IMHO, file a police report. If the cops had told me it was a bad idea to talk to the psycho 'cause it might set him off, I’d a read them the riot act. They should talk to him because:
If he’s a psycho, go find out! He may already be set off.
Only psycho’s do evil stuff??? From the OP, the buttwipe sounds pretty lucid. Possibly a rapist looking for a defensless victim.
Hey, somebody’s lurking in the bushes, fer chrissakes. Maybe not the same guy on the phone, but so what???
Call the twerp and let him know you know who and where he is, and so do the cops. This, in itself, will take away much of his bravado.
Only you know if a gun is an answer for you. You’ve got to decide whether or not you’re the type to panic and blow a hole in a neihborhood kid. Here in California, passing a gun safety test is a requirement for purchasing a handgun. But a gun in a house with kids is always a bit risky.
First let me ask stedman does your sister have kids? And if she does how old are they. I guess some of ya’ll didn’t read my post to well. I said if stedman’s sister had young children she would need to take some extra precautions(like seperate the shells from the gun). Second of course she should get some training on guns if she is not familiar with them. I thought everybody was familiar with guns I am from Texas ya know. If the kids are old enough, talk to them about gun safety and respect. Kids are smarter than people give them credit for I think sometime.
Like I said all of ya’ll have had great suggestions but face it cops, neighbors etc. or not going to get their in time to help this poor woman if this wacko dude comes into her house to do harm. Only a gun will put her as equal and if she trains with it regulary maybe even better adversary with this wacko even if he has a gun.
I would definitely contact the owner of the cell phone and let them know that they are being listed in a police report and if not personally involved in the occurrence, that they may want to take steps to protect themselves from liability in case charges filed.
Our neighborhood is dealing with a guy who is exposing himself to the school children who walk through the area. So here is general information that we have found out.
Call the police, file a report, and make sure to talk with a detective. Push the police on this. Like mentioned earlier, request a patrol.
Talk with the neighbors. Make arrangements with any and all to watch out for anyone. Basically anyone who is not where they should be is watched. This includes your neighbors. Most crimes against people are committed by people who are known to the victim. The most effective technique is to have people walk out of their house and be “seen” looking at the person, the car, whatever. This lets the person know that there are witnesses. This will work on any activity in the neighborhood.
Talk with the kids, plan what should be done. My wife and I felt really bad that we had to discuss topics like this with our 9 year old daughter but it needs to be done. Teach them to run away, to scream, where to go, family code words, etc…
Install motion detectors to control outside lighting. A very effective tool. It should be used around the house, not just the front door. A fairly handy person can run external power through EMT from the main panel to any point you want a light.
A gun is not a good idea unless you know how to use one, it is readily available, and most importantly, you can and will kill another human being. If you are not totally committed to using it early enough in an encounter, it may become more of a liability than an asset.
The are some really nice night-vision video cameras available from X10.COM. These can be hooked up to your VCR and you can see if and who may be walking around your house after dark.
I canNOT believe you are dealing with police officers whose response to phone harassment/threats (traceable to a certain person) would be “well, if we talk to him it might ‘set him off.’” What the heck are they there for, if not to investigate crime and protect the populace? You are dealing with some lazy-ass cops, and I wouldn’t take that as an answer for one minute.
File a report. Include the information about who you think made the call (and why) AND the fact that you think this person was not only on the phone but on the property. Firmly (and repeatedly, if necessary) request that the police talk to this individual, and ask that they convey to him the fact that they (and you) know where he works and that any further harassment could lead to unfortunate circumstances for him, ranging from mild (someone dropping a word in his boss’s ear about his behavior) to severe (arrest).
Do NOT beat the guy up! I know that’s your gut-instinct, but you’ll be in a heck of a lot more trouble for assault and battery than he would be for the phone call – assuming you can prove he made it. Don’t even threaten him; that is itself intimidation and assault. You must let the cops handle it (lamers that they apparently are) and the best your family can do is make it very clear that you DO expect them to handle it – firmly, appropriately, and immediately. I might also consider a letter to the chief of police outlining just how poorly your family’s complaint has been handled and how non-responsive you found the force to be.
A gun in the house is your call, but I personally think the statistics on the efficacy of guns for home-protection speak for themselves. Whatever you decide on that issue, the bottom line is that you cannot legally construe the cops’ inaction as reason to take the matter into your own hands. Do what you have to do to get them off their collective ass and make them do their job, but you cannot legally do it for them.
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*Originally posted by Wildest Bill *
First let me ask stedman does your sister have kids?
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First off I’m a little calmer today but if you are saying I’m dating Oprah I’ll kick your ass!
Now we are still gathering additional info. And looking to confirm the name is a match to the cell #.
As far as a gun goes, my brother in law has at least 1 gun but it is a deer rifle and I am not sure he keeps it at the house. While I agree a gun is the right thing for a well trained person it is also the worst thing for someone untrained. I have a hard time picturing my sister target shooting much less pulling the trigger on an intruder. It’s not her style. This might set her off though and as long as she practices more power to her.
The biggest danger people who buy guns for protection run into is a lot of them are not willing to pull the trigger when push comes to shove.
They have a full house 2 boys(10 and 8) and 1 girl (almost 1 yr old). I haven’t talked to my brother in law yet but you can be damn sure if it was my wife being stalked the cops would have been told to do something about it because it would be a whole Hell of a lot more paper work for them if it was left up to me to resolve it.
I understand your points and I am becoming slightly more rationale about it. I will continue to urge them to contact the police and I will let you know what happens. I came up with several solutions to this problem that don’t involve doing it the right way. And I really think I could get away with most of them. But there is always that little “what if I got caught” voice in the back of my head.
Now I’m getting fired up again. Evil thoughts…. God they just sound so damn rational when your blood is boiling.
Hey, if nothing at all else **Sledman ** I always got your name right.
Yes, please hold onto those thoughts about how much better off you and your family would be with you on the outside of prison walls and that idiot on the inside.
Information is always better.
How about a big type dog??? could that be done (it’s not the same level of deterent, but can be pretty effective and not as dangerous for the little ones). One with a loud bark.
The freak has apparently also called my Sister’s neighbor within the last week and last Saturday my sister got up at 3:30 am and turned the lights on in the house and all of a sudden a truck starts up and takes off from the cul de sac. Same truck that was spotted there on the original occurrence. (they are out of town far enough where no one parks on the cul de sac and the neighbor’s don’t recognize the truck from her description.)
Yesterday was apparently spent leaving messages for the police lieutenant regarding this. He never returned her calls…
No more info yet on this dude…or confirmation. Still working on it. Police better do something or I am calling the lieutenant. Lazy bastards….
I have more than enough patience to lay in wait for this guy outside my sister’s house if necessary. I’m thinking I could put an end to this very easily in that manner.
wring…
They have a Golden Retriever.
I’m thinking a little tap on the window while Mr. Freaky Deek is sitting in his truck jacking off or whatever might make things interesting. A tap with a big ass rock that is… after putting blocks in front of and behind the wheels…
You know who this is now, right? and you have documentation about the vehicle, and person? You’ve called the police, and they haven’t responded. You also can call the prosecuting attorney’s office, indicating all the issues. also your local legislative type folks - the smaller the level the better, actually - like if you have a city council person, they’re more likely to call up the cops and say “what the hell’s stopping you?”
Go to a judge and ask for a restraining order. (while in general, you aren’t allowed to restrain folks from public areas, he’s made unwelcome contact with two neighbors, they may go for it).
As far as the confronting him yourself: go for taking his picture. That won’t get YOU in legal trouble & it’ll assist the case.
It’s sounding more and more like twisted idiot young person looking for reactions from helpless folks. He needs to be stopped, yes. But he’s trying (and succeeeding) in scaring your sister and her neighbors. that may be his true aim. what a jerk.
Are you sure he doesn’t KNOW your sister or her neighbors?
anyhow, thanks for the update, am interested in the followup.
This is a general lawyer’s trick - I’m not sure if it would be considered antagonism by the cops, which you probably want to avoid, but it might help light a fire under them. Instead of calling, start writing letters. That way there’s a paper trail a.) for you to use as leverage to get some action; b.) for you to use as a record of the offender’s actions; c.) for the police officer’s supervisors to see and worry about. If you’re not worried about antagonizing the cop, start cc-ing higher-ups like the mayor. I also really like the idea of taking photographs/video of this guy and letting him know it. Turn the tables, but in an entirely legal fashion.
I haven’t ruled out this pile of dung from somehow knowing my sister. He apparently works for an insurance underwriting company and my sister worked at a large medical insurance company in town until recently.
The cops better do something and he better get the hint before Sledman gets motivated enough to ignore the little voice in the back of his head. Putz headed whackin’ weasel.
I like the idea of having about 10 cars roll up on him while he’s sitting in the Cul de Sac and everyone park him in, then just get out and start talking to each other like he isn’t there. Or about him like he isn’t there. All the while keeping a close eye on what he may do.
Mr. Sicko…let’s call him Brent….because that’s his name……has hopefully changed his mind on who he will be harassing. The police actually saw fit to take some action finally. I think the straw was when Brent made another call this time to my sister’s neighbor and scared her little girl.
So Mr. Officer called him up and explained who he was and that this is not a prank and that Mr. Sick Puppy needed to call him back at such and such number at the station. When the little weasel dick called back the officer explained to him what was going on and that they knew it was him. Which of course the sheep felcher denied. Mr. Officer explained the information they knew and that if anything happened to any kid in that neighborhood they would be coming directly to his place of employment. This brought additional denials but also a very shaky cracking voice. The officer told my sister he had no doubts that Brent W…. (man I just want to put his last name here but I know I will bring the wrath of the mods)…… who works at an insurance underwriting firm in Appleton is the guilty party.
Hopefully he will reconsider his hobby….or I’ll invite him to join me in one of mine this weekend…
Anyway……Thanks everyone and hopefully we have resolution to this problem and at no point will Sledman end up in jail as a result.
excellent news ** Sledman** (well, not excellent that the poor little girl got scared by the idiot). glad you’re not going to jail over some weasel. especially glad said weasel has been “spoken to” by the cops (as it should have happened.)
And, as a result: I promise that I will NEVER purchase insurance from a guy named Brent in Appleton!
If the kids are old enough, talk to them about gun safety and respect. Kids are smarter than people give them credit for I think sometime.