I think she should have made a big scene when she was blocked the first time. Say in a very loud voice "why are you harassing me?" Call attention to this criminal behavior.
Kathy Jackson writes very well about this problem we all have about not wanting to call attention to ourselves:
http://www.corneredcat.com/Dying_of_Embarrassment/
And I too can't believe the cops didn't check out the hoods. Maybe they didn't want to be embarrassed.