The Crime: Theft
The Victim: Bill Suhr
Location: 9900 block of Acklin
Date: Sunday, July 6
Time: 9 p.m.
Red, white, and blue dotted Acklin Drive. Over the recent Fourth of July weekend. Bill Huhr was one of the many Lake Highlands neighbors there who had an American flag flying high in celebration of the holiday.
“I’m not a veteran, but I’m patriotic,” Huhr says.
But that weekend, someone did away with his patriotic display. On Sunday night, he stepped outside and realized that someone had stolen the 4-foot by 5-foot American flag hanging from the tree in his front yard.
“I have lived here for more than 30 years, and this was the first time anything like this has happened,” he says. “My Christmas decorations have never even come up missing.”
Huhr says he has no idea who would want to steal an American flag, but he thinks most likely, “it was just vandals.”
Dallas Police Lt. Barry Payne says that aside from keeping a vigilant eye out for suspicious activity, there is not a whole lot neighbors can do to prevent burglaries like this.
“I even have a flag outside of my house — you just put stuff out on display like that, and I don’t know of any way to make it secure,” Payne says.
Aside from having his American flag stolen from his front yard, Huhr says he also suspects there was some other illegal activity happening in his neighborhood during the Fourth of July weekend.
“There were firecrackers, but they are supposed to be illegal in Dallas,” he says.
Payne says Huhr is right, and encourages neighbors to call 911 if they ever hear or see illegal fireworks within city limits.
“Anytime you have illegal fireworks and know the location, give as much information to the 911 operators as possible,” Payne says. “This past Fourth of July weekend there were just tons of those calls, and it is hard for the police to keep up.”
In fact, over the first two days of this past Fourth of July holiday weekend, Payne says the Dallas police answered more than 6,400 calls concerning illegal fireworks and gunfire alone.
And while there were no other flag burglaries reported that Payne is aware of, he says even one such incident is unfortunate.
“It is pretty sad that we have a society were people will do that,” Payne says. “It’s just a real shame.”
