Is That a Police Officer on the Front Steps?
Jan 6th, 2007 by Alex
Some friends from college and a few others came by last night to have a few drinks and revel. It had been a warm night, but there was a pleasant breeze. We had left a window cracked in the front of the house to provide some circulation. Same for the the sliding door in the back. Imagine my suprise when the door bell rings and someone answers it.
“There’s a cop at the door!” announces someone. This was followed by the same person, who said “crap, there really IS a cop at the door.” Followed by the door answerer, “they want to talk to the owner.” Cute. So I come down a flight of stairs and sure enough is a County officer on my front steps. At least my friends aren’t liars.
Officer: Are you the owner or renter of this house?
Me: Yes.
Officer: Can I see your identification?
Me: Sure. Let me go get it.
Up two flights of stairs and then back down two flights, all while fishing my drivers license out of my wallet. After my ID is verified and a small inquiry of my last name’s origin (it’s Greek), I was informed that we were being a bit noisy and could be heard both from the back and the front of the house and that someone had called them. After my name is recorded in a small spiral notepad and given a brief warning, the officer turns to walk away. Another police car arrives just then. I ask if that’s her ride. She says no, but that she’s parked around back. Must have been a slow night; two cars for a noise complaint, and only the 3rd police car I’ve seen in my community in the past 2-1/2 years.
Now I have no qualms about the way the officer handled this. It’s her job to investigate these sorts of things and was very cordial. My primary complaint is that the police were called in the first place. I’m a pretty approachable person, or at least I’d like to think that I am. If someone has a problem (with noise or anything), I fail to see what’s so difficult about ringing the door bell yourself and asking someone to tone it down a notch. That’s what I’d do, anyways. Had I known I was bothering the neighbors, it would have been a simple matter of closing the window and sliding door. Neighbors certainly aren’t what they used to be. More incentive to move to a better neighborhood.
Never buy a townhouse. That’s the lesson here. You’ll be winded from grabbing your ID when the police arrive to investigate a noise complaint that the neighbors haven’t tried to handle themselves.
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