Police Brutality..............................

Reminder... I live in small town U.S.A. The biggest thing our police officers have to entertain themselves with is setting up stings on the outskirts of town and catch people not slowing to the posted 25MPH speed limit. Not such a tough job I wouldn't think.

It is not unusual for me to see a patrol car driving slowly down my street a couple of times a day. On Sunday I noted that one had stopped at the edge of my property in front of the neighbors edge of property. I really am not a nosy neighbor, but I this concerned me as she is in the stage of active dying and I thought maybe... He drove on down the street a few seconds later.

About an hour later I heard a car pulling into our driveway. I try and get to the door before the door bell is rang to help keep the dogs under control. (Our doorbell is a Pavlovian signal for them to bark.) As I looked out the window I noted the same officer sitting in front of our property shuffling some papers and then he drove off. I opened the door to let in our guest and found a red tag hanging on my door.

I will quickly tell you the violation was for yard waste and liter in the street. Our city picks up leaves from the street, and brush from the edge of the yard. My youngest had misunderstood me and put some branches on the leaf pile. The leaf pile originated from the yard worker of the neighbor that is dying, and yes we added leaves of our own in a pile beside of hers. If we were wrong to do this fine, not at all upset to be informed of this violation.

What totally freaked me out, to the point of throwing me into an instant anxiety attack (don't know why, it didn't seem like a big deal but one was triggered anyway), was the fact that the officer walked up to my door to place the tag on the door handle, but didn't have the common courtesy to knock on my door and clear up the matter with me directly (and it was obvious that someone was home with several cars in the drive and one person sitting in a car in the drive) . Living in the community that I do, this IS common practice and community expectation. We REALLY DO have an Officer Friendly that goes around talking to our children and teaching them about the law and safety issues. I felt totally disrespected and violated. Over a pile of leaves I know...Totally overreacting.

Yesterday morning I called the police station to report this abusive treatment. I talked with the police Sargent, and he assured me this is not normal protocol. He said, "I know this is no excuse, but he is young and I will be talking to him about how things are done in name-of-city. I am really sorry for his behavior and will take care of it." I suggested that he send Junior over to properly introduce himself to me and the Sargent thought this was a wonderful plan.

The Sargent checked into the leave situation and it seems the city only picks them up in the fall. I assured him that I would get ours and the neighbors picked up. Just to show you the inner workings of our town, he did know that the neighbor was at the end of life and a couple other details about my block. Some people might find this Big Brotherish, but I find it reassuring, like we are being looked after.

I have thought a little about why hanging a tag verses knocking on the door was such a big deal to me. The best I can come up with is it shattered my illusion of the give and take that I feel exists in our city. Our police officers are here to serve and protect, not issue summons in secret and throw around their power. I guess the biggest thing was the feeling of discourtesy. I am a total believer that if you have a problem with someone go and talk to them. Clear up the situation and move on. I guess, if I am totally honest, my ego might not be able to stand the thought of someone having a problem with me. NOT ME??? Now there is something I can work on.