Being mayor of Vancouver might come with some perks, but it doesn’t mean you can escape crime.
Vancouver Mayor Tim Leavitt fell victim to a vehicle prowl over the weekend while he was in Portland visiting a friend. He said he parked his 2009 BMW in the Pearl District at about 5:30 p.m. Saturday, and at about 10 a.m. Sunday morning he found that someone had smashed in his passenger-side window with a concrete block.
“It was clearly a smash-and-grab effort,” Leavitt said. The burglar took the car’s owner’s manual from the glove box and some cash, prepaid car wash certificates and his phone’s charging cord from the console.
He said he didn’t have anything too valuable in the car, and “I can assure the public that there was not confidential information that has gotten into the wrong hands.”
It wasn’t the first time his vehicle has been broken into. Several years ago, Leavitt said, he “foolishly” left a laptop in the back seat of a vehicle while at a local golf course, and someone stole it.
On Saturday night, he left a small bag, a shoebox and some paperwork in his car, and even though they had no value, “the person that’s about to conduct the burglary doesn’t know that,” he said. Leavitt said he’s now learned not to leave anything visible inside of a car, even if the items aren’t worth much.
On Sunday, Leavitt dropped his BMW off for repairs, filed a police report and planned to call his insurance company this morning. He said the break-in was an inconvenience, but he knew he was just one of many people who’s experienced a vehicle prowl.
“I don’t have any optimism that somebody is going to be caught,” he said. “At one time or another we all become victims to individuals who don’t respect other people’s property and are desperate enough to commit crimes.”
