What to do when being harassed by police officer?

[madcat2k3]

There is an officer that I grew up in high school with that hated my guts all throughout school. I moved back in town 3 months ago and ever since he has been following me in town when I am driving around, he drives by my home and stares in while he drives by. If I am outside he will go by super slow and give me a blank stare like I am a criminal committing a crime. He's even pulled up outside by house and waited there for a minute before driving off.

I asked him one day (big mistake?) if he had a problem with me. He just told me to move along, right outside my house. I live in a really quiet neighborhood and I can't for the life of me understand why he is being like this. I mean, surely it can't be because he hated me in high school?? We're adults now..

I don't know what the right way for me to deal with this is, since I don't want to make the situation worse. I know I probably can't get him to stop completely, but some of his actions are a little creepy and it's creeping my family out every time he drives by slowly and stares in. He does this only with my home on the street. It's like he wants to remind me he's there.

So who do I contact?

 

[bala]

Take it to whatever level you can get to above this badge heavy cop. Go as high as you can.Then hire an attorney and sue him if you must.Gather your witnesses, any sort of documentation you have and explain to him politely,you can take that cop out of service ASAP..

 

[Ricardo187]

First and before raising anything, gather LEGAL proofs that can be used in court. Then, contact an attorney. We never know what's in his mind, maybe he's planning something, we don't know. Whatever you do, make sure it's strong enough to get him to stop, as if you just report him, he'll be aware of it and it'll be worse. Have proofs.

 

[cpefley]

I think that is a reason SOME people get into law enforcement. They like the power over people they might have not gotten along with before. Have you tried reporting him?

 

[bravetran]

I'd start putting camera's in and around you home, and in your car so that you have legal proof that nothing is going on. Unfortunately, I know a man that was harassed by an officer and the judge went out and said "I believe the officer more than you simply because he's an officer." So best of luck and I'm sorry you're going through such a terrible situation! Do you have a family with children? Because sometimes going to the media will help as well.

 

[Profit5500]

The best thing to do is to get a description of the officer since you known him since high school record your incidents with this officer. Try to find any witnesses that can help you. If he still goes to the same high school you went to maybe some of the kids there might have had an altercation with him. I would avoid going to the police station they may not be so kind about reporting their own.

 

[AugustGreig]

I had a friend who went through this exact same issue. We had a really bad cop in our neighborhood, and he was always harrasing people. My friend began to film him every chance he got, whether he was personally interacting with him, or just observing. Eventually, they removed him from this beat and sent him elsewhere. And I am pretty positive that that was a result of all of the complaints that he got.

 

[askanison]

I know you can go to the police station and ask for an officer complaint form. Good luck getting one though. A friend of mine had a problem along the same lines and when he went and asked for one they gave him all kinds of run around at the station. The Blue wall came up and he wound up being harassed even more because of it. He finally had to go to the mayor and have a meeting before it all cooled down. We live in a small town though.

 

[bala]

I know you can go to the police station and ask for an officer complaint form. Good luck getting one though. A friend of mine had a problem along the same lines and when he went and asked for one they gave him all kinds of run around at the station. The Blue wall came up and he wound up being harassed even more because of it. He finally had to go to the mayor and have a meeting before it all cooled down. We live in a small town though.

Second that..Not every time will be be courteously heeded to in regard to a complaint against a cop.Cops there would be even more tough and will make sure you have a tough time.
The best thing would be to film their actions via a hidden camera and send it across to a magistrate or a higher level official.

 

[Profit5500]

I had a friend who went through this exact same issue. We had a really bad cop in our neighborhood, and he was always harrasing people. My friend began to film him every chance he got, whether he was personally interacting with him, or just observing. Eventually, they removed him from this beat and sent him elsewhere. And I am pretty positive that that was a result of all of the complaints that he got.

That just means the cop got lucky to just be moved to another area. That means he might think about what he had done before next time he goes out. Most of these cases seem like that complaining may or may not work. Just have to hope that you don't get another just like him.

 

[bala]

That just means the cop got lucky to just be moved to another area. That means he might think about what he had done before next time he goes out. Most of these cases seem like that complaining may or may not work. Just have to hope that you don't get another just like him.

I was about to post this..but yeah..np..
The solution to this can be,demoting the cop to a lower position than he was in here,but in such a way that he never recognizes it.He must be made to endure some harassment and mockery from higher level officials just to understand how bad they would have felt.
Oh shit..so this is all a vicious cycle then..!!!

 

[Profit5500]

I was about to post this..but yeah..np..
The solution to this can be,demoting the cop to a lower position than he was in here,but in such a way that he never recognizes it.He must be made to endure some harassment and mockery from higher level officials just to understand how bad they would have felt.
Oh shit..so this is all a vicious cycle then..!!!

Cops get away with a lot of stuff so its tough to get them unless lady luck throws something juicy into the mix. Most of these officers get administrative leave that is paid. Maybe I should be a cop and get paid vacation LOL.

 

[Ricardo187]

Haha, indeed Profit. It's hard to prove a cop to be in the wrong sometimes, because it'll most likely sound like you want to revenge him for something he's done to you while doing his job.

 

[madcat2k3]

Hey guys I just wanted to update on the situation. 3 days ago he parked outside my house again while I was mowing the lawn. The creeper started staring at me again, so I turned the mower off and then pulled out my cell phone, put it to video and hit record. I mean, this is MY house, I can record whatever I want, right? He immediately got out his car and walked over to me, and said that it's illegal to record a police officer and to turn the camera off. I refused, and he said he could arrest me, or something along those lines. I said for what? For recording stuff on my OWN property, in a public place, and it just so happens a public servant was part of my recording. He then went on this rant about how people like me make the lives of officers difficult, and that I should crawl back into my "dwelling" (his words) and keep out of police business.

I asked him what police business that requires him to park outside my house and stare at me doing stuff, and he said "Go back inside!". He pretty much ordered me to and had his hand towards his holster. Uh wtf? It's my property, he was on my lawn. I got it all on video so I am going to seek a lawyer now. I totally feel my rights have been abused and I've been threatened.

 

[lei]

You can just report him. If it is more serious then you can sue him but your going to need a lot of good proof. Also, that is really creepy. Maybe he likes you. Or maybe you did something really bad then that he'd never forget and now he's mad.

 

[madcat2k3]

You can just report him. If it is more serious then you can sue him but your going to need a lot of good proof. Also, that is really creepy. Maybe he likes you. Or maybe you did something really bad then that he'd never forget and now he's mad.

Yeah it's real creepy. I've never been in trouble with the law nor had any issues before. He was a jerk in HS too. I just tried my best to ignore him. Maybe that's why he's mad, because he couldn't get to me back then. I don't know. I find it really disturbing how he reached his hand towards his gun though on my property. Like yeah I am really a threat when he entered my property and I used my cell phone to record him.

It's to the point that my family are calling him "The Creepster". He comes around every other day. Going to seek the legal action regarding bossing me around on my own property and placing hand on gun to enforce his order. I really didn't want to go the legal route because of finances, but surely there is some sort of thing that can prevent him from doing that. You don't park outside peoples houses and watch them. It can scare little kids too. "The big bad man is watching us again". yeah..