OT: How to get cops to enforece law

[Wilfred Xavier Pickles]

I'm living in a densely populated urban area (alias "Big City"). There is an ordinance forbidding use of fireworks.

The flake across the alley is a certified nuisance. Has a black lab that just barks and barks for no reason. Contrary to city ordinance, but he's a sweet talker and the cops don't want to enforce the law, so the dog continues to bark and bark.

Flake likes his fireworks. Fired off lots of roman candle thingies the other day. I got lots of cardboard packing from the candles in my back yard.

Flake is dangerous. Could easily start a house-fire. I tell him "I don't care about firecrackers, but please don't shoot balls of fire into our sky", and it's like water off a ducks back.

Cops wanna enforce the law only when it's *their* call and they have a desire to enforce.

How do ya get them to enforce the law as written?

Thx, Will

[RosemontCrest]

I believe that this post is not at all off topic.

If you have evidence that said 'Flake' is accountable for the irresponsible discharge of fireworks, I suggest that you file a formal complaint with the local PD, and perhaps the FD. Simply calling and complaining may not suffice; file a written formal complaint. That may get the attention of the local authorities.

I'm all for the responsible enjoyment of fireworks, but when such discharge endangers surrounding homes, I'll be the first one to file a formal complaint.

Good luck.

[RosemontCrest]

I should ad that simply filing a complaint will not prevent the idiot from continuing its behavior, but it will document a likely perpetrator should your house go up in flames. ;-)

[RosemontCrest]

I should add that simply filing a complaint will not prevent the idiot from continuing its behavior, but it will document a likely perpetrator should your house go up in flames. ;-)

[notbob]

Complain to the fire dept, first. As an ex-fireman, I can tell you they really hate going out on runs when they're eating. ;)

nb

[RosemontCrest]

;-)

What follows is definitely off-topic. I work for a company that manufactures AEDs (Physio-Control) and I have experienced "ride-along" rides that support nb's claim. Don't mess with your local FD. ;-)

[RosemontCrest]

;-)

What follows is definitely off-topic. I work for a company that manufactures AEDs (Physio-Control) and I have experienced "ride-along" rides that support nb's claim. Don't mess with your local FD unless you have good reason. ;-)

[HeyBub]

Skip the cops. Go directly to the intake division of the District Attorney's office. If it's a city ordinance that's being violated, go to the clerk's office of your municipal court.

Cops (usually) cannot arrest or cite a citizen for a misdemeanor complaint made by another citizen - the cop has to witness the violation himself. If the dog is not barking, or your neighbor is not firing off explosives when they arrive, all the cop can do is "advise" the miscreant.

Be prepared for retaliation.

[The Daring Dufas]

Document his behavior, use a video camera and get several witnesses. Sue the bastard for his house, take it away from him and kick him out. We had a case here where a neighbor sued another over a nuisance. The wife ignored the summons and lost by default. She never told her husband what was going on and he came home from work one day to find his stuff being removed from his former home which now belonged to the neighbor. Perhaps you can sue the nut job and he will ignore the summons and lose by default. It could be a lot of fun for you. :-)

TDD

[Twayne]

File a formal, written complaint each time it happens. Quote the offender's exact words to you when you discussed it with him. Share it with the newspapers if nothing happens but stick to FACTS only! NO opinions. Find & quote the law from any source you can find its number & title from. Opinions would only have a place in an open, short editorial. Be very careful not to libel or defame.

HTH,

Twayne`

[zxcvbob]

Have you tried offering them a donut?

-Bob

[G. Morgan]

That's a tough one. My ex g/f had her home burglarized and the cop took

45min.- 1 hour to get there (Houston). Once there, he didn't want any part of an 'investigation', he just wanted to file the report and go (close to end-of-shift). She asked him to take fingerprints, they were all over the plasma TV they couldn't get off the wall. He wouldn't take prints from 'anywhere'. He basically just told her to never expect her jewelry back.

I wasn't there. It would have been different if I was. I would have asked for a Sergeant to come out, instead of let this jerk just blow me off. You know damn well if the cop was burglarized there would be a full CSI unit out there!

All I can suggest is to request a supervisor (usually a Sergeant), and document the complaint (the guy shooting fireworks) and the police response with video/audio. Then you can deal with the D/A directly. You could also call the State Police and ask for advice. They may intervene.

Check your State laws about recording audio. Some States are funny about that.

[G. Morgan]

What judge would grant a default judgment on a nuisance case, and give the whole house to the plaintiff? How bad could the nuisance (obviously the female) be if the plaintiff was suing for the value of the entire house?

What's the rest of the story?

[Kurt Ullman]

These are all related to telephone calls. As long as one is outside or in another public place, you are free to tape from either your yard or a public area such as a sidewalk. There is no expectation of privacy in a public setting. The courts have said, for instance, that photographers can take pictures of anything they see from the sidewalk. However, they have also stated that you can't put a ladder on the aforementioned public sidewalk to gaze over the 8 foot high brick wall. The cops would be hard pressed to say anything if you recorded your phone conversation with them, since they tape everything anyway.

[The Daring Dufas]

I don't remember all the details but if I can find it in The Birmingham News archive I'll post a link to the story. I just remember the wife didn't tell her husband what was going on and he was blindsided by a default judgment. It's been some years.

TDD

[Wilfred Xavier Pickles]

You're just pullin' my leg. Eh? Eh??

If not, tell me (in detail) what the FD could/would-likely do.

Will

[Wilfred Xavier Pickles]

Thanks, but he's not that dumb. He's a manipulator and a hustler, could sweet-talk granma out of her false teeth.

They do fireworks in back where they have a privacy fence. I got a dig-cam that will do a little video. Better than nothing.

Thing is, it's not supposed to be my job to enforce the law. Thats what we are paying cops (plenty, plenty, and plenty) to do.

Will

[Robert Green]

You'd think that but there's a case in Maryland that's dealing with a motorcyclist recording a very public traffic stop with a helmet cam. They came to his house at 5AM to remove all his photographic equipment. Very ugly, still in the courts, AFAIK.

Forcing cops to care about something they obviously don't care about isn't going to work out well for the OP, I am afraid. Their likely response is to look for some illegal behavior of the OP to cite THEM with. A long time ago I got a lecture from my friend's dad, a photographer for the NY Daily News who said "Never piss off a cop for any reason. They've got guns." It was good advice.

I would suggest an anonymous call to an insurance fraud hotline. Storing illegal fireworks on the premises puts THEM at financial risk, meaning they have a real dog in this hunt, unlike the cops, the DA, etc. While they are really looking for people who've filed false claims, they will be interested in someone who's taking risks they haven't factored into their premiums. At least more interested than any random cop.

When the bad neighbor gets a visit from a insurance rep and the rates go up, be prepared for retaliation.

Of course, I would NEVER go through official channels on something like this. I'd seek out frontier justice although once you've filed an official complaint, FJ is likely to backfire. At least the OP's learned for the next time. Smile, don't complain, take notes, then revenge.

-- Bobby G.

[notbob]

Yer lucky it wasn't the cop burglerizing yer house.

About 13-15 yrs ago, CA had a temporary law on the books allowing cops to confiscate items they believed to be acquired from drug profits. It got so bad, cops were stripping wallets/homes of cash and personal belongings under this bogus pretense. Fortunately, the law was grandfathered (due to expire if not renewed by legislative vote) and a San Jose Mercury investigation/expose so outraged CA voters, the crooks in Sacramento would't touch it and the law died a timely death. Basically, it was legalized theft and the law enforcement community was not timid about taking full advantage of it.

nb

[Kurt Ullman]

Beside the point. This particular case is based more on search and seizure than privacy and is also related to the cops. If the Supremes do say you can't attach GPS w/o warrant (50-50 given this court), when you parse it out, it'll say roughly that the GPS is the equivalent of the ladder we discussed earlier. If the technology is there, it is already legal to use more passive systems, for instance traffic cams or similar, to track a person to your little heart's content. As recognized by the Supreme Court in United States vs. Knotts 368 U.S. 276, 281-82 (1983): "A person traveling in an automobile on public thoroughfares has no reasonable expectation of privacy in his movements from one place to another. When [an individual] traveled over the public streets he voluntarily conveyed to anyone who wanted to look the fact that he was traveling over particular roads in a particular direction, and the fact of his final destination when he exited from public roads onto private property." Following this reasoning courts, for the most part, have allowed police to videotape individuals on public roads. They can put them under surveillance and follow them around as long as the overtime holds out. *IF* they say this is okay in this case, it will be interesting to see how it parses out since it was put on the car in a public parking lot.