dogs and cops, cops and dogs...cops=dogs?
Mar. 23rd, 2005 10:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
seldearYup. You gotta love the cops.
Earlier today, a friend of mine went onto the property of someone in the neighbourhood to free a dog whose lead had been tangled up in the garden hose. It was barking and whining and, being a dog-lover and concerned for the well-being of the dog, she ventured into the yard to free the dog. She also filled up its water dish and went home to get some towels for it to rest on. She left a note to tell the owner what she'd done, with her name and phone number.
The owner of the dog called back.
And abused my friend for trespassing on her property. Then the woman took the note to the police and reported it as a 'break and enter'. Lovely woman. Trusting, pleasant - all the things you want in someone who lives in your area.
/sarcasm
Since they had a first name and number, the police called my friend, accused her of trespassing and demanded her full name and address. Demanded, mind you. When she expressed concerns about her full name and address possibly being released to the owner of the dog, Constable Hol (female, not her real name) threatened to hunt her down and lock her up. When she continued to refuse, Constable Bed (male, not his real name) began badgering her for her details.
My friend already has problems with a) the police, b) people stalking her. And it's not because she watched 'Chimera' once too often! She's previously had someone spying on her, driving past her house at all hours, and following her around. The police pretty much did jack shit about it. She wasn't about to give her address out due to security concerns, but the constables kept hounding her for it until they finally got all snippy and went away, saying they'd 'do it the hard way.'
Incidentally, 'all' they wanted to do was give her a warning. Which they did over the phone. If they needed the address for their records, they gave no indication that it would remain in their records - no reassurance that the details would not be divulged to the injured party. And, believe me, when you have someone who has trespassed because she thought she was doing a neighbour a favour, and the neighbour takes it the wrong way, you really don't want them getting hold of your address and coming around with something - say a grudge to grind.
In truth, all they had to do was shut up for five minutes, get off the phone and let my friend call them back to give her name and number to the Wollongong police. Given that she'd encountered both repeated badgering and threats, and the officer hadn't been able to give his name clearly over the phone, it was probably a wise decision to check things out.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, these are the people responsible for the safety of the common people!
I love cops. Really. First Pete Shanahan (fictional) who thinks it's okay to badger his girlfriend about a classified project, now Constables Bed and Hol who don't have much compunction about badgering and making threats.
Mental note: steer clear of law enforcement. They might be good at keeping the peace, but they're not much on the peace of mind.
And my friend averrs that the next time she sees a dog in need, she'll call the RSPCA instead of helping out.
Earlier today, a friend of mine went onto the property of someone in the neighbourhood to free a dog whose lead had been tangled up in the garden hose. It was barking and whining and, being a dog-lover and concerned for the well-being of the dog, she ventured into the yard to free the dog. She also filled up its water dish and went home to get some towels for it to rest on. She left a note to tell the owner what she'd done, with her name and phone number.
The owner of the dog called back.
And abused my friend for trespassing on her property. Then the woman took the note to the police and reported it as a 'break and enter'. Lovely woman. Trusting, pleasant - all the things you want in someone who lives in your area.
/sarcasm
Since they had a first name and number, the police called my friend, accused her of trespassing and demanded her full name and address. Demanded, mind you. When she expressed concerns about her full name and address possibly being released to the owner of the dog, Constable Hol (female, not her real name) threatened to hunt her down and lock her up. When she continued to refuse, Constable Bed (male, not his real name) began badgering her for her details.
My friend already has problems with a) the police, b) people stalking her. And it's not because she watched 'Chimera' once too often! She's previously had someone spying on her, driving past her house at all hours, and following her around. The police pretty much did jack shit about it. She wasn't about to give her address out due to security concerns, but the constables kept hounding her for it until they finally got all snippy and went away, saying they'd 'do it the hard way.'
Incidentally, 'all' they wanted to do was give her a warning. Which they did over the phone. If they needed the address for their records, they gave no indication that it would remain in their records - no reassurance that the details would not be divulged to the injured party. And, believe me, when you have someone who has trespassed because she thought she was doing a neighbour a favour, and the neighbour takes it the wrong way, you really don't want them getting hold of your address and coming around with something - say a grudge to grind.
In truth, all they had to do was shut up for five minutes, get off the phone and let my friend call them back to give her name and number to the Wollongong police. Given that she'd encountered both repeated badgering and threats, and the officer hadn't been able to give his name clearly over the phone, it was probably a wise decision to check things out.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, these are the people responsible for the safety of the common people!
I love cops. Really. First Pete Shanahan (fictional) who thinks it's okay to badger his girlfriend about a classified project, now Constables Bed and Hol who don't have much compunction about badgering and making threats.
Mental note: steer clear of law enforcement. They might be good at keeping the peace, but they're not much on the peace of mind.
And my friend averrs that the next time she sees a dog in need, she'll call the RSPCA instead of helping out.
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no subject
Date: 2005-03-23 12:21 pm (UTC)I give your friend kudos and say next time I just wouldn't bother leaving the note ;-)
no subject
Date: 2005-03-23 08:49 pm (UTC)Eh. Maybe they figured "she's a perp for trespassing, so we don't have to be polite."
I'll let her know about 'not leaving the note' next time. Needless to say, she won't be helping that woman out again.
At least she's considerably more sanguine about it this morning.
no subject
Date: 2005-03-23 11:30 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-03-23 01:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-03-23 08:50 pm (UTC)Although I'd think it would involve a modicum of politeness and understanding someone's concerns about handing their name over to people who are more or less calling on behalf of someone who abused the heck out of them earlier.
no subject
Date: 2005-03-23 11:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-03-23 01:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-03-23 02:45 pm (UTC)Either way, what a wacko neighbor. :-/
no subject
Date: 2005-03-23 08:53 pm (UTC)And yes, my friend indicates that the neighbour is no longer on the list of 'people to get friendly with in future'. Even if she owns a lovely dog.
no subject
Date: 2005-03-23 09:01 pm (UTC)Yeesh. To serve and harass. :-P I understand erring on the side of the person making the complaint, but there's such a thing as common courtesy. Jerks.
no subject
Date: 2005-03-23 05:22 pm (UTC)Uh.. Besides. If it was the cops, they wouldn't have to call for a name and address. That's why they have reverse directories. The phone companies give that info to the police.
no subject
Date: 2005-03-23 08:55 pm (UTC)Still, they did make a call back to the police station to check things out before they put their details on the record.
no subject
Date: 2005-03-23 08:52 pm (UTC)That was my first thought, too - is the call valid? Dodgy bros.
no subject
Date: 2005-03-23 01:53 pm (UTC)Ruralstar
no subject
Date: 2005-03-23 08:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-03-24 01:11 am (UTC)