i live in a fairly small town in massachusetts. i had a few minor run ins with the police and all well over a year ago. don’t get the wrong idea about me, i’m no criminal and have never been arrested. although i did get pc’d due to drinking too much. anyway since then the police have weekly come by my house stopped right in front and shined their spotlights that are attached to their side mirrors right i my front window. its always late at night and since i don’t sleep nights i’m always up to see it. i’m so fired up because it happened again tonight at 1am. i called the police station and said why would they come by shine their light in my window only and then take off when they realize i see them. the cop who answered the phone says. uh…i don’t know nothing going on over there so i don’t know why they did that. i said is there someone who does know. he says…no. so what do i do. i’ve been told to get a lawyer but in a lot of ways it seems that i would be getting myself into more trouble and be gaining a lot more enemies on the police force. but i feel so harassed and violated to the point that i want to move. is there any other option besides moving? PLEASE HELP!!! thanks
-jen
Without knowing you, I’d say you’re doing something to attract attention to yourself. You may say you’re not but the police say otherwise. It may be some activity, habit, association, tendency, affiliation, whatever. Stopping what ever it is will stop the late night police visits. They’re doing what they’re doing for a reason.
Sorry if this wasn’t what you wanted to hear.
Um, go outside and talk to the officers?
And take your gun with you. And an open bottle of liquor.
I disagree. Small-town cops love to harrass people when they have nothing else to do, in my experience. I’ve been the victim of this before. Usually seems to be a power-trip thing. I think assuming that police only bother those who are doing something wrong is a dangerous thing.
What if what he is doing is completely legal and/or innocent? He/she has no duty to stop this because it puts a stick up some cop’s ass. If he is not breaking the law, he has a right/regulated priviledge to be free of harassment.
i’m not in denial or anything else and by association or otherwise i’m not bringing this on myself. i’m 3 months pregnant do not drink the incidents i had like i said were over a year ago. my b/f works nights and i stay home with my son. no loud music etc. no reason for them to be doing this. and in reponce to another comment as soon as i look out the window they take off. if they stayed i would go talk to them of couse…but they don’t. its a small town seems like they got nothing better to do than harass people. and they get away with it. its not right. what actions can i personally take to resolve this?
thank you 
Try getting it on video tape multiple times with the date showing. Then talk to a lawyer or the local ACLU.
i’m sorry your so niave. not to be mean. its just that if you think cops harass only people that deserve it you are so wrong.
thank you i’m thinking of doing just that, um only thing i’m unsure is aclu?
Run into the police station with a chocolate gun to give the cops as a present, be sure to keep it inside your coat at first so it surprises them. Then pull it out quickly and go, “Here ya go, BANG!”
you try it first tell me how it goes :dubious:
Is there any possibility that your previous self-described “run-ins” involved anybody in addition to yourself? In other words, is there any chance that the cops are hoping to find somebody else that they think might be hanging around with you?
Alternatively, is there any chance the cops don’t even know you and are just on patrol? I’ve seen cops drive down streets slowly shining their spots into alleys, behind bushes etc. just to see if anybody’s hiding. Are you sure they’re only stopping at your house? And even then, if your house is the only one on your block with lights on late at night, that might cause them to drive by and see if anything untoward is going on.
Apparently they haven’t said anything to you, they haven’t looked for excuses to write parking tickets on you, they’re not following you down the street. Maybe you could choose to feel more secure that the cops are keeping an eye on your house and just not worry about it.
Also, aclu is the American Civil Liberties Union. They help victims of real government harassment, which your situation maybe isn’t.
no i wasn’t with anybody when i had the run-ins. maybe i should clarify what they are. a bar fight and another time i was pc’d for drinking and driving which i regret and am not proud of. yes i am sure i am the only house. but you have a valid point my house is the only one with the lights on at night. but it shouldn’t give them a reason to one disturb me every week and two not answer my questions as to why they are coming by when i call the station. ty for clearing up that aclu thing too
If you suspect you’re being harrassed, I would suggest you keep a journal of events. Jot down the date and time when this happens, and exactly what they are doing. I wonder if there is any way for you to identify the exact patrol car when it occurs? I don’t know if they have any identifiers, like numbers on the side, or if you could even see that from your window. Videotaping or taking pictures wouldn’t be a bad idea, either, if they will turn out under those lighting conditions.
Anyway, if you’re jotting down the exact information, I imagine if it came down to it, you could track down which officers are doing this. Additionally, a pattern might emerge.
Does your boyfriend know about this? Does he have any particular opinion on why this might be happening?
i call my b/f eveytime it happens he actually suggested the same thing jotting down the date and time. i did that tonight and will continue to but all the other times it happened i didn’t write it down :smack: . i got to first fit a camcorder into the budget. i don’t own one. but i will definately be keeping a log from now on. i’m just not sure where to go from there. i’m afraid if i “rock the boat” i set myself up for more harassment 
i appreciate the responces from everyone thank you
No, I stand by what I said. Something is making the police watch you over all the other people in your town. And I’m no friend of the police, either. Everytime I’ve had troube with the cops, its something I’m doing or have done. When I said ‘they’re doing what they’re doing for a reason’, I mean some reason. It doesn’t need to be legitimate or right. It might be that you have a past, are friends with people the cops have their eye on, you dress like a gangster, are up during the night, your boyfirend is up to something, are checking up on the towns arrestees, anything.
The question was ‘Is there a way to stop police harassment.’
They can always say they’re conducting ‘prowler checks’, by the way.
Next time they come, go out to the car and ask them to knock it off. Shining a spotlight into someone’s house in the middle of the night likely violates some ordinance or another.
Get the car # or license #, call the police and ask them why car # x has been shining a spotlight into your house in the middle of the night. You don’t need a camcorder, just pen & paper. If they are unresponsive, go up the ladder to the police commissioner, mayor, city council, State Attorney General, etc.
The police are not God, and you don’t have to let them harass you.
Shine a big lamp back at them.