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Khan Family: Best 'Apology' Is to Stop Supporting Trump

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Khizr and Ghazala Khan, the parents of a fallen U.S. Army captain, don't want an apology from Donald Trump.

The couple expressed their discontent with the Republican presidential candidate's remarks, including Trump's own defense for his comments on his sacrifices during an appearance on MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews.

"His answer defines him," said Khizr Khan. "Any decent American listening to that understands how he is defining sacrifice. That is not the definition of sacrifice."

The Khans called Trump's actions "disappointing, void of empathy and of moral compass."

The couple agreed that the best apology for Trump's actions would be for his supporters to repudiate him.

"We don't need any apology from him; we are beyond those apologies," Khan said. "We were promised that he would pivot and change and he will not do that."



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Air Force Mom: I Felt 'Disrespected' by Boos at Pence Rally

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The mother of an Air Force veteran who confronted Republican vice presidential nominee Mike Pence at a town hall in Carson City, Nevada, Monday night, said she felt "disrespected" by the crowd's overwhelming reaction to her question, NBC News reported.

Catherine Byrne, the mother of Raymond Harmon, who is currently deployed in the Persian Gulf, asked Pence about Trump's treatment of Muslim parents Khizr and Ghazala Khan, whose son, a decorated Army veteran, was killed in Iraq in 2004.

"Will there ever be a point in time when you're able to look Trump in the eye and tell him enough is enough?" Byrne asked Pence, prompting boos from the crowd.

Pence did attempt to quiet the jeers after she spoke, saying, "folks that's what freedom looks like and what freedom sounds like," to a smattering of applause.

The Indiana governor added that he has never spent time around someone who is "more devoted" to military and to veterans than Trump.



Photo Credit: AP

Air Force Mom Asks Pence About Trump's Recent Khan Comments

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A military mother at a town hall meeting in Carson City, Nevada, asked vice presidential candidate Mike Pence to share his thoughts after Donald Trump criticized Khzir Khan's speech at the Democratic National Convention. Khan's son, a U.S. Army captain, was killed in the line of duty in Iraq. "You have a son in the military. How do you tolerate his disrespect?" asked Catherine Bryne.

Trump Calls Clinton 'The Devil' at Pa. Rally

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Donald Trump called Hillary Clinton "the devil" during a rally in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, while ridiculing Sen. Bernie Sanders' decision to support Clinton. "He made a deal with the devil. She's the devil," the Republican presidential nominee said. "He made a deal with the devil. It's true."

Soldiers Question Army's Handling of Dallas Attack Gunman

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Two Army soldiers who served with Micah Xavier Johnson, the gunman who attacked police officers in downtown Dallas, believe the Army should investigate the handling of a bizarre incident that resulted in Johnson's removal from Afghanistan in 2014.

The Army has said it is reviewing Johnson's records but has stopped short of saying it is investigating how the incident itself was handled.

In an exclusive interview with NBC 5 Investigates, Sgt. Mark Wallace, an Army reservist who was in Afghanistan with Johnson, described how Johnson was caught stealing underwear from a female soldier in his close-knit Army platoon.

The female soldier had reported underwear disappearing from her laundry, prompting unit leaders to conduct a barracks search.

"We discovered that there was a stash of women's underwear in his room. And as we discovered it he, of course, jumped into the room, swooped them up and put them in his hoodie in his front pouch, which added to the bulk that was already there," Wallace said.

Wallace said Johnson took off running after he was confronted – prompting a search for him in the darkness on the remote Army base known as FOB Shank.

Commanders ultimately caught up with Johnson and recovered more evidence.

"We start looking in the dumpsters, we start looking in all the latrines and the showers, and we found one pair – one or two pairs – that he had attempted to kind of flush down the toilet," Wallace said.

On Friday the Army released an investigator's report that confirms Wallace's account of the incident.

It says an Army investigation determined Johnson "took underwear" from a laundry bag belonging to a female soldier who was a friend of his and tried to "dispose of the evidence" after unit leaders found some of the underwear in Johnson's room.

The report says that Johnson also sent messages to the same female soldier that "constitute sexual harassment." The woman had been a friend of Johnson's but both he and the woman told investigators their friendship had splintered before the incident.

During the search, the report says investigators also found Johnson was "storing an explosive article" in the barracks where he lived – and did not have any reason to possess that explosive device.

Concerned about Johnson's behavior, commanders put him under watch after the underwear incident, posting an officer outside his room at all times and taking away his weapons.

"At least one NCO (non-commissioned officer) was either right outside of his room or had visual on him at all times until he left the location that we were at," Wallace told NBC 5 Investigates.

Two days later the Army sent Johnson away to Bagram Airfield and eventually back home.

But Johnson showed no remorse before leaving, Wallace says.

"He blatantly, like even the next day, was like, 'No, they're lying. They're lying about all of it. They're making all of it up.' And it's like, 'Dude, like we caught you doing this. We caught you red-handed doing this,'" Wallace said.

Despite the investigator's finding that Johnson sexually harassed the female soldier and concealed a grenade, Army records suggest Johnson received an honorable discharge from his active-duty assignment in Afghanistan.

Wallace, and another former member of the unit, retired Sgt. Gil Fischbach, want to know how that could happen.

"I want them to thoroughly investigate. I want them to figure out and I would like to see someone held accountable," Fischbach said.

The Army has not responded to questions from NBC 5 Investigates about the handling of the incident. In a statement last week an Army spokeswoman noted that a review of Johnson's records, "has not identified any documented acts of violence."

The recommendations of the Army investigator who initially looked into the 2014 incident have been redacted from the copy of the report released to the media Friday.

Fischbach said there is no question the incident clearly damaged Johnson's friendships with others in the unit.

"Now, that trust has been fractured – and not just a small hairline crack, but a severe fracture," Fischbach said.

But the two soldiers still think it's a stretch to think that what happened in Afghanistan ultimately led Johnson to attack police officers in Dallas.

"You take that to, 'I want to kill white police officers.' How do you tie those things together? It's inconceivable," Wallace said.



Photo Credit: NBC 5 News

Stay Off My Lawn! Property Owner Files 'Pokemon Go' Class Action Suit

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A New Jersey man has filed what may be the first class-action lawsuit over "Pokemon Go," claiming the companies behind the Pikachu fervor created a public nuisance and caused people to trespass on private property. 

Jeffrey Marder, of West Orange, says in the complaint filed Friday in California that Pokemon Go players have been hanging out near his property since the virtual phenomenon launched last month. At least five knocked on his door to ask if they could catch a Pokemon that was in his backyard, the suit says. 

Users playing Pokemon Go roam the physical world searching for virtual Pokemon creatures. The game also allows players to attract other users to physical locations using so-called "lures." 

In the lawsuit, Marder argues the companies behind the game — developer Niantic Inc. and Nintendo, which gave input — established Pokestops on or near private property without any approval from the property owners. The complaint references Pokestops positioned in the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., and in cemeteries. In New Jersey, one woman recently got stuck in a tree when she was looking to capture a creature. 

The suit looks to certify a class of all real estate owners in the United States whose property is near or on Pokestops and to compel the companies that created the game to change it, according to Law.com. It points out that Pokemon Go has been downloaded more than 30 million times as of July 23, generating $35 million in revenue for Niantic Inc., Nintendo Co. Ltd and The Pokemon Co. 

Niantic did not respond to requests for comment from Law.com or Bloomberg. A Nintendo spokeswoman declined comment.



Photo Credit: Getty Images, File

Would-Be Trump Assassin's Mom: 'He's Mentally Ill'

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The mother of a British man accused of trying to assassinate Donald Trump at a Las Vegas casino said her son had "a lifetime of mental health problems" and was on suicide watch in a Nevada jail, NBC News reported.

Lynne Sandford said her son, 20-year-old Michael Sandford, has autism and Asperger's syndrome and watches children's cartoons. She said her son would not have understood the consequences of his actions.

Michael Sanford is accused of attempting to grab a police officer's gun after asking for the Republican candidate's autograph on June 18. He faces charges of disrupting government business and being an illegal alien in possession of a gun. His U.K. lawyer argues he is unfit to enter a plea.

Lynne Sandford said she feared her son would die inside a U.S. prison.

"He is extremely vulnerable and would not survive," she said. "We want to try to bring him home from the U.S. to a secure place that will help him."



Photo Credit: AP

2 Dogs Drive Car Into West Va. Wal-Mart

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Two small dogs left alone in a running car knocked the vehicle into gear, causing it to crash into a West Virginia Wal-Mart.

Man Drives Into Sinkhole After Storm

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A North Carolina man is recovering after mistakenly driving into a massive sinkhole Sunday night. The sinkhole formed after a heavy storm broke a pipe, and when Robert Belcher saw water on the road, he assumed it was just a puddle.
"It was no puddle, but I didn't know that until I was in it. My truck had already went down and started flipping," Belcher said. Unable to open his car door, Belcher worked to break out the front windshield, punching it until it finally broke. He was able to escape, holding onto a tree limb until EMS crews pulled him to safety.

Bill Bratton Resigning as NYPD Commissioner

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NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton is stepping down as the city's top cop and will be replaced by Chief of Department  James O'Neill in September, Mayor de Blasio announced Tuesday. 

De Blasio lauded the commissioner's contributions to New York City since taking over the job in January 2014 and praised the man who will replace him, a veteran cop with more than 30 years on the force who grew up in the city and whose experience he said will advance the work of neighborhood policing. 

Under Bratton, the city already has made plans to shift toward that strategy, one predicated on building trust and working relationships between police and communities. O'Neill has been heavily involved in those efforts, and de Blasio said neighborhood policing would be in place in 51 precincts as of this fall. 

"I don't think anyone could've imagined a more productive 31 months. We will never forget or fail to honor the achievements of Bill Bratton," de Blasio said. 

Of O'Neill, he added, "Jimmy is the real thing in every way."

Bratton will stay on with the department until mid-September to ease the transition, officials said. According to a news release from global consulting firm Teneo, Bratton will join the company as the senior managing director and executive chairman of a newly formed risk management division.

Sources close to the commissioner told NBC 4 New York that the job was a "perfect fit" for financial and lifestyle reasons, and that Teneo wanted him sooner than he had planned to be available.

De Blasio joked that Bratton would be able to "afford" to take him out to eat in the new job. 

Bratton did not address the new position at the resignation announcement Tuesday, but instead reflected on his long-standing relationship with New York City and the people and politicians within it. The Massachusetts native called himself a "proud adopted son" of New York City and touted O'Neill's prowess, saying he would help make a seamless transition that, in this age of terror and sometimes volatile race relations, is more important than ever. 

The resignation comes days after Bratton told The New York Times in a widely cited interview that he wouldn't serve as the city's top cop after 2017. Law enforcement sources say he has been talking to de Blasio for at least a month about the possibility that he may vacate his office earlier. 

Bratton has served as the city's commissioner under de Blasio since January 2014 and was also the commissioner during the Giuliani administration. He is credited as one of the early proponents of the CompStat crime-tracking methodology and the "broken windows" policing philosophy, which prioritizes enforcement of minor offenses to prevent major violent crimes. He also served as the top cop in Los Angeles and Boston.

De Blasio tapped Bratton for the job after campaigning on a promise to change police tactics and the department's relationship with New Yorkers. In announcing his resignation Tuesday, de Blasio vowed to continue that charge, and said O'Neill would be an extraordinary leader of the department. 

O'Neill said rather than look at the promotion as the culmination of the career "of an old transit cop like me," he said he sees it as an opportunity and invitation to advance all of the work Bratton has done in the last 31 months. 

"I love being a cop. I love this uniform. I love what it stands for," O'Neill said. "We are here for you, the people of this city." 

O'Neill spoke of his optimism for the future -- a hopefulness imparted to him by his mother. 

"Because of her I learned we can change the world into what we want it to be and that life is about much much more than just oneself, it's about all of us," O'Neill said, choking back tears. 

He also emphasized the importance of bridging the divide between communities and police, and reiterated that the department knows most of the crimes in the city are perpetrated by a few criminals. O'Neill said he would focus on zeroing in on those perpetrators as Bratton has done while working to protect the city from broader scale threats like terrorism. 

Despite some of the lowest crime rates the city has seen in history, Bratton's latest tenure as the head of the NYPD has been marred by tumultuous relations with the public and a tense standoff between the department's rank-and-file union and de Blasio following the killings of two officers in late 2014. 

But sources close to the commissioner say he feels comfortable leaving the post with the crime rates as low as they are and in the capable hands of O'Neill. 

"I'm leaving because it's the right time," Bratton said Tuesday. 

The sources also said he wants to take more time for his three grandchildren, and that he wanted to leave before the next mayoral campaign. 

Ben Tucker, first deputy NYPD commissioner, will stay on, and Carlos Gomez, the NYPD's chief of patrol, who has been with the force since 1984, will take over as chief of department. Calling Gomez a great friend, O'Neill said he "has the will to make the change, the vision to make the change." 

The fate of others, including Deputy Commissioner of Intelligence & Counter-terrorism John Miller and spokesman Stephen Davis are unclear. 

Bratton's resume is unmatched in local law enforcement. He first held the top NYPD post in 1994 and is credited with leading the development of CompStat, a crime-mapping database begun in New York City that has been copied by police in other cities. Crime dropped significantly during his tenure, but civilian complaints about police misconduct and brutality went up. 

Somewhat coincidentally, protesters had staged a demonstration outside City Hall Monday night and Tuesday to call for Bratton's resignation. One protester said that he was "very happy" to see Bratton step down and that he "will take anyone over Bratton, even a corpse."

The head of the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, the NYPD's largest union, said that he "wishes him well in his new endeavors."

"We hope that Chief O'Neill will make supporting and protecting police officers on the street his first priority when he assumes his new role," said PBA President Patrick Lynch. "We look forward to working with him to make sure that New York City police officers are fully supported, with the fair compensation, staffing, equipment and training that we need to protect all New Yorkers.”

Under Giuliani, Bratton was also remembered for his theatrics, including proposing a police parade on his birthday. He left the job for the private sector in 1996, creating his own law enforcement consulting business. 

Bratton, a Vietnam veteran who began his career as a Boston police officer, served as chief of the LAPD from 2002 to 2009, where he dramatically expanded the use of stop and frisk. On his watch as NYPD commissioner, the department drastically scaled back that strategy, but stepped up enforcement against of so-called "quality of life" offenses. Critics said that approach still unfairly targeted people of color. 

Bratton was also hired by Oakland, California, in 2013 to serve as a consultant to the city’s troubled police department.



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Local Police Prepare for National Night Out Events

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Law enforcement officers in San Diego County will be opening their doors to visitors Tuesday for the annual National Night out.

The event to bring communities and law enforcement together takes on special meaning this year after the fatal shooting of SDPD Officer Jonathan DeGuzman.

DeGuzman and Officer Wade Irwin were shot Thursday night in Southcrest.

San Diego Police are planning to attend the following events:

  • Grape Day Park located at 321 N. Broadway in Escondido, from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
  • Colina Park, located at 5319 Orange Avenue, San Diego, from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
  • National City Municipal Pool, located at 1800 E 22nd St., National City, from 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

This is the 33rd National Night Out, an event celebrated in about 16,000 communities across the United States.

If you can't make it out to one of these events, the San Diego Sheriff's Department (SDSO) is asking that you leave your porch light on as a sign of solidarity.

Tropical Storm Earl Forms in Caribbean

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Tropical Storm Earl has officially formed in the Caribbean Sea.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said Tuesday that Earl was threatening to bring heavy rains, flooding and high winds to Mexico, Belize and Honduras. All three of those countries issued Tropical Storm warnings for some areas, and a hurricane watch was issued for part of the Mexican coast.

Earl was still a weaker tropical wave on Sunday but knocked down power lines and started a fire that killed six passengers on a bus filled with people returning from a beach excursion.

On Tuesday, the storm was centered about 535 miles (860 kilometers) east of Belize City in the Caribbean. It had top sustained winds of 45 mph (75 kph) and was speeding west at 22 mph (35 kph).

The tropical storm is not expected to impact Florida.

Andrew Bogut, Others Report Poor Accommodations at Olympic Village

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Thousands of athletes are flocking to Rio De Janeiro for the 2016 Olympic games and a handful are speaking out about the poor conditions at the Olympic Village.

Australian basketball star Andrew Bogut started using the ironic hashtag #IOCLuxuryLodging. Bogut, who plays center for the Dallas Mavericks, posted a picture of himself with the caption "putting together a shower curtain so we can shower and not flood the place."

Olympic field hockey player Georgie Parker responded to his tweet saying, “lights in our bathroom would be a nice addition. Luckily we have our #SamsungS7 to light the place! #IOCLuxuryLodging.”

Bogut later tweeted "At #IOCLuxuryLodging we believe a bed is not vital for sleep. Fine tuned athletes can sleep standing up."

Bogut’s tweets are just the latest in a string of drama surrounding accommodations for the Australian Olympic athletes.

Australia initially refused to move into its building at the Olympic Village, citing gas and plumbing leaks, electrical problems and unclean conditions. The athletes moved in later in the week but were evacuated on Friday after a small fire. No athletes were injured in the fire but when they returned after a half-hour outside, they found team shirts and two laptops had ben stolen.

The Associated Press reported at least a dozen other teams also complained of problems at the Olympic Village. "Please fix my toilet," one Kenyan athlete wrote on a whiteboard at the village intended for athletes to leave messages to Rio. Other teams have spoken about clogged drains and lack of hot water in the facilities.

According to the official Brazilian federal government portal for the Games, the 13 building Olympic Village can host 17,950 athletes and technical staff in 3,604 flats. The Brazilian government reports 18,000 people worked on the village's construction, which was funded by a public-private partnership.



Photo Credit: AP
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Man Sleeps Through SWAT Standoff

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A man wanted by San Diego Police apparently slept inside a Clairemont home Tuesday while police in tactical gear were stationed outside, demanding he surrender.

Two girls, ages 3 and 8 years old, were inside the home near Lakehurst Avenue at the time and also slept through the police action, officials said.

SDPD officials say the suspect had threatened his girlfriend with a knife.

She left the home at 11 p.m. and called police.

SDPD and SWAT were called and staged a five-hour standoff. A flash bang awakened the man. Soon after, he exited the home on crutches and was taken into custody without incident.

Officers say the man never threatened the safety of the children. The girls were returned to their mother.



Photo Credit: NBC 7

U.S. Women's Soccer Team to Play Wednesday

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San Diego's soccer fans are already making plans - where to be when the U.S. Women's National Team plays their first match in the 2016 Rio Olympics. 

Some of those same fans probably were in the stands of Qualcomm Stadium in January to see the women when play a friendly match against Ireland.

In front of her hometown, Fallbrook's Carli Lloyd scored a hat trick in the first 28 minutes.

On Wednesday, August 3 - two days before the Olympic opening ceremony - the U.S. women will face New Zealand beginning at 3 p.m. PT.

The match will take place at Mineirão Stadium in Belo Horizonte, approximately 300 miles north of Rio de Janeiro.

Here’s how the team's schedule shapes up for the first full week of the 2016 Rio Games:

On Saturday, August 6, the women face France beginning at 1 p.m. PT.

Then on Tuesday, August 9, they will go up against Colombia beginning at 3 p.m. PT.

All U.S. women's games will air live on NBC Sports Network with livestreams available on mobile devices (authentication through a participating TV provider is required).



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Starbucks Recalls Stainless Steel Straw

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Starbucks announced that it is recalling a stainless steel beverage straw for being too rigid and posing a risk of injury.

The company received four reports of children getting cuts in their mouths while drinking from the straws.

The recall involves about 2.5 million reusable straws in the United States, as well as around 301,000 sold in Canada.

The straws, which come in two sizes, were sold in sets of three and were included with the purchase of Starbucks 16-ounce Grande and 24-ounce Venti stainless steel beverage cups.

The company is warning consumers to avoid allowing children to use the straws.

Consumers can contact Starbucks at 800-782-7282 from 3 a.m. to Midnight PT daily or online on the Starbucks website. Click on “stainless steel straw warnings” for more information.

How Donald Trump Has Talked About Sexual Harassment

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Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said Monday in an interview with USA Today that his daughter Ivanka would not put up with sexual harassment.

"I would like to think she would find another career or find another company if that was the case," Trump told the paper, responding to a question about former Fox News chief Roger Ailes' alleged harassment at the cable network.

This wasn't Trump's first remark on the issue of sexual harassment.

Responding in 2013 to a Pentagon report that saw surging numbers of unreported sexual assaults and few prosecutions in the military, for example, Trump blamed gender integration (and the "very dumb politicians" he believes instituted military integration).



Photo Credit: AP

Bin Laden Compound Could Become Playground

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The compound where Osama bin Laden was hiding when Navy SEALs found and killed him five years ago looks set to become either a children's playground or a graveyard, a local official tells NBC News.

The site in Abbottabad, Pakistan, where the al Qaeda founder and 9/11 mastermind spent his last years has become the center of a turf war.

The local administration took possession of the 37,996-square-foot site after bin Laden was killed and his family captured on May 2, 2011. The house was razed, and the plot sits largely unused — although it occasionally becomes a makeshift cricket pitch or a kite-flying field for local children.

Now the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa wants to build a playground, while the local administration is trying to build a new graveyard, since there is a shortage of them in the area.



Photo Credit: AP, File

Small Chula Vista Brush Fire Scorches Half an Acre

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A small brush fire in Chula Vista scorched half an acre of land just off Interstate 5 South, officials said. 

The fire broke out around 10:21 a.m. Tuesday on the 200 block of Bay Boulevard in Chula Vista, located just west of Interstate 5, Chula Vista Fire Department officials said. 

When crews arrived, they found a half-acre brush fire with a moderate rate of spread. 

Officials said there are no need for evacuations at this time, and no injuries have been reported. 

Chula Vista Police are on scene helping with traffic control. 

No other information was immediately available.

Check back for updates on this breaking news story. 



Photo Credit: NBC 7 San Diego

Carlsbad Police Warn of Water Scam

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The Carlsbad Police Department is warning residents of a scam involving someone pretending to be part of the local water district in a ploy to enter the homes of locals.

The police department posted a scam alert to its Facebook page Tuesday, which warned: “If you get a phone call from someone implying that they represent the Water District saying they need to make an appointment to come inside your home to test the water for safety reasons, don’t make the appointment.”

Police said Carlsbad residents who get this type of call shouldn’t feel pressured into taking action and should take the time to make sure the request is legitimate. They should get the caller’s name, number and other details, including the company the caller claims to represent, and the cross-check those details with the company.

No further specifics on the scam were not released. If you feel you have been a victim of a scam like this call the Carlsbad’s non-emergency hotline at (760) 931-2197.

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