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Teens throw rocks off bridge in San Luis Obispo, break windshield

December 27, 2024

By KAREN VELIE

A group of four teens threw large rocks from a railroad bridge at cars driving on Tank Farm Road in San Luis Obispo on Dec. 20, breaking one windshield and then laughing at their victim.

At 6:15 p.m., Thomas Dugger was driving his Tesla on Tank Farm Road when a boulder from above hit his windshield, spraying glass shards on his clothes and car interior. While the rock made a bowl type indention in his front window, the boulder did not hit Dugger.

Four teens were standing on the bridge laughing at Dugger while he called 9-1-1. As the teens ran away heading west on Morning Glory Way, Dugger asked if he could run them down. The operator said no.

Officers arrived and took a report, but when Dugger asked if they were going to canvas the neighborhood to see if the teens were captured on surveillance videos, the officer said Dugger could canvas, he said.

Dugger is offering a $1,000 reward to anyone who gives information that leads to an arrest. He is asking people residing on Morning Glory Way to check their security footage from 6:15 p.m. to 6:40 p.m. on Dec. 20. Witnesses can contact Dugger through his email at thomasdugger1@gmail.com.

Earlier this year, two teenagers pleaded guilty to participating in a rock throwing spree in which a 20-year-old woman lost her life, three people were injured, and seven vehicles damaged in Colorado.

“A few inches and I would be dead,” Dugger said. “Police have done nothing, and the public must be informed of this.”

 


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Remind me never to drive in SLO..


16

This could be an attempted homicide charge. But the police do nothing because no one died? What is deterring these kids from doing this again?


76

Not their parents, obviously.


48

SLO (Derek Johnson, Heidi Harmon, etc.) interviewed and chose the current SLOPD Chief for his no-harm policing model. He embraces and brags about his no-harm approach. The Tribune has written about it and praised him for it. If you want a more forceful approach to crime, get a new police chief.


102

Boy, are you right about that! Old Texas Pete (anyone who’s eaten in an Army chow hall will understand the reference) is basically a paper tit. They deliberately passed over two well-qualified local SLOPD officers with impeccable credentials to foist this outsider on us. I don’t know that he does much of anything, quite frankly. But here we are, stuck with him. Yayyy……


0

What was the cop supposed to do? Start going from home to home breaking down doors?


-8

I am so sorry this happened. Perhaps some other motorists also were targeted and will come forward. He may also want to look at a few high school yearbooks to try to identify them. He will at a minimum need a police report to file an insurance claim.


53

Well, gosh, can you really expect Police officers making $150,000 salaries here in SLO, to actually, you know, do Police things?


Don’t get me wrong, I am a big supporter of law enforcement……IF they do the job they are being paid far too much for.


Says right on the side of every patrol vehicle: “SERVICE, PRIDE, INTEGRITY”. I am sure Mr. Dugger is curious, where those words fit in to his case.


86

When bums trespass on your property as long as you have paid the annual shakedown money to the city the police will come and nicely ask them to leave. That’s at least something


15

The Supreme Court has ruled that law enforcement has NO obligation to protect and serve.


https://www.oyez.org/cases/2004/04-278


3

The court ruling emphasized that the Police have no obligation to an INDIVIDUAL, but to the community as a whole.


Kids throwing rocks off a rail bridge to damage passing automobiles, is a state and federal offense also.


Surely, the SLOPD could put out a modicum of effort for a state and federal violation?


28

The Officer concluded that the INDULVIDUAL (victim) committed no crime, so there was no financial incentive or validation of purpose to justify their existence, hence the victim (individual) was authorized to canvas the area on his own.


-5

And they deserve every penny of $150k. Guessing there is another side to this story.


-34

Wow, down votes for supporting the police. $150k is pretty much the bare minimum it takes to buy a house in SLO, or I guess most of you think our law enforcers should rent and live paycheck to paycheck. A sad commentary on things in America today.


If WE don’t have any respect for LE, then why should our children?


-20

Their salaries are calculated by using Los Angeles area cities, and those crime rates per 100,000.


Basically, they get East LA pay, for policing homeless, drunks, occasional domestic violence, and ignoring criminal mischief that could easily have resulted in injury or death.


Now, if you are trying to argue, that our town is JUST LIKE THE LA CESSPOOL, you need to come up with a better reason.


5

When he was hired, the police chief lived in San Luis Obispo but ultimately moved his family to North County. He decided not to live in San Luis Obispo.


3

IF ACCURATE, the response of the SLOPD officer to this very dangerous threat which could have had fatal consequences is deplorable. These kids potentially are participating in psychopathic criminal behavior. There should be an intense effort to find these kids and teach them accountability and consequences before this escalates or is repeated. . It’s not a little deal, SLOPD Chief? Mayor?


91

What the point of this then?


https://slocity.maps.arcgis.com/apps/GeoForm/index.html?appid=699eb4cc57454e199ce25c1198e680c5


3

I would never register my cameras with the government! Knowledge of camera locations will quickly become another source of abuse by corrupt police and .judiciary. Voluntary registration today, mandatory registration tomorrow, mandatory surrender of video files the next day, mandatory real time access to video the day after that, and on and on. I am certain there are people in a select segment of political ideology who can think up ways to abuse this information which are far more onerous than anything I can imagine.


17

In “the old days” when I was a kid, the cops would be at every door in the neighborhood. This is attempted murder and I hope that the police make an effort to find those teen delinquents.


88

That is a deadly game they are playing, and LE is being way too casual about it. The next time their victim may not be so lucky.


80

Lucky or not, this PD’s not very good at solving crimes. Long string of unsolved murders. So why should they care about a few big rocks being used in a murderous manner? Had the rock been fatal, probably would have reacted about the same.


40
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