|
Forum Rules | Firearms Safety | Firearms Photos | Links | Library | Lost Password | Email Changes |
Register | FAQ | Calendar | Search | Today's Posts | Mark Forums Read |
|
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
May 22, 2010, 11:10 PM | #1 |
Senior Member
Join Date: February 13, 2010
Location: Kentucky
Posts: 993
|
What To Do? Neighbor Calls the Sheriff on me for everything!!!
To make a long story short ....
I live in Kentucky. In my county it is legal to discharge firearms on your own property, and there are no laws pertaining to the display or firing of fireworks any time of the year. In other words ... as the law reads ... I can shoot all I want, and let off fireworks anytime of the day and any day of the week ... all year long! Now ... I have a neighbor that works at the local judicial center. This joker thinks that just because he works at the courthouse that he is hot stuff. I never have a problem with anything that he does ... even if he is burning tires in his backyard on his burn pile. Now ... every time I discharge a firearm or let off firecrackers he calls the sheriff on me! They have been out here 8 times in the past month, and I don't know what to do. The visit from the Deputy always ends in ... "We know it's legal, but we have to answer every call!" What can I do? This guy is really getting on my nerves.
__________________
Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto - “You cannot invade the mainland United States. There would be a rifle behind each blade of grass.” |
May 22, 2010, 11:17 PM | #2 |
Senior Member
Join Date: January 27, 2008
Posts: 2,199
|
Have you had a polite conversation with him? Sometimes that is all it takes--a simple face-to-face conversation.
Perhaps there is some misunderstanding, or perhaps he has an issue with the timing of the noise. |
May 22, 2010, 11:18 PM | #3 |
Senior Member
Join Date: November 23, 2009
Posts: 575
|
I'ld be out there every day at 4:00 p.m. (pick a time) .... shooting a gun, or fireworks. About 2 weeks of that, the Police will tell this guy to quit wasting their time. There is such a thing as false calls, and it is a false call if the person knows what is occuring is "legal".
If 2 weeks doesn't do it, well..... I'ld keep right on going and get in a lot of shooting practice .... every day. The issue at this point is not the neighbor, but the Police thinking they have to respond to him when and if they know it's baloney. They are trying to "accommodate" him as a professional courtesy, but it will stop soon enough. |
May 22, 2010, 11:20 PM | #4 |
Senior Member
Join Date: April 7, 2000
Location: AZ, WA
Posts: 1,466
|
Not necessarily in order of desirability:
1) Move. 2) Shoot often. Don't shoot after "quiet hours" or before sunup, but shoot every chance you get. After awhile, the deputies will get fed up and either quit responding, or start citing him for making false 911 calls. They should have already told him what you are doing is legal, and warned him that any further calls, unless you're clearly endangering someone, will result in his prosecution. 3) Sue him for harrassment. Likely, though, it will cost you more in the long run than you'll ever gain from it. BTW, have you tried talking with him about his concerns? Assuring him that you're not shooting towards his property might go a long way in reassuring him.
__________________
Violence is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and valorous feeling which believes that nothing is worth violence is much worse. Those who have nothing for which they are willing to fight; nothing they care about more than their own craven apathy; are miserable creatures who have no chance of being free, unless made and kept so by the valor of those better than themselves. Gary L. Griffiths (Paraphrasing John Stuart Mill) |
May 22, 2010, 11:21 PM | #5 |
Member
Join Date: April 15, 2010
Posts: 65
|
If the Sheriff has to come out EVERY TIME this idiot lodges a complaint,
then he's wasting the taxpayers' money, and the Sheriff's time. I'd go to the next public community meeting, sit front and center, and call him out on it. See if the poophead still has a job next year... |
May 22, 2010, 11:34 PM | #6 |
Senior Member
Join Date: December 16, 2004
Location: Grand Forks, ND
Posts: 5,333
|
I agree with Gary L. Griffiths on #2. Go into your backyard and let of a magazine or two from a .22 pistol every day. Don't do it at 10 PM cause then you neighbor has a slightly valid complaint. Do it at like 5:30 pm or something.
__________________
I don't carry a gun to go looking for trouble, I carry a gun in case trouble finds me. |
May 22, 2010, 11:34 PM | #7 | |
Junior member
Join Date: August 5, 2007
Location: Florida
Posts: 1,982
|
Quote:
|
|
May 22, 2010, 11:38 PM | #8 |
Member
Join Date: May 16, 2010
Location: Kentucky
Posts: 18
|
I agree with having a polite conversation with him. What is it that he has a problem with? Just noise? As long as your not whizzing ricochets through his back yard or into his field of cattle, then I cant see where you are in the wrong. Just remember to keep it civil. The last thing you want to live next to for the next ? years is an enemy. The smartest man I ever met said this-Mark 12:31.
|
May 23, 2010, 01:03 AM | #9 |
Senior Member
Join Date: February 13, 2010
Location: Kentucky
Posts: 993
|
Well ... here's the thing. My family and I have only lived here for 2 years, so moving isn't an option at this time.
The neighbor who calls the sheriff on me all of the time has a 54 year old son who still lives at home. The son has been in and out of the penitentiary since he was 24 years old, and against the other neighbors' advice ... I befriended him at one time. I would always wave at him in passing, and he would come over and talk to me. I figured the guy hasn't done anything to me, and regardless of his past ... everyone deserves a chance. Then ... one day ... out of the blue the son comes over to me and decides to inform me that it is his father who has been calling the sheriff on me all these times. I was kind of shocked that this guy would even inform me that his family had been plotting against me, but now I get the feeling that the son is somewhat mentally challenged. So, I can understand that he doesn't have the capacity to keep secrets, and don't hold it against him. However, I cannot understand why his father insists on harassing me to no end. The father is someone who you just can't get along with. He's the type of person that if you were to say " Have a great day!" ... he'd come back with " What's so great about it?" . Understand? So, I guess I will continue to fire at will, and ignore his complaints. I can't think of anything else to do.
__________________
Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto - “You cannot invade the mainland United States. There would be a rifle behind each blade of grass.” |
May 23, 2010, 02:27 AM | #10 |
Member
Join Date: April 15, 2010
Posts: 65
|
Understood.
My folks have a neighbor just like this. Grew up up with this kind of PC idiot, right next door. Hell, my dad took a tree on the head trying to help this idiot, and instead of calling an ambulance to help, this stupid woman called her lawyer - "Can he sue me????" - while I'm holding my shirt on my Dad's head, trying to stop the blood from squirting everywhere, telling him it's superficial - "You'll be okay, but you need an ambulance... Where the hell is that woman?!?!?!?!?" Call this A-Hole out at Town Hall. Publicly embarrass him. He's a menace, and needs to be stopped. Post Haste. |
May 23, 2010, 05:55 AM | #11 |
Senior Member
Join Date: April 12, 2006
Location: NKY
Posts: 12,463
|
If what you are doing is legal, continue to shoot at will. Let him call, let they police come. Eventually they'll tell this gentleman that you are within the law and gun related calls will stop.
__________________
"He who laughs last, laughs dead." Homer Simpson |
May 23, 2010, 06:01 AM | #12 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: August 30, 2009
Location: Northern AZ
Posts: 7,172
|
Quote:
|
|
May 23, 2010, 06:11 AM | #13 |
Senior Member
Join Date: November 17, 2008
Location: NW Ohio
Posts: 1,399
|
Brew fresh coffee.
Brew coffee when you go out to shoot. That way you can offer a fresh cup when the deputy comes over. Your right to shoot. His right to call. The county needs to figure out what to do with these false calls.
Last edited by rjrivero; May 24, 2010 at 01:19 PM. |
May 23, 2010, 06:31 AM | #14 |
Senior Member
Join Date: October 13, 2009
Location: Torrington, CT. USA
Posts: 299
|
I agree with rjrivero. Shoot often and always have that cup of coffee for the PD when they show up (believe it or not). Over time they will get to know you better than him and they will all eventually know that he's a dick. All those calls and visits are a matter of record, so they know how many times they have been there. Hell, let them take a couple pops on your "range". Then when the time comes to lower the boom on your "pal" next door, you'll have plenty of weight.
|
May 23, 2010, 06:32 AM | #15 |
Senior Member
Join Date: June 4, 2007
Location: Shenandoah Valley
Posts: 3,276
|
riverwalker76,
Keep a notebook and record just the facts. When the police showed up, the responding officer, what the complaint was. Ultimately you can also make a FOIA request for information on the complaints as well. Bundle all of that up and then if you have quite a collection you can file a harassment charge or point out to the police that this guy is filing false reports.
__________________
"The dogs may bark but the caravan moves on" |
May 23, 2010, 09:40 AM | #16 |
Senior Member
Join Date: December 28, 2008
Location: Fort Wayne Ind.
Posts: 866
|
Invite the sheriff to shoot with you.
have ammo on hand for the sheriff. it can't hurt. |
May 23, 2010, 10:40 AM | #17 | ||
Senior Member
Join Date: February 8, 2010
Posts: 169
|
Quote:
__________________
Quote:
|
||
May 23, 2010, 10:43 AM | #18 |
Staff
Join Date: March 11, 2006
Location: Upper US
Posts: 28,616
|
slightly similar situation
Wife has horse. Horse has foundered. So, horse is put in small pen we make close to the house, so he can be recover. Not in big pasture any more. Gets fed pellets, once a day. Has plenty water, but no grass, no hay, cause he needs to lose weight, or die!
Sheriff (deputy) visits. Has gotten complaint we are mistreating horse. We explain, vet says do this, or horse dies. Deputy is polite, says he has to respond to all calls. End of the week, different deputy shows up. Same story. Next week, repeat. After about a month, we start seeing the same deputy again. Seems there is a lady that drives by regularly, and sees the poor horse penned up, with no food (no bale of fodder), and calls sheriff. Wife is, by this time, ready to chew nails and spit rust. Keeps a lid on it, is polite to deputy (who is about as old as our kids, or looks like it anyway). The tell us they know the horse is ok, and the calls are a pain, but they have to check. We ask, can one of you guys talk to this gal and set her straight? They say, they'll try, meanwhile, they don't get all hot about her calls, cause they know there's no real problem. Wife asks about "filing false report" and they say they will explain that to the gal. Don't see deputy for a couple weeks, and by this time, horse is better, and goes back to pasture. No more visits. In your case, relax and enjoy it. As long as the sheriff doesn't come "visit" with the SWAT team, (and when they know what's going on, they won't). Have a little fun with it. You're legal. You know it. They know it. Say Hi when they come to visit. Offer coffee, offer to shoot with them, etc. You can talk to your neighbor, but don't be confrontational. Nothing to gain there, and you don't want him to feel threatened. Maybe he's worried his adult child will get in trouble with you (parole violation?) Maybe he's just a curmudgeon who can't let anyone else enjoy themselves. Doesn't matter. You just keep cool. Like was said, keep a log of how many times, and what complaint, and when you have a stack of them, go see the sheriff, and seewhat they feel is the best course of action. Heck, by then, they ought to know you pretty good. You could go see a lawyer, but I wouldn't bother, not now, at least. Just shoot every day, enjoy the deputy's visit, make a log, who, when, how long the stay, why they came. Then with a stack of 15-20 ( or more?), go see the Sheriff. See the man himself, make appointment if you must. Say something like, Hey, I like visitin' with your boys (and girls?) but seems to me that they could be doing something more important for the county. There is a line (sometimes legally defined) for public nuisance, for filing false reports, etc. Have documentation to show them, and there's a fair chance they will file their own complaint on this guy, you might not have to.
__________________
All else being equal (and it almost never is) bigger bullets tend to work better. |
May 23, 2010, 10:55 AM | #19 |
Senior Member
Join Date: May 20, 2010
Location: Alabama
Posts: 175
|
44AMP has a great plan for you to follow. I suggest you do it that way!
Personally, I would be out in the yard firing a .22, with a couple .45 rounds tossed in for extra loudness, every single day at various times. Not during normally accepted quiet times of course. Most rural police officers I've met strongly believe in a person's right to bear arms and fire on property where it is legal to do so. Like 44AMP said, take those visits as time to converse with the cops and all that. Make it a social time. Everyone should have friends that are police. I know I sure do. But keep on it! Fire that weapon every single day until the police stop responding to the old twit. |
May 23, 2010, 11:00 AM | #20 |
Senior Member
Join Date: March 18, 2007
Location: Real northern California
Posts: 504
|
Do not talk to this neighbor WITHOUT a witness. After all, you have wicked guns and he could, and probably would, say anything
__________________
David I pledge allegiance to the Constitution of These United States of America, and to the Republic which it defines. |
May 23, 2010, 11:38 AM | #21 |
Senior Member
Join Date: February 3, 2009
Location: Nashvegas, TN
Posts: 228
|
IF you go to talk to the neighbor, do it on neutral ground, in a public place with plenty of witnesses.
Example: Buy him lunch at your favorite restaurant. Do not go to his property. He could try harassment / trespass charges on you (it can flow both ways.) Make sure not to shoot when his son is around. (In case it might be a violation of his parole. No need to cause trouble.) And do what 44 AMP and others have stated. Be careful how you handle this, it can move on to a full on neighbor feud. Something you really do not want.
__________________
Μολὼν λάβε |
May 23, 2010, 11:53 AM | #22 |
Senior Member
Join Date: December 21, 2005
Location: Sarasota (sort of) Florida
Posts: 1,296
|
Go in and talk to the CLEO.
Not a phone call but in person. I promise he knows what's going on. Ask him to tell his deputies to stop comong to your house. Final resort, tell the CLEO you'll seek a restraining order against your neighbor. Do NOT confront the neighbor. AFS |
May 23, 2010, 01:44 PM | #23 |
Senior Member
Join Date: November 20, 2007
Location: South Western OK
Posts: 3,112
|
How far is the neighbors home from your shooting range?
|
May 23, 2010, 02:25 PM | #24 |
Junior member
Join Date: November 12, 2000
Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado
Posts: 9,494
|
I do not think you should confrint the neighbor in any way. This is an old guy, set in his ways, he's been in the neighborhood for longer than you have. So he prolly feels rightious and if you start confronting him then he's going to not want to "lose" and could embellish and up the ante on you, not a good thing.
I also think that you should continue to shoot, you are not doing anything wrong. You can deal with this over time and with zero confrontation. The deputy's have to act on what the man says, like they say. If he says you took a shot at his house...you're going downtown. Maybe you should do a restraining order on him so it gets down on paper now that HE is a problem, and anything he says then can be shot down easier. |
May 23, 2010, 02:46 PM | #25 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: August 22, 2005
Location: The Woodlands TX
Posts: 4,677
|
Quote:
__________________
la plus belle des ruses du diable est de vous persuader qu'il n'existe pas! |
|
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
|
|