A man's car was stolen near the East McKeesport Police Department. But there are no cameras outside the building.
"When I parked, I saw it was in front of the police department, I was like, 'OK, I should feel pretty comfortable,'" said Lamont Meade.
For the past five days, Meade hasn't been able to get around, including going to work. The insurance company needs more details before providing a rental car.
The 23-year-old's car was stolen when he was getting his hair done and visiting a friend. He parked it on Saturday near the borough building and police station, according to the 2016 Nissan Altima's last GPS location before it vanished.
"That's what really blew my mind," Meade said. "I didn't believe that my car was stolen."
Meade started calling towing companies around town until he got a notification from the bank. Then he saw unauthorized charges on his credit card. He says that's when he knew. He left his wallet in the car.
There were three Uber charges, totaling nearly $100. The suspect or suspects then tried the card again at the McDonald's on the North Side, but by then, Meade had locked it.
"It's a police station. I've never known anybody that'd be bold enough to steal a car from outside of the police station and then the officer said it like, 'everybody in the area knows the possibility that they could.'"
"He said, 'oh they know we don't have officers here often; everybody knows we don't have cameras, that's just the issue we're dealing with,'" Meade continued. "I just feel like that's an issue we should be trying to fix."
The East McKeesport police chief said there are cameras inside the building, but there aren't any outside. When asked why, he said it's a budgetary issue.
"I've never heard of that, just me, personally," Meade said. "It just doesn't make me feel safe as a citizen."
Chief Scott Lowden, who couldn't sit down for an on-camera interview, said car thefts are rare in East McKeesport, but there's an increase in the Turtle Creek area. The last time a vehicle was stolen in the borough was last month. It was located in 20 minutes.
Meade said he just wants to feel like something is being done.
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