Calling the police on people...poll

[Urchina]

Yeah, several times, but only because I worked as a Resident Assistant to put myself through college and there were several very large, very loud, very alcohol-flavored parties I wasn't keen on breaking up myself. So I called our state troopers for backup.

Nothing breaks up a dorm room party like a couple big, old, state troopers. Loved 'em, especially since they'd ask me "do you want MIPs written, or just the party busted up." Unless it was a recurring issue we usually just had them break up the party and dump the booze.

I called the cops once while working for the county, too.

As far as non-job-related calls go, only one -- a car nearly ran down a pedestrian in the crosswalk on a busy street in our town, and then proceeded to run a red light. I called the cops for that but was told that it takes three consecutive misdemeanors within a small period to do a citizen's arrest. Too bad -- three people had been killed in that crosswalk that year by drivers who didn't stop and I was pretty p-o'd about it.

 

[Nords]

In a previous neighborhood, the tenants across the street were so noisy that I offered to discuss the issue with their landlord. He opined me that he found my demeanor threatening and he called the police to complain about my intimidating assault. Unfortunately he'd forgotten about his outstanding bench warrants, and he moved out soon after [-]making bail[/-] that. Best case of poetic justice I've ever witnessed.

These days we live on a bluff overlooking a gulch with a highway running across it. Twice, late at night, I've called 911 for vehicles leaving the highway and hitting the bluff hard enough to shake us awake. No survivors either time but the police were able to prevent further accidents while cleanup was in progress.

Another time some high-schoolers across the gulch (easily 500 yards away) were having a graduation party, rattling our windows at 1:30 AM with their sound system. On our second call the noise stopped.

We've had the police visit us a couple times looking for the house's [-]drug parole violater[/-] former owner. Another visit came after a neighborhood teen used our yard to climb down into the gulch, greatly alarming the [-]fighting-rooster breeders[/-] hard-working farmers down there. I drove down the next day to chat with the supervisor, and we've agreed to try to ignore each other.

 

[Fireup2020]

I have not called the "law" on neighbors...but did call the Newark police on a clean cut white male smoking crack in our alley the recruiting office was on (he DID NOT belong there!) - they actually cuffed & stuffed him for outstanding warrants (possession will not get you a ride, just a ticket in Newark)...also called 911 several times to report VERY reckless/possible drunk/medicated/erratic driving including tailgating, weaving, swerving over lines, etc.

 

[Walt34]

Echo Leonidas - dealing with children who never grew up.

Where I grew up we didn't call the police unless arterial bleeding was involved.

 

[tmm99]

When I was in my 20's, I lived in this cheap apartment (thin walls) and my upstairs neighbor used to have parties into early mornings. One night, I got fed up and called the police at about 2AM. It took them 1.5 hours to respond. (The whole time I was lying in bed wide awake). I could hear the knock on the door, the noise in the upstairs apartment stopped abruptly. After the police left, there was no noise coming from upstairs and it stayed that way until I moved out a few months later.

 

[noworkethic]

I voted "never" and then remembered, after reading y'all's posts that in my early 20's I tended bar for a season in a pretty rough bar, and one night there was a brawl in which the bar was getting busted up and I had no chance of stopping it alone. I did call the boys in blue. So---would the next person who's vote would be "never" please vote "only once" so the poll will again be accurate? But then I suppose folks have already voted by the time they read this. Oh hell, never mind.

 

[NotReady4Purple]

So---would the next person who's vote would be "never" please vote "only once" so the poll will again be accurate?

Done.

 

[noworkethic]

thnx

 

[Sarah in SC]

Well, honestly I voted on calling the cops to my house/neighborhood--if we are counting being in other places, well I do have a couple.

Once for a drunk driver who ran me off the road and kept going and memorably, once at our favorite Mexican restaurant. There was an insanely drunk couple behind us and the woman was making very disgusting and filthy remarks about some women sitting across the restaurant (four very quiet and discreet ladies who were apparently lesbians). Since the restaurant staff were terrified of the cops, I called them on the house phone and agreed to make a statement for her to be charged with drunk/disorderly. She got to spend the night in jail for her rudeness, but I am still embarrassed to this day that the nice women never knew she was arrested, as they left before I called the police.

To my amusement, it is the only time I've ever given a cop my license to copy down while I was drinking a grande draft beer!

 

[Bestwifeever]

If there's a teenager/young adult violating some law, I really would hesitate to call the police (unless they were putting themselves in harm's way) because I wouldn't want to be responsible for them having a record.

 

[bright eyed]

Twice, both times 911 was clogged up and I called the police station directly instead.

One was a group of teenage girls fighting in the middle of a busy street! They were so focused on kicking each other's butts that they didn't care that they were walking into the middle of a busy street and cars were just sitting there, not sure what to do.

Second was when two cars got in a fender bender or somehow provoked each other, and a group of fellas got out, looked like they had metal pipes or some sort of weapon, and started beating up the guy who I guess they faulted with the accident, or for looking at them the wrong way, I don't know for sure!

 

[Goonie]

We've called the fuzz a few times over the years.....as have several of my law abiding neighbors. Called them on the dope house a couple of doors down several times. They'd be out in other people's yards and in the street fighting & yelling & screaming at each other (and the neighbors), and then they'd turn up the bazillion-watt car stereos with the THUMPA-THUMPA-THUMPA so-called music blasting at ear-splitting, house-rattling levels.......at 2 o'clock in the morning. The drug task force eventually helped relocate several of the occupants to a 'big house' with a bunch of like minded individuals.....rent free.

We live on a street that occasionally becomes a race track for some of the local hooligans.....which wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for the fact that their are a lot of little kids in this neighborhood, and you never know when one might accidentally wander out near the street. (it's 100% residential, off the beaten path, and nothing that you could really call a 'through-street') We try to deal with the speeders ourselves as much as possible, but there's always 1 or 2, that won't take heed and require a cop to tell them the exact same thing that we neighbors already told them. One guy was so dense, it took him getting 2 speeding tickets, an unnecessary noise charge, and a wreckless driving charge (all in one afternoon) to get his attention and cooperation.

Nowadays we hardly ever see a squad car in the neighborhood. The dope dealers moved (to prison), and the ultra-dumb driver moved out of the 'hood. Now the neighborhood is pretty much as it was when I was kid.....peaceful & quiet and safe for kids to ride their bikes.

 

[summer2007]

Thanks for all the replies!

I don't really consider calling the police to help in an accident or if there is a group of people beating someone up in the same category really because you might be savings someones life and that is really nice of you to call.

Where I live it's like 100% of the calls to the police are just to cause grief to the other neighbor.

I was looking at the poll results and 87%-88% have not called the police more than three times in their life. Well I have had at least three neighbors that would have called more than three times in like a a few months...or in one persons case maybe 2 weeks!

You know this whole world would be so much better if people would stop being malicious.

Jim