Do they only shine the light at your house when your boyfriend is away? Maybe they are hoping to come by one night, and find you asleep and alone? This has some ominous overtones IMO. Be careful.
Document, document, document. I wouldn’t confront them directly when alone. Maybe you could get a reputable (as in no record with the law) friend to come by and witness this with you, and get them to write down, date and sign what they witnessed? Have them park their car away from your house. After you’ve got a pattern documented, consult a lawyer that works with the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union.) and get this stopped. I’m not sure moving will put a stop to this, unless you leave town.
My suggestion would be to go to the Police Station and speak to a supervisor. Don’t be confrontational (you can get to that stage later, if necessary). Explain what is happening, and ask him or her to find out what is going on. Tell the supervisor that you want to assist the police if they are looking for something specific, but explain that the spotlight every night is disturbing you.
If you don’t get a satisfactory answer and it continues, then file a formal complaint with the Department.
If that still doesn’t do it, then the ACLU may be the way to go.
When I read the OP I thought it sounded like creepy, stalkerish behavior too. The things you did are so minor I can’t think of any other reason they could be doing this. Even in a small town there are many more interesting people they could be watching.
First thing you should do is get some window coverings, even if you weren’t having this problem no one should be able to lurk around outside your house and tell when you’re alone. Once the window coverings are up you can peek at the police car without them seeing you and see how long they actually stick around if they can’t see you. Get some binoculars so you can read the car number and maybe see who is in the car. This gives you more information to report if you decide to go that way.
Ding! Ding! Ding! And the prize goes to Badge. Best advice in the thread.
I’ve had to assist clients (IAAL) a few times each year with police complaints, and once on my own behalf (an officer was making threats against me because I garnished his wages). Every time the shift supervisor was able to effectively deal with the problem, either by satisfactorily explaining why the behaviour was reasonable, or by having the officer stop the inapppropriate behaviour. An open and frank discussion with the shift supervisor is the best place to start, and hopefully (and probably) will save you from having to wratchet up the conflict through a formal complaint or private charge.
If such a conversation does not solve the problem, then do the notes/video/witness thing and retain a criminal lawyer who knows the officers in town.
Ditto on what Badge said. The shift commander/patrol Sgt. etc. is the person to see. That doesn’t work, go on up the ladder to the Chief. Take it as high as the highest public official in your area before you take it to the ACLU. Trust me.
You think the cops are assholes now, wait until you sic the ACLU lawyers on 'em.
That’s what I was thinkingt oo? Wasn’t there some poster not long a ago who had an unusual run in with police because someone they didn’t know had listed them as THE person to contact. The the bad guy skipped out on bail and was wanted.
I don’t remember who posted it, but it was something really random. They had no idea who the wanted person was but the police were coming by their place looking for him.
Or they could just be a pair of uniformed doofuses, who have an established pattern of doofus behaviour and their superior don’t know what they’re up to.
I would sent a nice friendly note that says something along the lines of “I appreciate the regular patrols that keep our neighbourhoods safe, but as I am pregnant and my delicate physical condition requires me to get a compelte night’s rest, is it possible to refrain from shining the light into our house? It has occured on this, that, and the other nights, and is a bit excessive.”
That way you establish that there has been a pattern, you’d like it to stop, but you’re also not saying “tell the doofuses to knock it off”. You want it to look like a legitimate concern not complaint. And if you word it juuuuuust so, you can get the supervisor thinking that, in the interest of avoiding liability, the doofuses should knock it off. They shouldn’t be harassing a pregnant woman and the shtuff will hit the fan if anything happens.
A friendly-but-official notificiation may do better at this point. If they’ just being a pair of dumbasses just being idiots for shits-n-giggles, all should be okay 'cause their boss will tell them off. If it continues or escalates, then it’s serious harassment you’ll know it and then you should get a lawyer involved.
We used to have quite a bit of police harrassment in town. Then someone went to the town council and complained. The newspaper reported it. More people complained. More coverage by the newspaper. A petition was circulated. Letters to the editor were written. The town council appointed an outside investigator to check out the situation. The chief and three officers resigned.
It took about five months from start to finish, but currently we have a police department to be proud of and it all started with one man getting up in front of the town council and speaking out.
I know it is hokey to say, but I was very proud to be a citizen of this country.
Some people see a police officer and feel safe knowing they’re around. Other people see an officer and fear he’s there to persecute them.
I think you can tell a lot about a person based on this attitude.
For one thing, people with the wrong attitude tend to have a history of oh, I dunno getting picked up for drinking and driving, or maybe bar fights. Or maybe other things that don’t pop to the surface immediately.
Because noone has ever legitimately suffered from police harassment right? We all know that those immigrants who fled their country just like to whine about being persecuted. And of course, no american police department has ever has systematic problems.
Or maybe people go through wild periods, where they are young, and think they are invincible, during which they make mistakes? Maybe these same people realize that doing such things won’t help them thrive, so they decide to clean up their act? She’s pregnant, and giving the benefit of the doubt, I’d say she’s settling into a responsible adult life now, and thus the activity by the police is unwarrented.
Not all police officers are like this, and such things can be found anywhere. Just because the person might have made mistakes and broken laws or ordinances does not give those who uphold the law the right to take on the role of “Fury”. This isn’t the society portrayed by “Les Miserabe”, and such hounding shouldn’t be condoned.
tangental anecdote/
I’ve seen small town police give unwarrented attentions, I’ve personally experienced it post 9/11. I was stopped on my apartment building doorstep, key in hand and asked what I was doing. (Which is one block from the police station, and due to the fact that I had a restraining order in place that I had to get police help to enforce, I’m fairly certain my residency was established there.) I was followed all around town as I paid my bills just because me and my (then) fiance wore dark clothes. (No, no outlandish make-up or jewelry, just dark jeans and t-shirts. It was chilly, so coats were needed.) I wore a flannel lined blue jean jacket, and he had on a brown Calvin Klein trench coat, (Christmas gift from his mom) that he wore because he felt it was less drafty than a regular coat. This was October first at midday, and we couldn’t help but notice as we walked to cash my check, then go pay the bills/shop, that the same police officer would be nearby, often parked, watching us. After the third location, and well over an hour due to some shopping, we figured it was safe to assume that he was watching us. It was a creepy feeling.
Before you say “trench coat” means suspicious, know that this is a VERY small town, and his mother was a teacher for the “disruptive” middle school students, and was on a first name basis with the police force, and that they also knew who he was by sight. He had no (notable) criminal record, only a city ordinance violation. (Curfew at age 16)
Also, before you say “How do you know it was your dark clothes, etc.” realize that there were several people in the school district speaking out against “goths”. (The “anti-goths” were outnumbered by people who didn’t agree with them, but these people weren’t as vociferous and so got shouted down. It’s not so much the town as a whole, as a faction in the town.) One of them said people who wear black are evil, that the color black is evil and all goths are satanists, and tried to forbid the students from wearing black. (This man recently got elected to office and manages the school system) The youth liason officer (it’s called the D.A.R.E. program here) told the children that goths are evil, and violent drug users among other things.
This is directly quoting an intelligent middle school girl (friend’s daughter) who had just heard the officer speak. Also, my mother-in-law herself heard some of the things this person said about goths, and was indignant over it. I think it was part of the super paranoia just after 9/11, because we hadn’t had a problem like that before, and after the one year anniversary it tapered off, and now were are pretty much “citizens” again.
My husband decided to just wear black jeans and black t-shirts so that there would be no mistaking him for a “gang” member. (Yes, this town has “Crips” and “Bloods”, though I suspect they aren’t on par with the big city gang bangers, it’s still best to just steer clear of them.) At that time, all he owned was black jeans and black t-shirts, except for his suit. I’ve always liked dark, or vibrant colors, and that day I just grabbed one of my favorite print t-shirts, and jeans to match.
thank you all for the wonderful advice. bill h… don’t be so quick to judge people, its not right. i made it clear i am no criminal. take it or leave it, believe it or don’t but i was asking for advice not for you to analize the type of person i am. your wrong about me and people in general. i shouldn’t have to justify myself to such close minded people. :smack:
I think you may find my initial advice (at the top of this thread) has merit and is worth considering.
If you take the attitude that the police are there to protect you, and go outside and greet them, ask them if there’s anything they’re concerned about, and thank them for their attention to your safety, I believe you’ll find they’re good people who are just doing their job. If you position yourself as one who is law-abiding and police-friendly, you’ll find that they will treat you likewise. If on the other hand, you call in to headquarters and ask why you’re being harassed, that you’re positioning yourself as anti-police and suspect, and you’ll be treated as such.
Start documenting the dates and times the police cars are doing this. Get identifying numbers from the car if possible (look on the sides or the license plates). Once you’ve got information about several incidents take it to the police station and report it to a supervisor. A general complaint that “the cops are harassing me” is easy to ignore; a specific complaint with details will be investigated.
If there’s no good reason for the police to be crusing past your house, the supervisors will tell these guys to knock it off and get back to doing their real work. If there is a good reason for them to be doing this (and no offense but I don’t know you) then you won’t have lost anything. If there’s no good reason for them to do it and they keep on doing it anyway, you’ll have a stronger case when you go to an outside agency (like the ACLU or local media) with your complaint.
As Badge has already given good solid advice, my first advice (tongue-in-cheek) would be to cover your windows with tin foil as a two-fold solution: It would act as a partial mirror and help reflect that light back into the offending officer’s face, and it would also help block those telepathetic thoughts the goverment may be sending your way.
Given that I’m not sure we’re hearing the whole story, I have to respectfully ask one question. Are you sure it’s a “black and white” that’s shining a light into your house? I mean, after a year, it would seem to get old after awhile. Are you positive it’s the police and not someone else? Is there someone your boyfriend knows that is just trying to harass him, and may go to such lengths? It’s been a year, and you were (pardon the pun) lit up for pretty damned minor offenses. Small town or not, this doesn’t smell like a totally logical situation.
But, Badge does have a point.
Tripler
Just trying to shine an alternate light on the problem.
