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  1. #1

    Default How to Stop Somebody Who is Using the Police to Harass People

    My question involves criminal law for the state of: WI

    I have a neighbor that is clearly an alcoholic and is very paranoid. She has been accusing me of being a "suspicious person" and believes I look at her kid with perverse motives. It's a long story which I won't get into at this point, but the short story is that I get accused of such things for doing nothing more than sitting on my enclosed front porch. If her kid is outside in his own yard (or mine), he tells his mother about it and then she calls the police. The last time this happened was last night at about 9:30pm. It's the 3rd time this has happened (and the second time in 1.5 weeks). She even has a security camera aimed at my home and backyard from about 6 feet away. She put it up after calling the cops on me after I looked out my kitchen window when her kid threw something at my house. The houses are very close together.

    This time, one of the officers was one who responded the previous time and remembered that the accusations were baseless. Believe it or not, the reason he said he was there this time was because the neighbor had "some concerns" about me, and he was checking to make sure everything was alright. After pressing him to be more specific, he said that she was just a mother who was very protective of her child. When the police came 1.5 weeks ago, it was because the neighbor said she smelled something and thought I was storing trash in my garage. They searched my garage and nothing was found. No smell either.

    As for what I've done so far--I wrote a very detailed email to the neighbor's landlord at the end of April after having a 22 minute conversation with him on the phone. He later wrote back saying he talked to her and that she agreed to settle things down on her end. Now after 2 more police visits, I sent a 2nd email to the landlord.

    What I'd like to know is whether my neighbor is doing something illegal by using the police to harass me. I asked the police about that but they didn't seem to want to give me an answer. They just kind of blew it off by saying things like, "We get calls like this all the time. It's 90% of what we respond to". I told them flat out that I wanted to press charges against her for harassment, but they didn't seem the least bit interested. I've heard of people being arrested for making nuisance calls to the police. Wouldn't what my neighbor is doing qualify for that?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Posts
    18,340

    Default Re: Using Police to Harass People. Legal?

    Your neighbor's landlord has nothing to do with this. He wants his rent money and as long as she's not bothering him, he's OK with the status quo.

    And, as you have obviously learned, the police are flat out not going to protect you from this woman.

    Bottom line: You are likely going to have to get a restraining order if possible. If not, you'll have to file a private nuisance lawsuit against her and seek monetary damages and an injunction against the behavior.

    I know, it's tough having a lunatic neighbor. I've been there. I solved my problem by selling out and moving to a better neighborhood where there were no rentals.

  3. #3

    Default Re: Using Police to Harass People. Legal?

    Her landlord apparently agrees with you. I got a reply from him today indicating such, and even told me some of the lies she told him--all of which he seems to believe. She apparently claimed that it must have been a different neighbor who called the police on me, even though the police told me it was her. She also sent him pictures of me having a security camera in my window pointing back at hers, and the landlord claimed to find that to be "odd" on my part, even though he doesn't think her camera pointing at my house is a problem at all. I've even been advised by the police and other people to have a camera of my own so I can prove things, and now I'm being told that it's odd when I take that advice.

    I've read that a restraining order would only be possible if there was physical harm done to me by the person I'd be filing it against. Not the case here, at least not yet.

    As for filing a private nuisance lawsuit (something I never heard of before), I'm not sure my case qualifies to a significant degree. In my case, the nuisance coming from the neighbor is in the form of loud talking about things she wants to do (property damage, etc.) and police visits, along with the fear of living with these threats.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Oct 2014
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    8,238

    Default Re: Using Police to Harass People. Legal?

    Quote Quoting Novicelegal
    View Post
    As for filing a private nuisance lawsuit (something I never heard of before), I'm not sure my case qualifies to a significant degree. In my case, the nuisance coming from the neighbor is in the form of loud talking about things she wants to do (property damage, etc.) and police visits, along with the fear of living with these threats.
    A private nuisance is not, as some think on hearing the term, something that is just annoying or bothersome. In general it is some sort of invasion of your property (though actual trespass is not needed) by another that intereferes with your use and enjoyment of the property. It generally has some degree of wrongful intentional conduct or negligent conduct. The Wisconsin Supreme Court explained it in some detail in a case from five years ago:

    ¶30 A private nuisance is a condition that harms or interferes with a private interest. Id., § 821A. We have accepted the Restatement (Second) of Torts' characterization of private nuisance as “a nontrespassory invasion of another's interest in the private use and enjoyment of land.” City of Milwaukee, 277 Wis.2d 635, ¶ 25 n. 4, 691 N.W.2d 658 (citing Vogel v. Grant–Lafayette Elec. Coop., 201 Wis.2d 416, 423, 548 N.W.2d 829 (1996) and Prah v. Maretti, 108 Wis.2d 223, 231, 321 N.W.2d 182 (1982)); see Restatement (Second) of Torts, § 821D. There is no dispute that the nuisance at issue in this case is a private nuisance.

    ¶ 31 Wisconsin law employs the following directive for those seeking to establish liability for a private nuisance:

    One is subject to liability for a private nuisance if, but only if, his conduct is a legal cause of an invasion of another's interest in the private use and enjoyment of land, and the invasion is either
    (a) [I]ntentional and unreasonable, or
    (b) [U]nintentional and otherwise actionable under the rules controlling liability for negligent or reckless conduct, or for abnormally dangerous conditions or activities.

    Restatement (Second) of Torts, § 822; City of Milwaukee, 277 Wis.2d 635, ¶ 32, 691 N.W.2d 658. Because a nuisance is a result, of which negligence or intentional conduct may be the cause, liability for a nuisance “is founded on the wrongful act in ... maintaining [the nuisance].” Physicians Plus, 254 Wis.2d 77, ¶ 27, 646 N.W.2d 777 (quoting Brown v. Milwaukee Terminal Ry. Co., 199 Wis. 575, 589, 227 N.W. 385 (1929) (internal quotation marks omitted)). Physical occupation of the property of another is not necessary to a nuisance claim. Vogel, 201 Wis.2d at 426, 548 N.W.2d 829. For example, invasions of noxious odors can rise to the level of a nuisance. Costas v. City of Fond du Lac, 24 Wis.2d 409, 413, 129 N.W.2d 217 (1964).

    Bostco LLC v. Milwaukee Metro. Sewerage Dist., 2013 WI 78, ¶¶ 30-31, 350 Wis. 2d 554, 575–76, 835 N.W.2d 160, 171.

    The calling of the police is not likely to be considered a nuisance under this standard. Calling the police for help is a privileged activity; one cannot generally sue over another person calling the police, except perhaps if the person knowingly gave false statements to the police. There isn’t an element here of wrongful conduct or negligence if she believes the reports she’s giving the police. She may simply have some kind of mental disability of some kind that leads her to think these problems are occurring. Not a whole lot you can do about that if that's the situation, other than perhaps move and let someone else deal with her.

  5. #5

    Default Re: Using Police to Harass People. Legal?

    Quote Quoting Taxing Matters
    View Post
    A private nuisance is not, as some think on hearing the term, something that is just annoying or bothersome. In general it is some sort of invasion of your property (though actual trespass is not needed) by another that intereferes with your use and enjoyment of the property. It generally has some degree of wrongful intentional conduct or negligent conduct. The Wisconsin Supreme Court explained it in some detail in a case from five years ago:

    ¶30 A private nuisance is a condition that harms or interferes with a private interest. Id., § 821A. We have accepted the Restatement (Second) of Torts' characterization of private nuisance as “a nontrespassory invasion of another's interest in the private use and enjoyment of land.” City of Milwaukee, 277 Wis.2d 635, ¶ 25 n. 4, 691 N.W.2d 658 (citing Vogel v. Grant–Lafayette Elec. Coop., 201 Wis.2d 416, 423, 548 N.W.2d 829 (1996) and Prah v. Maretti, 108 Wis.2d 223, 231, 321 N.W.2d 182 (1982)); see Restatement (Second) of Torts, § 821D. There is no dispute that the nuisance at issue in this case is a private nuisance.

    ¶ 31 Wisconsin law employs the following directive for those seeking to establish liability for a private nuisance:

    One is subject to liability for a private nuisance if, but only if, his conduct is a legal cause of an invasion of another's interest in the private use and enjoyment of land, and the invasion is either
    (a) [I]ntentional and unreasonable, or
    (b) [U]nintentional and otherwise actionable under the rules controlling liability for negligent or reckless conduct, or for abnormally dangerous conditions or activities.

    Restatement (Second) of Torts, § 822; City of Milwaukee, 277 Wis.2d 635, ¶ 32, 691 N.W.2d 658. Because a nuisance is a result, of which negligence or intentional conduct may be the cause, liability for a nuisance “is founded on the wrongful act in ... maintaining [the nuisance].” Physicians Plus, 254 Wis.2d 77, ¶ 27, 646 N.W.2d 777 (quoting Brown v. Milwaukee Terminal Ry. Co., 199 Wis. 575, 589, 227 N.W. 385 (1929) (internal quotation marks omitted)). Physical occupation of the property of another is not necessary to a nuisance claim. Vogel, 201 Wis.2d at 426, 548 N.W.2d 829. For example, invasions of noxious odors can rise to the level of a nuisance. Costas v. City of Fond du Lac, 24 Wis.2d 409, 413, 129 N.W.2d 217 (1964).

    Bostco LLC v. Milwaukee Metro. Sewerage Dist., 2013 WI 78, ¶¶ 30-31, 350 Wis. 2d 554, 575–76, 835 N.W.2d 160, 171.

    The calling of the police is not likely to be considered a nuisance under this standard. Calling the police for help is a privileged activity; one cannot generally sue over another person calling the police, except perhaps if the person knowingly gave false statements to the police. There isn’t an element here of wrongful conduct or negligence if she believes the reports she’s giving the police. She may simply have some kind of mental disability of some kind that leads her to think these problems are occurring. Not a whole lot you can do about that if that's the situation, other than perhaps move and let someone else deal with her.
    The the description of the law (thank you for that, btw), it appears you may be right. It's just hard to believe that a person can keep calling the police on me week after week and the police find no wrongdoing on my part and yet they see no problem with her continuing to do this. I live in constant fear that one day they're going to show up because an accusation was made that would lead to me being arrested based on the severity of the accusation. After all, what she accuses me of involves her 11 year old son who she believes I stare at. I don't, but she takes him at his word, and she apparently has taught him that if he sees me sitting on my own front porch, then I must be able to see him, and therefore am staring at him. Why the police don't tell her to either start providing some sort of proof before she's allowed to waste their time anymore is beyond me. But as long as they keep responding to her, and now has her landlord taking her side (after initially agreeing that it sounds like she's doing something wrong--a conversation I have a record of), she has no reason to stop.

    So the police will keep coming, her landlord won't help, her friends are supporting her against me, and there's nothing in the law that allows me to stop the harassment, then what options do I have short of giving up my home?

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