- Jurisdiction
- Indiana
My wife, children, mother-in-law and myself have been enduring verbal abuse and harrassment from renters next door for the past 4 months. The neighbor has been told to leave our property on multiple occasions (yes we have signs posted) including a formal trespass by law enforcement. 2 days ago, a verbal altercation ensued between the neighbor, myself and my wife. He was walking his dig on the "city property" strip along the street in front of our house. I let him know I wasn't going to tolerate him having his dog relieve itself in the yard I take care of. He refused to leave.
At this point, I went to the "city property" strip in front of his home to make the point I could do the same. Feeling foolish and realizing that the confrontation between him and my wife was getting heated, I decided to rejoin the argument. As I began to return the 20' distance, he yelled at my wife: "You F****** C***, now I'm on your property." He charged toward her location and I intercepted him by tackling him (lacerating my chin and receiving abrasions to my right arm). We wrestled until we rolled across the sidewalk and into the "city property" strip. I was able to subdue him in a headlock (making sure I was not choking him). His wife punched me 2 times in the face, at which time my mother-in-law came to my aid. They, too, began wrestling each other. His wife bit my mother-in-law, drawing blood, and would not let go.
We both released the neighbor and his wife only after the police arrived. My neighbor got to his feet and in the presence of 3 officers, told me "this is not F****** over" 2x. All parties involved (with the exception of my wife) have now been served charges of Disorderly Conduct. He was "conveniently" not served for the Second Trespass in spite of the fact that he admitted to the police that he came on our property toward my wife.
We have had to order a survey to satisfy law enforcement that the boundary is clearly marked. The full boundary sample that is considered admissible in court will cost $800. We have had to purchase multiple surveillance cameras and numerous SD Cards to capture the ridiculous levels of escalation. We have bought building materials to block their view/access to our children. I am now losing holiday pay from my employer as I have a court date that will cause me to be late for work tomorrow in addition to the hours of pay I will lose coming in late and point I will be assessed. I had to have $350 in bail to get me out of jail for the disorderly conduct charge. Also, if I cannot get this charge dropped, I will have a criminal record and ensuing court costs and fees to be determined.
It should be noted here that we do not initiate contact with the neighbors, it is they who do so on every occasion that is until the event described above. We have never set foot on their property. Aside from watching them closely for signs of threats, we try to avoid them. They use the pretense of items "accidentally" coming over on our property, speak vulgarly to my wife and children. On more than one occasion, they have sprayed chemicals on my wife's flowers attempting to kill them off. They have been granted permission by the property owner of a vacant adjacent lot so they have broader access to property. They shout obscenities and threats at us even when we have taken the cop's advice and remained inside our home to avoid contact.
We have called the police over 20 times in the ensuing 4 months. Admittedly my wife has a bit of a hair trigger calling them as most the instances have been unenforcible complaints (but not all). The first time I called the police was when he intentionally came on my property after I confronted him about it. He demonstrate his disregard for my demand that he get out of my yard by jumping further into it and shouting: "I'm in your F****** yard now and there's nothing you can do about it. You gonna call the cops? They won't do anything about either." I called and he was right. They did nothing about it.
We have each episode on surveillance camera footage. The police have no desire to watch it as we have offered many times. The police have made no effort to resolve this. In fact they treat us as if we are being immature or should handle things in a different way.
I want to know if there is a case for a lawsuit. Can a case be made against the police for complicity? They have recommended that we move in spite of the fact that we are buying our home and the neighbors are renting. Clear criminal violations have occurred frequently but the police have avoided addressing the violations, rather, they ask us to change how we react to them. I just want this to stop. My wife, who he makes contact with most often since I work 10 hours a day, is mentally exhausted and worries that she will have to deal with harassment every time she goes outside. I barely make enough money to get by so I can't afford to keep spending on preemptive measures. I don't have enough for a protective order at this point. We don't even like leaving our house unattended for concern over our property. I am at my wit's end.
At this point, I went to the "city property" strip in front of his home to make the point I could do the same. Feeling foolish and realizing that the confrontation between him and my wife was getting heated, I decided to rejoin the argument. As I began to return the 20' distance, he yelled at my wife: "You F****** C***, now I'm on your property." He charged toward her location and I intercepted him by tackling him (lacerating my chin and receiving abrasions to my right arm). We wrestled until we rolled across the sidewalk and into the "city property" strip. I was able to subdue him in a headlock (making sure I was not choking him). His wife punched me 2 times in the face, at which time my mother-in-law came to my aid. They, too, began wrestling each other. His wife bit my mother-in-law, drawing blood, and would not let go.
We both released the neighbor and his wife only after the police arrived. My neighbor got to his feet and in the presence of 3 officers, told me "this is not F****** over" 2x. All parties involved (with the exception of my wife) have now been served charges of Disorderly Conduct. He was "conveniently" not served for the Second Trespass in spite of the fact that he admitted to the police that he came on our property toward my wife.
We have had to order a survey to satisfy law enforcement that the boundary is clearly marked. The full boundary sample that is considered admissible in court will cost $800. We have had to purchase multiple surveillance cameras and numerous SD Cards to capture the ridiculous levels of escalation. We have bought building materials to block their view/access to our children. I am now losing holiday pay from my employer as I have a court date that will cause me to be late for work tomorrow in addition to the hours of pay I will lose coming in late and point I will be assessed. I had to have $350 in bail to get me out of jail for the disorderly conduct charge. Also, if I cannot get this charge dropped, I will have a criminal record and ensuing court costs and fees to be determined.
It should be noted here that we do not initiate contact with the neighbors, it is they who do so on every occasion that is until the event described above. We have never set foot on their property. Aside from watching them closely for signs of threats, we try to avoid them. They use the pretense of items "accidentally" coming over on our property, speak vulgarly to my wife and children. On more than one occasion, they have sprayed chemicals on my wife's flowers attempting to kill them off. They have been granted permission by the property owner of a vacant adjacent lot so they have broader access to property. They shout obscenities and threats at us even when we have taken the cop's advice and remained inside our home to avoid contact.
We have called the police over 20 times in the ensuing 4 months. Admittedly my wife has a bit of a hair trigger calling them as most the instances have been unenforcible complaints (but not all). The first time I called the police was when he intentionally came on my property after I confronted him about it. He demonstrate his disregard for my demand that he get out of my yard by jumping further into it and shouting: "I'm in your F****** yard now and there's nothing you can do about it. You gonna call the cops? They won't do anything about either." I called and he was right. They did nothing about it.
We have each episode on surveillance camera footage. The police have no desire to watch it as we have offered many times. The police have made no effort to resolve this. In fact they treat us as if we are being immature or should handle things in a different way.
I want to know if there is a case for a lawsuit. Can a case be made against the police for complicity? They have recommended that we move in spite of the fact that we are buying our home and the neighbors are renting. Clear criminal violations have occurred frequently but the police have avoided addressing the violations, rather, they ask us to change how we react to them. I just want this to stop. My wife, who he makes contact with most often since I work 10 hours a day, is mentally exhausted and worries that she will have to deal with harassment every time she goes outside. I barely make enough money to get by so I can't afford to keep spending on preemptive measures. I don't have enough for a protective order at this point. We don't even like leaving our house unattended for concern over our property. I am at my wit's end.
Last edited:
