Neighbor harassing my wife & I

[earnhardto3sr]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Vermont. About 7 years ago my neighbor tryed to get me to sleep with her, but I turned her down. Ever since then she has been harassing my wife and I constantly. She has called the police more than 30 times on my wife and I. Mostly it's my wife that gets the harassment. We own our home (It's in a mobile home park) and she rents. The calls have been for anything from playing music to loud to walking on the road in front of her house. We tryed arbitration with a police mediator 4 years ago, and she agreed to stop the harassment, but that never happened. She has succeeded in getting some of the other neighbors around to call the police on us. She has verbally threatened my wife infront of the police several times including yesterday, and the police say there's nothing they can do unless she hits my wife. My wife is handicapped. She got hurt at work 8 years ago, so this makes her an easy target. I have gone so far as to set up video survellance cameras outside my home because over the years our cars have been vandalized. The vandalism usually occured at the same time that the neighbor would harass us, but we can't prove it was her. Since I put the camera's, the vandalism has stopped. What can we do?What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

 

[quincy]

Complaints made to the police cannot generally be used to support a defamation action. Reports made to the police are considered neither true nor false until the police investigate and determine the truth or falsity. If what was reported is true, it would not be defamation anyway. Defamatory statements must be false.

If the reports to the police are determined after an investigation to be false, and it can be shown that the woman knew they were false at the time she made the complaint, then she is violating Vermont law. It is a crime to make a knowingly false report to law enforcement. A knowingly false report can result in up to one year in jail and a $1000 fine. Proving that someone KNEW a report was false is often impossible, however, so this is a crime that is very rarely prosecuted.

Do you know exactly what this woman has said to your neighbors about you that have prompted their own calls to the police? Were these reports legitimate reports (ie. music too loud, trespassing, whatever)?

If this woman is continuing to harass you and your wife, despite warnings not to, file an harassment complaint with the police along with evidence of the harassment. Then go to court for a restraining order. If this woman violates the order, she can be arrested.

There is nothing you can do about the vandal if you do not know who the vandal is. The most you can do is report the vandalism to the police and hope their investigation determines who has damaged your property. If the vandalism has stopped since you installed cameras, however, it seems you have adequately handled that problem anyway.

 

[earnhardto3sr]

The problem with the other neighbors came when the harassing neighbor pointed out to the other neighbor that I had installed surveilance camera's and she told them that we were spying on them with them, so they called the police and they came by and saw that they were not pointed at the other neighbors house. End of that story. She then tryed to get another neighbor to call the police on us for stealing her mail. Little did our harassing neighbor know but, the other neighbor she was trying to have call the police on us had asked us to pick up her mail while she was out of town. I am just curious how a restaining order would work for us considering that we live in a mobile home park and the harassing neighbor is les that 20 feet away from us.

 

[quincy]

Thanks for providing more details, Earnhardto3sr.

Restraining orders are tailored to the circumstances. They do not always contain a "stay away" provision which details the number of feet the person must stay away. Obviously a 150' order would not work if you live 20' apart.

A restraining order can restrict all personal contact and communications - if the neighbor contacts you orally or by an electronic means, for instance, or if she harasses you in any way, or trespasses on your property, then the neighbor could potentially be arrested under the terms of a restraining order.

You could have some difficulty obtaining a restraining order if there have been no threats of physical violence made against you or your wife, and if you are not in any fear for your physical safety. For this reason, you should speak with an attorney in your area, or contact the Superior Court nearest you, to see what is required for such an order to be issued by a court.

Vermont does have a breach of peace/stalking provision in their code, which allows for the issuance of a restraining order when an individual's repeated harassment causes emotional distress. Harassment is a pattern of intentional and substantial and unreasonable intrusion into another's personal life, when the intrusion serves no legitimate purpose. Vandalism could fall into the category of harassment, as well. It sounds as if, from what you have posted here, the woman fits the definition of an harasser pretty well, but you will need solid evidence of this pattern of harassment and a good indication of emotional distress caused by her conduct.

Good luck.