Harassment: What is Harassment, and What Happens if Both People Are Doing the Same Thing

My question involves criminal law for the state of: Colorado

Neighbor called the cops the other night. All I did was play my guitar on my porch at 9 pm. There were some words in the song the 13 year old next door apparently thought were about her, her mom came out screamed at me said she'd call the cops.

I went inside called neighbor who's house I just left asked her to come down, the neighbors called cops on me before, first time in my 43 years cops have been at my house. Records dept say the neighbor called them over and over in the past and they sealed records so cops wouldn't see cause they couldn't validate anything they said, they'd call and make insane allegations.

I didn't talk to the teen at all. When the cops came I said I was playing my guitar, that's all. I called an attorney he said not to talk to them anymore as they'll just twist what I say and they have in the past regarding this neighbor and her friend across the street.

So according to the municipal charge the cop handed me it's harassment, how I wondered? Finally the police report came out a few days later and as the attorney said it's all twisted. The teen said I told her she was fat and didn't wear her clothes well. The song was Get a Life something silly I made up, I was talking about myself and fixing my foreclosure house, that I'd gotten fat and it was time to get a life.

The mother in the report said her daughter came inside and said this, she didn't know if it was harassment or not called the cops and said I was so called harassing her daughter. Four cops showed up saying they've been to this neighborhood before and they have, sick and tired of three families, myself and two women who hate me since I bought my house 1-1/2 years ago.

The report says the mother is the main victim of the so called harassment, the teen didn't even make a statement, likely she went into the house crying her eyes out. Ironically I've given her clothes and shoes and always called her beautiful prior to this neighborhood feud, and I'd never harass her, the song wasn't about her at all.

Further in the report the neighbor across the street says that I yelled at her two kids and that I'm a nuisance to the neighborhood. She says that I yelled to her kids why don't you play with my son. She told me to stay off her property and since then I have but I continue to yell. This too is insane I've never yelled at her kids ever and all I did was say hello to them and gee you are growing a few times in an entire year.

This crazy lady claims I'm a nuisance to the neighborhood and I harass surrounding neighbors in the report. In fact it's the opposite, I told neighbors my son can't play with her kids because of how crazy theyve been and that their son was kicked out of an entire school district and is violent. I don't want my son around her kids and everyone knows it.

And I'm friends with the surrounding neighbors but her and her fatso friend who I rubbed wrong when I bought the house and they've sought to revenge me in all sorts of ways, saying so to my face over and over. I'd called the cops on them a few months into my house, they were aiming a video camera at my son saying he was throwing rocks and he wasn't. I called the police they said it was harassment but I said I just wanted it on record, instead they sent social workers out. Within days the next door neighbor said they were going to revenge me.

The called the building dept lied about work on my house, the dog patrol saying my dog jumped a fence he didn't, barked for over two hours which a dog cant do, then the police over and over again. The records dept said they'd make any insane allegation just to get cops out so finally for a year dispatch was told to never send cops to my house, and until recently none ever came. The next door neighbor once said we can't figure out why no one comes to your house, but we'll get you thru the building department, I heard you say such and such... on and on.

So one cop said they overheard me saying that I'd sue them for invasion of privacy and harassment myself. They apparently video taped this, took it to the cops and in the video I'm saying I know they called the PD over and over making stuff up about me like I'm a drug dealer and whore and all sorts of things. I recall that night is when I got my first ticket for so called harassment, a cop, the neighbors friend I think came to my door and said we had to beat you to it, we knew you would, ticket in hand.

Neighbor across the street that night called the cops saying I was harassing neighbor, she didn't even know what the argument was about. In that police report it says I told the neighbor to leave me alone and stop harassing my family in general and calling DSS. The woman had been threatening me lately saying she'd have my son taken, I didn't deserve him and I was telling her to leave me alone. How can that be harassment? I hired an attorney and that one was defered not guilty, if nothing happens in a year, but now there's a second ticket for so called harassment. And if I'm guilty of this one the other will be automatically set to court.

My attorney said this of the recent harassment:

I have reviewed the report, and also looked up the municipal ordinance. From what the police report stated, I don't think it is a crime. You can see this for yourself by typing an internet search "twon municipal code" and look up the regulation, 11-1-303. There was no obscenity spoken, threat, etc. that would satisfy the code, and so the only other thing they could allege against you would be some sort of "repeated harassment." However, no other incidents are alleged against any one specific victim, they allege incidents, which are nothing anyway, against separate people, so they have not alleged sufficient facts in the report to satisfy a municipal violation.

The max penalty is a fine of $1,000 and 1 year in jail, but I doubt anything like that would ever happen. But, so far, I don't think there is a violation, even if everything the officer wrote in the report were true.

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There are three dvd's on file with the PD related to the so called harassment recent case. Neighbors across the street have a survelience camera aimed at me but attorney said that it wouldn't be able to pick up audio. Neighbor next door may have had a tape recorder, still if anything was in the song I was singing they can't prove it was about them, there might have been a line about clothes and about police and getting a life about me. But attorney said if they have video it'll be harder to fight then first harassment ticket.

He said I shouldn't have defered the first ticket it just encouraged the two vindictive women to continue to call the cops over idiotic stuff. He said the first one would have been easier to fight then this one especially if they have video. He said the system will look at it as I'm guilty of something since I had an attorney and settled with defered sentence on the last one. I was told it wouldn't be held against me.

The City attorney at the last one said he knew stuff was going on in the neighborhood dropped the dog barking ticket the neighbor gave me that said the dog barked two hours straight, he obviously knew it was exaggerated. But he said the cop had called and said there were more neighbors on the two women's side then mine and thats why they charged me with harassment and not them. My attorney thought they should have been charged and charged with false reporting from the past, he was upset.

I have a new attorney, he's supposedly one of the best, he claims this might be dropped if the city attorney doesn't want to go to court and he doesn't like to. He said they'll look at this like divorce cases, fights between couples and often the system let's 2-3 go before anyone is guilty as they think it'll pass. He said he can prove in court if need be that these women are quirky, he said if they bring in old videos the judge won't want to see them anyways.

If they are trying to get me for repeated harassment I can think of a few more so called dvd's they might have. In the summer I told one woman to f off and leave me alone. She had a camera and I told her if she runs around with that camera anymore I'll sue her. I think maybe she called the cops and tried to take videos to them and they wouldn't even put them on file or come out. Then in the summer too I was hanging with a friend on my porch might have said things about neighbor next door that she over heard and recorded. A cop says they had enough to charge me long ago cause they were pulling out cameras here and there.

I reached my breaking point told them to leave me alone, it's two of them against me but finally a fence guy went next door asked neighbor who's said many times I'll bring you down, take you out etc that I was a drug dealer whore etc and he was horrified as he's an ex cop. He told her she's only hurting children and to leave me alone, he didn't know me at the time. He sided with me and was horrified so if need be I could use him in court to help say they've been harassing me.

Another neighbor said she'd go to court with me to verify that neighbors like me, that the woman is lying about my yelling at her kids that it's the opposite and I won't let my son play with their kids. She can say these women have been harassing me by calling the building dept, cops, animal patrol and etc and the PD even knew it and sealed records so why are they doing this to me. She can say I was at her house that night, she watched thru the window as I'd just left to make sure I was safe, was playing my guitar and didn't talk to the teen. Of course the cops disregarded that I had a witness as the attorney said.

What is ongoing harassment? Is there anything that could be used from six months ago? A year ago? I don't get this, it's a city ticket but it woulnd't look good on my record. I've never had a record for anything in my life. I'm putting up a fence to block the one neighbor and privacy trees for the other - but they've been bound and determined to get me, there was another incident I posted on other parts of this site that was horrid too.

Thanks for any help on this.