"lucky I didn't shoot you" ??

[bpeele]

Long story short(ish)... roommate and I recently bought RC cars. Googling for tracks shows me a website for a legit backyard track that actually has races and stuff - and it's like 1/4 mile away from my house. Drive by yesterday, think we see the house, decide to park the car and cut through like 2 backyards to peer over a privacy fence to see it was really there (no opening gates, no hopping fences - just straight clear walking through 2 yards). D
Still daylight/mid-evening. No dice, track is gone now but that was indeed the place with the website still up. Oh well... proceed to friends' house in same neighborhood for a few beers.

Half hour later doorbell rings and it's a guy looking for me because he recognized the car from back yard deal. Says he's the neighbor next to the house we looked at and is a cop and saw us. Didn't ask him for a badge or anything and just explained the deal to him and the actual homeowner, showing him the dude's f*ing active website using my phone with the track notice and the full address and google maps pic he still has posted and explained that we were just looking for this track to see if it really existed. Homeowner was super cool - he used to run the track - we talked rc cars for a sec an that was that. They told me there's been some break-ins recently and that explains the concern... but then the cop says to me, "You're lucky I didn't shoot you."

WTF man!? I let it go and just went on my way, but since when is it Ok/legal for an off duty cop to shoot someone for being in a yard 100 feet away from anyone or any doors/windows/houses/people? Jerk off comment for sure. I wanted to argue but it didn't seem worth it but today I'm getting mad (haha) and wish I would have discussed it with him ala, "so you're saying that I can shoot people I don't recognize that I happen to see in my neighbors' backyard? That's OK with the law? Cool man, i'll keep that in mind for future use since I also own firearms, thanks for the info. oh wait... now you're telling me that's illegal and is probably a murder charge?"

 

[Audie Murphy]

I'm with you, he was just being a jerk. If you were CC you could have told him the same back(if he was in plain clothes) because I know if someone in normal clothes pointed a gun at me, they would get one pointed back at them.

 

[gunman41mag]

I would've said, "That would be a big mistake, cause I've would've shot back"

 

[oneshotonekill]

Stupid.....it was smart of you to keep your pie hole shut. He is a LEO, knows your car, knows where you live, he could give you a lot of grief and an extra moving violation or two down the road if you would have smarted off and made him mad. If I was you, I'd let it go and shake it off.

 

[gunman41mag]

Stupid.....it was smart of you to keep your pie hole shut. He is a LEO, knows your car, knows where you live, he could give you a lot of grief and an extra moving violation or two down the road if you would have smarted off and made him mad. If I was you, I'd let it go and shake it off.

That is when you call "IA" & make an harassment report

 

[The Bubba Effect]

Were you messing around on strangers' property? If you are a grown man and you were walking around, uninvited, in the yards of people that do not know you, yes you are lucky you didn't get shot.

I'm not saying you deserved to get shot. I'm just saying that is the kind of behavior that can get you shot.

 

[IndyIN]

I'm not agreeing that it would be ok to shoot you, but do you really think what you did was very smart? Park away from the house, cut through a couple back yards and look over a privacy fence (I'm guessing it's 6' tall since it's a privacy fence)? You absolutely looked like someone getting ready to break in to a house. Why didn't just ring the door bell and ask? Just because you wanted to see if it was there, doesn't justify what you did.

 

[paddling_man]

What TBE said... Should you have gotten shot?? Of course not. Was it even a little smart to park in a neighborhood where you're not "known," go cutting across folks yards and peeking over the top of privacy fences? Um, nope.

Kids cut thru the yards all the time. Once in a blue moon, a parent. A couple of grown men I don't know cut across two yards and start peaking over a privacy fence? Yeah, there would have been issues.

 

[Armed Eastsider]

If I was in my house and saw somebody park a car out front, and walk around back, through my back yard, peering over a neighbors fence, it would set off all kinds of alarms to me. Bad move.

 

[.40caltrucker]

I'm with most everyone else, not a smart move cutting through yards to look over a privacy fence. While I wouldn't immediately shoot you for doing it at my house I would want to know what your doing there then decide if you should be shot.

 

[Sirshredalot]

Well...IM with the 50% here...

Ive had enough problems with people on my property in a destructive or harmful manner that I am always on the "alert" side.

So If I see someone I dont know hoofin it though my yard...youd better bet theyd get confronted with quite a bit of assertiveness.

Even though you had good intentions...you were criminally tresspassing through someone elses property who is at liberty to defend his/her family/belongings/livelihood.

I cant blame the cop. I would have knocked on a door politely and asked about a track....because odds are...the neighbors know about it.

God bless
-Shred

 

[bpeele]

oh... i totally agree. it was a bad idea in hindsight to have cut through the yards and stuff. totally understand.

my main complaint is this guy, who is a cop and should know the law, basically saying it would have been cool to shoot me, and that i am lucky to have made it through the situation, thats all. either he's being a jackass and trying to give me a "firm warning" or he really thinks its OK to shoot someone in his neighbor's yard.

i'm pretty damn sure you can't legally shoot someone that isn't even near you and posed no real physical threat and not even close to being near any people, entrances to any homes, etc. can i just shoot a dude who's cutting through my yard then ask questions later? i bet i'd be in a world of hurt and lose my job and house and freedom.

just sayin... his "threat" was totally unnecessary and i would wish better from a policeman - if he really was a cop. he could've just investigated it (as he should have) and left it at that and not made the dumbass comment.

 

[IndyIN]

oh... i totally agree. it was a bad idea in hindsight to have cut through the yards and stuff. totally understand.

my main complaint is this guy, who is a cop and should know the law, basically saying it would have been cool to shoot me, and that i am lucky to have made it through the situation, thats all. either he's being a jackass and trying to give me a "firm warning" or he really thinks its OK to shoot someone in his neighbor's yard.

i'm pretty damn sure you can't legally shoot someone that isn't even near you and posed no real physical threat and not even close to being near any people, entrances to any homes, etc. can i just shoot a dude who's cutting through my yard then ask questions later? i bet i'd be in a world of hurt and lose my job and house and freedom.

just sayin... his "threat" was totally unnecessary and i would wish better from a policeman - if he really was a cop. he could've just investigated it (as he should have) and left it at that and not made the dumbass comment.

I get what you're saying, but what you don't know is where the neighbor was at the time you were peaking over fences. He could have been sitting at the dining room table with the guy who's house you peaked in to. My neighbors come over to my house, and I go over to theirs. Not out of the question that he was over there.

Imagine looking out the back window drinking a cup of coffee and seeing you two come across a couple of yards and peak over the fence.

Did he need to say that, probably not. Could it have been the absolute truth, maybe.

 

[Hooker]

Okay, dumb move, but SHOOT somebody walking through your back yard peeking over fences? Really? Sounds a bit drastic to me. Someone trying to rob a neighbors house is a bit different than someone posing an "imminent threat of death or serious bodily harm."

I thought the rule here was to lock the door, call the cops, and wait for help, not go after the tresspasser with a gun and escalate the situation.

The cop was wrong, wrong, wrong. He should know what he said was wrong, and if he doesn't you should be scared for an entirely different reason.

 

[sparky241]

the cop was stupid for saying that however you have no business in someone elses yard without consent, have some respect for the property owner

 

[Leo]

Why didn't you just knock on the track owners door and talk to him?

 

[Aaronhome27]

Have to agree with knocking on the front door. There have been a few break ins in my neighbourhood and one lady was actually physically attacked in mid day not long ago. If I saw someone crossing my neighbours yard then peeking over a "privacy" fence I would tend to act in possibly an inappropriate manner towards them. I commend the officer for chatting with you and being friendly. After the chat he probably could have warned you that it was not a good idea in a different manner. But, what would you say in that situation? LEO or not he is still human and probably was not to happy with a history of strangers and criminal activity in the area.

 

[femurphy77]

Let's just say for instance the guy (cop) shoots you and your bud. One of you survives, the guy says you approached him in a threatening manner with a (guy provided) baseball bat.

The jury hears you parked several houses away, you cut through several backyards, you peered over a privacy fence, to see if an RC track was located there, or to do a home invasion/other bad things to homeowner?

Who do you think they are going to believe?

 

[INyooper]

Why didn't you just knock on the track owners door and talk to him?

Yep ...of all the ways to appear like a couple strangers engaging in suspicious activity, you certainly picked one of them!

On the flip side ...of all the ways to find another person interested in RC cars and who apparently has a track in his back yard ....this is the first impetuous possibility that came to mind???

Granted, the officer spoke a bit rashly though, as others have pointed out, he has more logical grounds to back up his comment than do you and your friend for explaining your choice of action. To him, you looked like a criminal because you acted like one (intentional or not).

And yes, you are lucky you didn't get shot. He did not say that he was about to shoot you. He did imply that you were behaving in such a way to raise his suspicions that you were intending on engaging in criminal activity. I imagine his level of alertness was raised a notch or two. You walked like a duck and quacked like a duck. For your sake, it's a good thing you didn't exhibit any other duck-like behavior.

Live and learn ...next time, turn the car around, find the correct address, and knock on the front door.

 

[IndianaGTI]

I think the cop was wrong. That is the wrong attitude. He should be reported to his superior for having that kind of attitude and representing the badge in that manner after identifying himself as a cop.

What he should have said was, "Lucky you weren't greeted with the business end of my shotgun". After all, you were the one in other people's yards in a neighborhood where there have been break-ins. I suspect you would be greeted in such a manner in most similar neighborhoods when walking through other people's gates.