Thread: A little Situation in my neighborhood

Last Friday afternoon I had taken off early from work to run some errands. Got home around 2 PM watched a little TV. About 3 PM I decided to go out and sit on the deck since it was pretty nice out. I went to sit down and noticed there were some very loud raised voices coming from a few doors down. I got up an went over on the deck where I could see over the gate into the front yard and saw the house kitty corner across the street where there were three people, a man and two women standing and screaming at each other.

There were matresses, boxes, and bags piled up by a truck and a car so it looked like someone was moving out. All of a sudden they start throwing bags of stuff at each other and then the pushing starts. I decided to call 911 before things got out of hand. I gave 911 the address and told them they needed to get a patrol car rolling to the address before this thing escalated and someone got hurt. They said they were dispatching a unit.

I was armed, as I always am, but had not intention of trying to get in the middle of their beef and try to difuse things as if I had done that I would probably have ended up in a fight with all three of them. If I had seen any serious violence escalate I might have tried to do something, but I was hoping the PD would get there before that happened.

As it ended up it was a mother, her daughter in law, and the daughter in law's husband that were having a beef over property and bills. The daugher in law and the husband left right as the PD was rolling up. The PD took a report and eventually left.

Not really looking for anyone to evaluate my tactics, but they can comment if they want to. They main thing this brought home to me is how LONG 3-4 minutes is before the PD can respond. It seemed like an eternity. It makes me shake my head even more over the folks that say you don't need a gun for protection, that is what the police are for.

Ahh...good old Hillsboro. I wouldn't feel right unless my neighbors got into a yelling match every few weeks.

Experienced LEO's hate domestic disturbances so no reason for you to get involved unless you or your family is directly threatened. DD's never end well.

Originally Posted by RVTECH

Experienced LEO's hate domestic disturbances so no reason for you to get involved unless you or your family is directly threatened. DD's never end well.

That's why I didn't even step out where they could see me watching them. The last thing I wanted to get into was some "what the H*** are you looking at" situation. They only thing I considered doing if it started looking like it was really getting out of hand would have been stepping out and telling them the police had been called and were on their way to see if that would get them to tone it down.

Im not one to snitch

Originally Posted by supergenius

Im not one to snitch

Well how high and might of you. I'm not one to put up with a bunch of hillbillys having a screaming, cursing, yelling, fight in my neighborhood, but maybe you're used to that kind of thing where you live.

"snitch"
That's rich.
A word heard only in elementary school and prison.

Originally Posted by chemist

"snitch"
That's rich.
A word heard only in elementary school and prison.

Snitches get stitches...or so I've heard. Just start chanting "Jerry! Jerry! Jerry!" next time.

i would have got out the pop corn and lawn chair

Sounds like you did the right thing. You never know when a domestic dispute can get out of hand; if they were worked up enough to take it outside, then they were worked up enough to come to blows. Just because everything turned out okay doesn't dilute the importance of making the decision to call the police. This time it was no big deal, next time the outcome may be different.

Bad outcomes are not just a product of an aggressor; many times they are products of bystanders not doing anything, worrying about being "a snitch", or thinking someone else will take care of calling the police.

You do what you think is right at the time. Getting between all of them could have unified them against you. Personaly I think you did good.

Two women arguing sure, stay out of sight and let them argue.

Man v woman in an argument... I'll make my presence known. No reason for anyone to throw punches. Women hitters are cowards and won't do it if somebody is watching.


+ 1 on your actions.

My wife once witnessed one of our neighbors in our old place.. thank God.. pulling his girlfriend in the car by her hair. When she told me this I was enraged and everytime I saw that coward pull into the parking lot I would stare him down. Never had a dispute after that. He got to the point where he wouldn't look at me. He was a wanna be 'g' (lowercase on purpose). Armed or not that's something I won't put up with. This all happened before I was legal to carry concealed.

Sounds like you did the right thing CF2. I also live in Hillsboro and have had issues with neighbors lately. I'm trying to give them away. The Craigslist ad will go something like,

Free neighbors!!! Some are on drugs, some are alcoholics and some are just unemployed with to much time on there hands. I will deliver the drug addicts and or alcoholics anywhere in the country! Free! Free! Free! The unemployed, with to much time? I will loan, but not part with. They are great guys! They just have to much time on there hands, I don't. Thanks, Lefty.

Contact info.
Home # 503-555-1212.
Cell # 503-555-1212.
E-mail. www.pdxleftyisameanSOB.com

Lefty.

3 or 4 minutes isn't bad considering a metro area and especially a DD call. I'm not sure how it works up there but here its Call to 911 call center.... then to dispatch... then to car.

You did the right thing by calling because it teachs the people to keep the drama inside their house and not to mention a possable violent act from occuring

Originally Posted by Cougfan2

Well how high and might of you. I'm not one to put up with a bunch of hillbillys having a screaming, cursing, yelling, fight in my neighborhood, but maybe you're used to that kind of thing where you live.

not my fault not my problem.. Judging by your tone, id be willing to wager youd be set aback by my digs..

Thanx

Originally Posted by Russianfist

3 or 4 minutes isn't bad considering a metro area and especially a DD call. I'm not sure how it works up there but here its Call to 911 call center.... then to dispatch... then to car.:

Actually, I didn't think it was bad either. It just seemed like an eternity. I should note that this is the first incident of this type that I have witnessed with this neighbor since they have been living there for over a year.

I was going to my mailbox shortly after that and the mother was out in the yard. She looked at me and I nodded to her and she said "I'm sorry for all the shouting earlier". I told her that I was the one who called the police just to make sure things didn't get out of hand and she didn't seem upset that I did.

You played it right. No reason to get involved with something like that, there is really no way ANYONE can win in a DV situation.

Even though the cops were late, had something beyond screaming happened, they might have actually gotten there in time to make a difference. As little as I like having cops poking around near me, this was a good call as well.

I think you played this one just right, good job.

You did the right thing. As soon as the throwing of objects starts, it's time to call the police. When someone breaks an inanimate object and it fails to satiate their anger it is only a small step to try to break a person to quench that need to be destructive.

I think that the shoving is a big deal. There is no reason for a grown up to lay hands on another grown up during a dispute. There is a fine line between shoving and hitting.

I say it is better to call the police 9 times when they are not needed than to not call the police the one time that they are. A good percentage of those gun death stats used to advance anti-gun legislation are from family beefs.

Getting involved in a domestic dispute (as a third party) is unwise at best. If someone is willing to hit a "loved one," they are probably willing to hit you. Even the person you are trying to protect might turn against you when you step in and start administering a righteous buttkicking to the aggressor.

A number of years ago (also in Hillsboro), there was a couple walking up the sidewalk across the street from my house. They were screaming and yelling so I was keeping an eye on them. I called 911 when the guy took a swing (but missed) at the girl and reported an "assault in progress". The assault was actually mutual as she managed to kick him.

It took the Hillsboro police 20 minutes to show up. By which time they were long gone of course.

Why didn't I step in? Even with a firearm, I'm not crazy enough to get in the middle of a domestic case unless it gets to the point where one is in danger of serious injury. It seems that most often, you end up dealing with 2 or more hostile people against you.


elsie

Originally Posted by elsie

A number of years ago (also in Hillsboro), there was a couple walking up the sidewalk across the street from my house. They were screaming and yelling so I was keeping an eye on them. I called 911 when the guy took a swing (but missed) at the girl and reported an "assault in progress". The assault was actually mutual as she managed to kick him.

It took the Hillsboro police 20 minutes to show up. By which time they were long gone of course.

Why didn't I step in? Even with a firearm, I'm not crazy enough to get in the middle of a domestic case unless it gets to the point where one is in danger of serious injury. It seems that most often, you end up dealing with 2 or more hostile people against you.

Exactly. That's why I didn't do any more than I did.