All good points from the LEO. And I 99.9% agree if the encounter would have been on the street or a crowded neighborhood. But, this was a disorderly person's call, not a criminal call. And this was in the back yard of a 13-year resident of the community. Some things to think about from the citizen's point of view:

 

1. I was able to visually confirm the status of the interviewing officer's sidearm. The patrollman was standing off with his hand either on or inches from his sidearm, blocking my view. I had no idea if his sidearm was secured or if he was ready to rock-n-roll. It was an unnecessarily intimidating posture to assume in a property-owner's back yard. Even my 15-year-old son noticed and asked me afterward, "WTF was up with the rookey with his hand on his gun?"

 

2. What if I had seen the officers lurking in my bushes. From my perspective, it would have been 2 adult males in dark clothing on my property observing a group of teenagers, 4 of whom were females in swimsuits. Things could have escalated into a very dangerous situation.

Edited September 3, 201214 yr by TheDon

Did anyone ever think that it's a good idea to go over and and ask the neighbor politely to stop BEFORE they call the cops. This applies to most of these "neighbor disputes"

 

Oh that's right, nobody even answers the door when the doorbell rings anymore either. Such a paranoid and withdrawn society we have become.

If my neighbors were illegally lighting off fireworks i would tell them to stop. If they didnt i would call the cops too. I will never get the allure of fireworks. Especially in an urban setting. Its wreckless. If any kid got hurt because you were letting them play with fireworks you could be charged criminally and civilly. Rightfully so

I'm getting a chuckle out of this thread.

 

I've gotten to the point where if one of my neighbors looks at us sideways we call the cops. lol There have been too many issues over the years and the potential is too great for even the slightest issue to escalate and frankly I've got too much to lose by getting tangled up with them. It's not worth it.

 

We tried to be good neighbors but soon realized what others on the block were telling us wasn't over stated or exaggerations.

Nope, ya missed it in the post... Was well going to midnite and I had no phone number. I was not going to walk half way around the block in my briefs. Not my job at that point. I was trying to be tolerant and nice. But big point missed. Why would you think your neighbors want to hear that crap all night when trying to sleep?

 

 

Seem to be reading a lot of your situation into mine. Teenagers having a poolparty and being loud at 9:00 on a Saturday night does not equal all-night kegger. No reason to presume that the situation was not safe and supervised or that I would not have willingly shut things down if a neighbor called on the phone and said they were trying to sleep.

 

 

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Did anyone ever think that it's a good idea to go over and and ask the neighbor politely to stop BEFORE they call the cops. This applies to most of these "neighbor disputes"

 

Oh that's right, nobody even answers the door when the doorbell rings anymore either. Such a paranoid and withdrawn society we have become.

+1

Passive-aggressive Nor'easters. In America, neighbors are supposed to talk to one another.

Did anyone ever think that it's a good idea to go over and and ask the neighbor politely to stop BEFORE they call the cops. This applies to most of these "neighbor disputes"

 

Oh that's right, nobody even answers the door when the doorbell rings anymore either. Such a paranoid and withdrawn society we have become.

well said...situation probably didnt even have to happen

Honestly..if one feels threatened by that.....too bad. Maybe if strap was down buy hand just resting on top of weapon is not threatening. Keeping my weapon covered is more important that someone's feelings. Sorry

agreed. 2 on 8 or whatever the situation was...hand on gun on the holster is a safety tactic..dont you think if you were able to to determermine the "status" of their firearms...that they didnt notice you looking...the age/sex and nature of the call is irrelevant..cops, and civilians for that matter have been hurt and killed by people of all ages and sexes...in many different locations, including backyards, theme parks and churches...for all different types of matters..

Bottom line..treat no situation as routine and the threat is only gone when you leave that job. Officer safety first.

You would have to be a total tard to get hurt with class C fireworks.

A couple of years ago on of the guys on the block died. He had suffered with cancer for years and lost the battle. A few weeks later the widow threw a party to celebrate his life. This included firecrackers and bottle rockets.

 

About 10 minutes into it I've got a Police SUV with a supervisor in front of MY house. I happen to know the guy so I go outside. He's got a look on his face but relaxes when he sees me. I ask him "What up?" "we got a report of gun shots." I told him what was going on and he called off the troops and went over to the neighbors house.

 

I'm not a big fan of backyard fireworks displays myself. To much downside potential.

As Blue said below, not worth it. If you want to save any face, let the PD do it. They won't squeal it was you that called. And again, WHY do you feel anyone should have to take law into their own hands in any capacity? Any law?????? I'm not getting dressed, getting out of my fooking house late at night to go ask anyone anything, period! If you are that ignorant to think that being ignorant combined with being disrespectful of your neighbors is ok, you deserve to be properly warned by the police. If I were to be doing something wrong no matter what, and it caused anyone grief, I'd be extremely apologetic of my ignorance if nothing else. This is what is wrong with this fooking country. It's all about poor little me! Grow up, accept what you did wrong, say you are sorry, don't do it again or pay the price. Now tell me, please! WTF is wrong with that? Are people that fooking selfish and self centered to think they have the right to do anything they want without repercussion? Please! Explain that to me! Because nobody as of yet in any argument I've ever been in can defend themselves against my argument!

 

Did anyone ever think that it's a good idea to go over and and ask the neighbor politely to stop BEFORE they call the cops. This applies to most of these "neighbor disputes"

 

Oh that's right, nobody even answers the door when the doorbell rings anymore either. Such a paranoid and withdrawn society we have become.

 

 

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And this was in the back yard of a 13-year resident of the community.

How do they know how long you've lived there, and really, what difference does it make?

Did anyone ever think that it's a good idea to go over and and ask the neighbor politely to stop BEFORE they call the cops. This applies to most of these "neighbor disputes"

Depends on the relationship with the neighbor, doesn't it?

Yep, but they don't and I'm old school. I'm the howdy neighbor type guy or at least I try to be. We have a young couple next door who are more like vampires. Pale and out more at night than day. But I do see them and we say hello and bs at times. But there is that time where they walk around in their yard or go into their house with blinders on. Now we are close property wise. Hard not to see each other. But funny thing is, I'm outside all the time, working, in my pool, playing with my dog, working on my bike, etc., etc. By the end of spring, I'm dark tan like an islander I'm out so much. Yet, my neighbor, pale as a ghost, will stop to bs and say, "hey, howya been... Haven't seen ya all summer!" I look right at her and say, now howz that so Miss Pale face... Look at you and look at me... How can ya miss me when I'm outside. I'm a 6ft big dude with a yappy dog... She just clams up... Duh! Part of my point. Neighbors are not like in the old says. We use to bbq together, party babysit each other, etc. and while it may still be in some areas, it happens a lot less than t use to. I'm in the burbs where it use to be close knit. Blah!

 

+1

Passive-aggressive Nor'easters. In America, neighbors are supposed to talk to one another.

 

 

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.

All good points from the LEO. And I 99.9% agree if the encounter would have been on the street or a crowded neighborhood. But, this was a disorderly person's call, not a criminal call. And this was in the back yard of a 13-year resident of the community. Some things to think about from the citizen's point of view.

 

 

The call doesn't matter. A guy on my job was shot and killed over a job about a loud radio. NO JOB IS ROUTINE!!! Now you can explain to you son the many reasons why the cops hand is on the gun. They are the truth. If you both are still that upset well then get over it. Its not that big a deal and its nothing personal. Oh and maybe none of this would have been an issue if you were not ILLEGALLY lighting off fireworks. Take some responsibility. If my kid were at your house and i found out about that there would be a major issue.

Depends on the relationship with the neighbor, doesn't it?

 

Well maybe if you made an effort to be social and be part of a "community" you would have a relationship with the neighbor. Instead you "call the cops if he looks at you sideways" Good job, welcome the pussification of America. Let someone else handle your problems instead of attempting it yourself.

 

If you went over and said nicely "hey, you guys are keeping me up and I gotta get up early tomo, mind if you keep it down a bit" and they told you to piss off, slammed the door in your face and turned up the music or fireworks, then yeah, call the cops.

 

People have become such cowards and want someone else to deal with tough situation for them. Then they cry about how we live in a "police state". Well citizens, you got what you wanted.

You are totally clueless pal. I'm all for community and served mine long enough to know better. But if you read my post correctly, it's others who chose to sever their ties with what's around them. I'm not one of them. I'm the fooking guy out there trying to communicate, helping push and shovel your car out, doing your sidewalk without expecting any thanks... Till that proverbial prick that doesn't want to help, comes out and bitches that we are not a community any more. Those are mostly the ones like that around me. They wake up, go to work, come home, eat, spend quality time with their family and sometimes friends, go to bed and do it all over again. And while we all have busy lives, and I do get that, that in no way eliminates the need for proper respect of the law and peoples needs. Because the first thing people **** about is the "Quality of Life"! That all goes out the door if YOU only think it applies to YOU and by definition, YOU chose to ignore the fact your neighbor or anyone for that matter does not deserve the same respect that YOU so much **** about and insist on having, makes you the problem, not me!

 

Quite frankly, me not getting dressed, walking over 360 ft in the dead of night to tell you to be quiet is not me being part of the problem. And IF YOU were any kind of neighbor, YOU would NOT disrespect me in any shape or form in the first place. Period. Not once, have I ever, in over 54 years, treated anyone with disrespect as well. Now you want to be belligerent in front of me, all bets are off. I count to 3 while my blood reaches boiling point and if you don't get the point of the the smoke rising off my head is me getting ready to pop, you better run.

 

Incidentally, you ask anyone that knows me. I do NOT hide behind any car door, house door, computer or otherwise - pissed or not. That is also why I admitted to him openly that I called the cops on them. All said and done. We are still friendly, civil neighbors. Even though he or someone in his family made a mistake, I do not hate him and will still be a good neighbor. But now he knows where I stand and I think through truth and respect, we'll be even better neighbors.

 

One last point, then you and anyone else can weigh all the points and **** you want at me or otherwise. Ask Bluefish to explain this if you don't get it.

 

In the event of the kegger I depicted. There were many, drunken adults there with major attitudes. While maybe me walking in their backyard to talk to the neighbor may have worked if I chose to waste my time, there is always the chance that his drunken, out of control partiers may have chose to take it beyond just being belligerent. Do you think a chance that a serious fight could break out because you wanted to crash their party? Do you think the neighbor could have guarantee they wouldn't go ape shit on me or anyone for that matter? They do it with LE now! I've seen it. I've been it it! When people are drunk, they need wheel barrels to carry their balls in. So don't fooking tell me what woulda coulda shoulda...

 

 

Then you choose to be part of the problem, not part of the solution. That's ok, you don't know what a sense of "community" is. Go back into your house and hide behind your computer and your TV. Don't socialize. Call the cops for every little thing that comes along so they can worry about dealing with the BS you should be able to deal with as an adult instead of maybe attacking some real crime.

 

 

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Too late, got your quote. Gawd I hate people can blindly edit their posts. >:-/

 

.

 

 

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Let's be civil please.

Trying real hard j0n... Getting tough though. I'll stop right here hopefully. If they don't get it, they never will.

 

Let's be civil please.

 

 

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Well maybe if you made an effort to be social and be part of a "community" you would have a relationship with the neighbor. Instead you "call the cops if he looks at you sideways" Good job, welcome the pussification of America. Let someone else handle your problems instead of attempting it yourself.

 

If you went over and said nicely "hey, you guys are keeping me up and I gotta get up early tomo, mind if you keep it down a bit" and they told you to piss off, slammed the door in your face and turned up the music or fireworks, then yeah, call the cops.

 

People have become such cowards and want someone else to deal with tough situation for them. Then they cry about how we live in a "police state". Well citizens, you got what you wanted.

Me? Not social?

 

I'm about the most social friendly guy you can meet. I used to talk to toll both collectors before easy pass. I used to bring the guy who pumped my gas bluefish because he loved them. How did I know he loved them? Because I always got out of my truck to say hello and talk to him when he was pumping my gas. He'd see the rods on my roof rack and we'd talk.

 

Me, not social? Pshaw.

 

No, this particular set of neighbors just suck.

Bottom line..treat no situation as routine and the threat is only gone when you leave that job. Officer safety first.

 

1,000% agree. Officer safety first.

Why not park the two cruisers on the street in direct view of my front door, ring my front doorbell and talk to me on my porch. Heck, talk to me at my kitchen table if you'd like; I'll pour you a cup of coffee while you pat my dog. Officer safety became more of an issue when the officers decided to hide in my shrubbs and sneak into my back yard.

 

This thread started over a question about whether the procedure was appropriate for the circumstances. I am still not convinced that a knock at the front door would not have been the more appropriate strategy. But if I felt the situation was worth escalating, I would not have chosen to discuss it in a public forum like this.

 

<snip> ... If you both are still that upset well then get over it. Its not that big a deal and its nothing personal. Oh and maybe none of this would have been an issue if you were not ILLEGALLY lighting off fireworks. Take some responsibility. If my kid were at your house and i found out about that there would be a major issue.

Huh? Nothing I posted could be construed as an inability to "get over it" or denying my responsibility.

Edited September 3, 201214 yr by TheDon

People have become such cowards and want someone else to deal with tough situation for them.

You see, part of the problem is that normal regular citizens are handcuffed when it comes to dealing with a tough situation.

 

I can't/won't speak for you, but I've got a lot to lose. I can't afford a criminal record, which, no doublt, would result from interaction with this particular set of neighbors. They simply don't care. Their kids don't care. The entire situation is toxic.

 

The wife has had the husband arrested because he wanted the dog caged when people were visiting with little kids over. Fight erupts, she calls the cops claiming a domestic situation.

 

I could go on.

Too late, got your quote. Gawd I hate people can blindly edit their posts. >:-/

 

 

 

 

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It's not too late, I'm trying to eat and post at the same time so I hit the wrong button. If you notice I edited my post within a minute of posting because the minute I posted I realized I hit "quote" for the wrong person. Good to know how you really feel though.

How do they know how long you've lived there, and really, what difference does it make?

 

Small town. Most township officials know both me and my wife by name. I know I'm getting $hit for this the next time I go to the PD for permits.

I know I'm getting $hit for this the next time I go to the PD for permits.

All's well that ends well.

Don't eat and type. Not worth it. Hard to get spaghetti sauce out of keyboard and the acid is no good for the contacts. Still not sure of the intent of what you are trying to convey whether to me or any other. BUT, it's not about feelings. It's reality. Realities of which people ignore all too often. People need to look at the whole picture and what the total outcome could be. As mentioned here in numerous posts in this thread by numerous folks, you never know the whole scenario. The cops don't know. Whether they've been to the same address or not. Things change, stories, people, outcomes change. It's no different if an leo walks up to a situation or John Q Public. Neither will know what happens next. Being neighborly never means to have to enforce the law yourself no matter how minor because it can become major. If you are real good neighbors, it would never get that far. In the OPs case here, he obviously has dbs for neighbors. We all have them. Some said, wage war with them. Not good, but in which the story told, it indicates that one side was wrong with the use of fireworks regardless of what class, the other side, probably already vindictive beings they are just dbs and blame humanity for picking on them. Neither side innocent. Cops come which can't be biased and have to treat call as anything can happen and were greeted somewhat unfairly.

 

Jerry (BHunted's) Springer's Final Thought Of The Day:

In today's society, we all worry about protecting ourselves and loved ones. We, at times, have grown complacent, blind and ignorant of what's around us. Furthermore, we worry how Big Brother is going to treat us if we sneeze wrong and just how much can they see us with their spy cameras? I don't think that our govt. is intentionally looking at the typical John Q Public, but it's obviously put false impressions that all Americans are a threat in their eyes. While we can try police ourselves the best ways we can, we cannot go over our own jurisdictions without breaking the laws. We must let the boys in blue do their jobs with he tools and training they have without malice and disrespect to the same. Finally, with all being said, if you have done nothing wrong, are planning to do nothing wrong, you have no reason to worry in the first place.

 

Good luck and thanks for watching our show...

This has been a B.H.U.N.T.E.D. Presentation and was not Approved by Oblama!

 

 

 

 

It's not too late, I'm trying to eat and post at the same time so I hit the wrong button. If you notice I edited my post within a minute of posting because the minute I posted I realized I hit "quote" for the wrong person. Good to know how you really feel though.

 

 

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On the lighter side (For entertainment purposes. Let's try not fight over this one)…

Here is how NOT to conduct an interview with a LEO (paraphrased from memory, not precise quotes):

 

Interviewing officer: Do you have any idea why we are here?

 

Resident: I’m not certain. It could be for a number of reasons.

 

Interviewing officer: We are here because we received a complaint from a local resident. Do you have any idea what the complaint might be about?

 

Resident: No one called me to complain about anything.

 

Interviewing officer (now appearing a bit frustrated): You know, honesty is always the best policy and I think you know why we are here.

 

Resident: I really do not want to speculate. (Keep in mind the obserdity of this conversation because there are no fewer than 30 spent roman candle sticks laying all over the ground)

 

Just about that precise moment, we hear the booming voice from one of the kids explaining to another kid in the swimming pool: “It’s the cops; they’re here because of the fireworks.”

 

It was one of those priceless moments. I sincerely commend both officers for maintaining their composure. In their place, I would have been ROTFLMAO.

Edited September 3, 201214 yr by TheDon

On the lighter side (For entertainment purposes. Let's try not fight over this one)…

Here is how NOT to conduct an interview with a LEO (paraphrased from memory, not precise quotes):

 

Interviewing officer: Do you have any idea why we are here?

 

Resident: I’m not certain. It could be for a number of reasons.

 

Interviewing officer: We are here because we received a complaint from a local resident. Do you have any idea what the complaint might be about?

 

Resident: No one called me to complain about anything.

 

Interviewing officer (now appearing a bit frustrated): You know, honesty is always the best policy and I think you know why we are here.

 

Resident: I really do not want to speculate. (Keep in mind the obserdity of this conversation because there are no fewer than 30 spent roman candle sticks laying all over the ground)

 

Just about that precise moment, we hear the booming voice from one of the kids explaining to another kid in the swimming pool: “It’s the cops; they’re here because of the fireworks.”

 

It was one of those priceless moments. I sincerely commend both officers for maintaining their composure. In their place, I would have been ROTFLMAO.

 

Kids say the darnedest things!

We have all done goofy things, I'm sure. When I was younger, my friend and I got caught fishing on private property. We were asked, didn't you see all the posted signs? We looked around and said what signs? (They were posted all over).... To say the least, we deserved what we got which was a $75 fine each. Live and learn...

 

 

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Deny till you die, admit to nothing. If you are arrested, don't talk to the police, whether you are guilty or innocent.