nanandjim
Former Member
I can totally relate to your personal story and also figured the cops could have or would have blown off this guy on this neighborhood issue.Labrat said:...When I was in my teens, my family was harassed by another family in the neighborhood, and although we called the police many times, NOTHING was done. Even when there was property damage, the kids parents would tell the police they were home when it happened. The police would come back and say, Can you prove they did it? Well, if they won't take your word for it, what can you do? We stopped calling too...
Years ago, I was friends with a guy from work. We were both in professional positions for a large telecommunications company. He and I had some similar interests, to include long-distance running. Well, he and I began to hang out together. I didn't really like him in a romantic way even though I knew that he was interested in pursuing a relationship with me.
I was over at his house one day watching a video with him and eating lunch when someone started banging on his door. I could see waving the person away or saying something through the glass. When I asked him who it was, he told me it was an ex-girlfriend of his who was worried about him as she hadn't been able to reach him all day. He apparently took his phone off the hook while I was there.
Anyway, hours later, I left his house and drove home. Well, this nut apparently hid outside of his home for hours, watched me leave and followed me home. Then, the nightmare began. I can't tell you how many things this woman did to me (from harrassing phone calls to keying my car to driving nails into all of my tires, etc.). Every time I called the police, they asked me if I had physical proof that this woman was harrassing me.
Well, the day came when I had physical proof. I had told this guy, after several incidences, that his friendship was not worth the trouble. One day, he finally convinced me to let him come over with some videos. Well, lo and behold, there was a knock at my door. I went to open it and this maniac pushed her way into my home, clawing me, breaking my door, etc.
I had the guy call the police while I kept her in my apartment. The police tried to talk me out of pressing charges against this woman. They even went so far as to tell me that she could press charges against ME for false imprisonment. I couldn't believe it!!
I pushed forward with the charges. This guy and I went to the police station and gave sworn statements. Of course, he was reluctant to do so. I had scratches and bruises all over my arms and legs from the altercation.
I'll be honest with you. I was in excellent shape and could have beaten the holy crap out of this woman, but I wanted to have her prosecuted. I didn't want there to be one scratch or bruise on her.
She pleaded not guilty until she was told that there was a sworn statement from her loverboy stating what she did. Plus, we had phone records from another incident where she called and called and called. The only thing I remember is a restraining order was issued where she had to stay about 50 or 100 yards away from me.
Because this woman was also a professional with our company, she had access to our secure building. She was such a nut and had done so many extreme things that I didn't know if she would show up at our building one day with a gun. I told my boss what was going on, and security was brought into the situation. That's the best thing that ever happened. I knew that they would handle the situation and she would either cool it or lose her high-paying job.
Bottom line: Police are very reluctant to do anything about domestic issues, even though they sometimes escalate to a point of extreme violence.