Bangor PD Points Out Problem With Wearing Reflective Gear When Fleeing The Scene

Sometimes people get bright ideas. And sometimes people think they have a bright idea, when in fact they don't.

I'm not sure if this was a situation where someone believed they had a bright idea and just didn't think it all the way through, or if this was just an exercise in impulsivity. The end result, however, was a lesson learned.

Of course of the many obvious points to be made (don't take stuff that doesn't belong to you, don't break the law, don't run from officers) the biggest takeaway with this story is: if you're trying to play hide-and-seek at night, with the cops... don't wear reflective gear.

At least that was the breakdown of another humorous post put together by retired Bangor Police Lieutenant Tim Cotton, as he shared on the Bangor Maine Police Department's Facebook Page a recent story of an alleged crook who made a major fashion faux pas.

Cotton wrote:

"By all accounts, clothing designed for outings on a motorized conveyance, such as a snowmobile or ATV, are designed for cold weather and tough conditions.

However, they are not a theft suspect's best choice when fleeing from the police."

The story, in a nutshell, is this:

Man allegedly steals something that does not belong to him.

Cops are called.

They respond with a K-9 named Raye.

The alleged thief flees the scene and runs into the woods...wearing his reflective snowmobile coat.

And as Cotton explains, things did not turn out as the suspect might have hoped.

"Wearing reflective clothing while engaged in the act of running from the law, and, in this case, K9 Raye, certainly forces you to crouch down and hide rather than merely trying to blend in by standing— wicked still— beside a tree or a bush."

K9 Raye, on to the gentleman's scent thanks to a dropped glove, made quick work of tracking him to the spot he was hiding. That, and you could apparently easily distinguish where he was based on the fact that he didn't exactly blend into his surroundings.

We appreciate the hard work of both the officer and the K9 involved in apprehending the alleged thief.

And would such a thing not be frowned upon, we might even give the suspect some points for his face-palm-worthy effort.

And as always, we appreciate Tim Cotton's sense of humor in retelling this story.

Here's the unabridged version, if you have a minute. It's worth a read, for sure.