and all ghost tours.I hate them. They are run by former or active ghost hunters for profit. Usually a ghost hunt can run you anywhere from $15 to over $100, or more. Do the ghost enthusiasts, the tourists, get any training before leading them into a supposed haunted location? Nope. Do they get a warning that it may be dangerous and that there are certain risks involved in ghost hunting? I doubt it. So the ghost tour people take their money and, in exchange they get a "real-life ghost hunt". Not really. They get what is, at best, a short ghost hunt with instruments that do not detect ghosts, but the clients are told they do. It's nothing like an actual investigation. It's a very poor excuse for an investigation. I hate to even use the word in the same sentence with ghost tour. It's more in the realm of paying to get on a ride at Hershey Park. It's an amusement park ride in the dark with K-2 meters and a ghost hunter doing an EVP session for dramatic effect. If I were the tourists I would be upset with the ghost tour folks, not the police, for leading them into a situation ill prepared and unaware of the dangers and the risks.
So here is my suggestion. Next time any ghost tour group knows they will be leading a ghost tour inside of a public place of business late at night in the dark with flashlights, call the local police and notify them. As a courtesy, let them know what you will be doing, when and where, so that this sort of thing can be avoided. Common sense. I am sure the police would appreciate a heads up so that this sort of thing can be avoided in the future. All ghost tour groups and paranormal investigators should all make this a policy and do it. It could also avoid a very tragic result in a situation like this. When guns are involved you never know what may happen. Someone could be shot and injured or killed by tragic mistake. Everyone in the ghost tour and paranormal investigation business needs to take responsibility. Lets all do the right thing to keep people safe.
Source of story: Gettysburg Times, Staff Writer
P.J.
Comments