At what point do you call the cops on your neighbors?

This happened a couple weeks ago: a neighbor couple, who live on the second floor of the next building over, (I live on the ground floor of my building), were screaming at each other so loudly & intensely that I could hear them perfectly clearly in my apartment. My thought process went something like:

1. Sounds like it could rough over there (this couple has a history of domestic violence). I guess I ought to call the police.

2. But . . . if they're just screaming at each other, they're not actually breaking any laws. Can I call the police for that?

3. But . . . I don't want to wait until someone gets hurt and *then* call the police, if it could've been prevented.

So I had the phone in my hand to make the call, but just then another neighbor had gone up there and calmed them down, so I didn't call.

Thoughts?

 

I think we've got some police officers on the board here. Should be interesting on their take of this situation.

 

Yeah, that's what I was thinking.

 

You call them for a "Disturbance of the Peace". Let the police decide if it's domestic violence. The police really can't get involved in the dispute until it becomes physical. They can however, deal with the fact that they are creating a disturbance.

I would call the police the next time you hear it.

Better now before someone ends up really hurt.

Just my HO.

TKDshane

 

That makes sense to me . . . hopefully she'll just leave the loser, but I guess that's not too likely.

 

call the cops next time it gets bad. even if nothing comes of it the time you call, you are establish a history for that couple with the cops. that way if something really bad ever happens they have an officially documented past

 

No point calling the Police in Stoke on Trent, the stations close at 5:00 PM. If you need help after that your call gets sent to a call centre and unless someone is getting beaten to death they will not respond, all calls are prioritised.

 

Good luck if your Cops are competent enough to do something about it.

I called the police in regard to a seminar I was teaching to prove a point. I gave the police officer I spoke with the following scenario:

A guy gets attacked with a knife and ends up either using THE knife or another knife to stop the attacker (the attacker gets hurt). What happens?

"Not much - it is self defense", said the officer.

OK the attacker is now my wife. What happens?

"You go to jail", said the officer.

Why? I asked.

"You are a man defending yourself from a woman. You are bigger and stronger - you should be able to protect yourself." He said.

I then asked if my skin was stronger than hers. He did not reply.


This is a typical mindset - if you ask me. Even worse is that it is coming from the police.

 

If you want INNER peace, then call the cops the next time you hear them screaming. If the cops don't come out and someone gets hurt, then at least your conscience is clear.

TKDshane

 

First of all, there are never any clear cut cases when you're talking about scenarios like these. It sometimes really comes down to who has the better lawyer, who the jury members are, who has the better arguments and who has the better evidence.

You wouldn't instantly go to jail in the scenario described above. Your lawyer has to successfully argue that you were in serious danger or, that you truly feared for your life. I mean, what if the person holding the knife was a 5 year old girl? It would be much much harder for you to argue "self-defence" unless there are exceptional circumstances to prove otherwise. Of course that is an exaggeration but you get the idea regarding the "wife and you" scenario. The situation would be different again if your wife was a 6foot muscle bound body builder wielding the knife. In that situation it would be much easier for your lawyer to argue self-defence on your part for whatever actions you take.

By the way cops are not lawyers, they are law enforcers. They know enough of the law to spot trouble, take the necessary action, and then leave it up to the legal system to sort out who's guilty and who's not. So that cop you described above is simply showing the level of the law he needs to know for his profession, it's pretty much a simplistic black-n-white view on the law. It's enough for law enforcement.

 

I would call the police.

An argument between a couple with a history of domestic violence can so easily become a physical fight.

A physical fight between a couple with a history of domestic violence can so easily result in a fatality. Better to be safe than sorry IMHO.

If there are children present ALWAYS call the police it is your moral responsibilty.

PS. Why is this thread in Women's self defense?

 

because it's the guy that has a history of beating the girl, not vice verse. I guess I didn't make that clear. I suppose it's more "neighbor-defense" than "self-defense," though.

 

Thanks for clearing that up.

Defense of the weak against the strong is always noble cause be they men women, children or animals.

I used to live next door to a couple where the man used to beat up on the woman. I used to lie in bed debating with myself whether call the police or not. Then I got into a siuation where I was the victim of domestic violence and she called the police straight away. Since then so would I. We both managed to escape in the end because of our support of each other.

That's why I say always call the police.

 

Yeah, that's what I plan to do next time. I'd rather call 'em when it's not really needed than vice verse.

 

yea i'd feel like poo if i woke up the next morning and found out that the wife got beaten really bad, when all i had to do was pick up the phone the night before.

 

Wtf?? The similar threads at the bottom of this thread: domestic violence = point fighting??


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I agree.

/me shrugs

 

Even if there is no physical abuse going on, the couple might be in violation of a noise ordinance if you can hear them from a sufficient distance. And if there is a history of domestic violence, a pretty good chance it will escalate to something more ominous. Either way, I would call the cops each and everytime it happens, until someone gets the point. You have a right to peace and quiet - and your intervention could help someone. YMMV.

 

I used to live in an apartment complex with my wife quite a few years ago. The neighbors that lived in the next building in back were constantly fighting verbally and maybe physically, but we did not know for sure. One night late they got into it again and this time it seemed a little more heated than usual. Before we knew it a kitchen window broke out and that’s when we decided to call 911. Within 5 minutes there were at least three patrol cars there and they hauled him away. Within a week after that he moved out. Things were a lot more peaceful after that.

 

YMMV, indeed.

Stepping into a 'domestic' situation in any way is analagous <sp?> to stepping on a land mine. Once you've taken that step, willfully or accidentally .. your main responsibility is to find a way to de-escalate the level of violence and get everybody in the immediate area out of the situation without having it all blow up in your face .. literally.

But sometimes it HAS to be done.

I remember taking about four months worth of Soryu Karate Do <?> back when I was 16, and then stepping in between my sister and her husband four years later and taking punches meant for her. She was four months pregnant with their second child at the time, and he got one punch in on her .. right to the stomach.

I started studying The Arts seriously about six months later .. after I had joined the U.S.A.F.

ps: I don't envy cops. Not one bit.