I think you can get shot for doing this in several major cities.
yes i’m sure it was a cop car each time. my computer is right next to the window and it’s where i usually spend my time at night so i almost always see them. i can see that its a cop car clearly but when i look for the plate # or car # they take off. it is the whole story and i’ve anwsered all questions asked. the only other thing which may be worth saying is the night i was pc’d i told one cop off pretty bad. maybe he’s holding a grudge i don’t know?
mattapoisett, massachusetts
ok… to be making jokes at my expense because of my typing skills it’s right. i got my point across that’s all that’s important(you know who you are). and while i did get some wonderful and very useful advice which i will use, i’m getting a little down reading some responses because i think a few of you are getting the wrong idea about me. i’m not paranoid, i don’t think it’s a goverment conspiracy, and i’m not bringing this on myself. my point is i’ll take the advice i got and which i am thankful for but i won’t be checking this post anymore. unfortunately i take things to heart and it gets to me. so unless you guys want to talk amongst yourselves here there’s no point in leaving anymore advice because i will not see it. thank you anyways.
Do I ever feel bad for you. Must take forever when you’re filling out all of those forms.
Don’t call. Go in to the police station during the daytime. Explain the situation in an understanding manner, ie. not “I’m being harassed!” but rather “I’m concerned about these late-night visits and they’re interfering with my day to day life.” Be patient and not quick to judge. Make sure to ask to speak to a shift sergeant (politely) and be willing to wait a little bit for him/her to arrive if he/she is currently on patrol. Give specific examples.
Most shift sergeants have gotten to that position because they have a fairly level head. Come across not as a threat but as a concerned citizen. Lots of police officers, particularly those new to the force, can become over-zealous.
Even though you don’t have the plate numbers, get a specific time and place and (especially in smaller towns) they can usually whittle it down to a few officers who might have been there. When I worked for the police department, police officers were logged for every trip or stop they went on (lunch, etc.) and those records could be reviewed. Heck, some places even have GPS positioning in the cars.
The key is not to come across as looking to sue or to cause a problem before you give them a chance to address the situation. Come in shouting “you po-po’s are harassing me!” and they’ll draw ranks faster than you can believe. Police officers put up with a lot of guff and grief. Be reasonable and 90% of them are reasonable back.
fluiddruid, those are some good points. Maybe that approach will work. It’s still needful to document when the events happen in order to do that.
Actually, that’s not all that’s important. Seriously, it’s nothing personal, but this board has VERY high standards when it comes to basic grammar, punctuation, and we’re absolutely anal on the subject of “chat speak.” I think what people are trying to say is that people here will respond more positively if you make an effort to type properly. (And if you’re a poor speller, like me, at least admit it, and don’t get upset when people point this out).
Just some friendly advice.
I generally have the attitude that they’re paying attention to me to harass me, and I’ve never been arrested for anything in my life. I have, however, been harassed by cops for doing things like walking home to my apartment from a friend’s apartment at an hour they found to be too late in the night. I was completely sober at the time, too. I was harassed in my younger days in my home town because I was the noted atheist and I dressed ‘weird’ for a kid from rural Pennsylvania.
Small town cops sometimes use their badge to exercise their bigotry.
It’s hard to do that if they take off as soon as they realize they’ve been noticed. I doubt we can take the fact that they are ‘good people’ for granted.
Even the use of capital letters and a period at the end of a sentence does a lot for our standards.