In today’s political climate, there are a lot of problems going around in terms of individuals putting in non-emergency calls to the police . All across the United States, many are divided on whether or not they feel that police have too much power and authority over civilians. Many are protesting that they want cities to defund the police , allocating their city budgets to other places.
Many look to the police to help them in times of need.
Many call the police when they feel as though they need back up help to solve a problem that is ongoing, or in the case of an emergency. However, the “problem” that needs to be solved is often subjective.
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Some people call the police for reasons that are seemingly “unjust.”
More often in recent news, we’re hearing stories of white individuals calling the police on Black individuals , many times for no apparent reason. This leads to a huge race divide and many issues within the community and the police.
Sometimes, people call the police after they have tried to solve problems numerous times on their own.
When it comes to community disputes, many individuals try to solve the issues on their own before going to the police. When their attempts fail, they turn to the police department to help fix the issues they have been having.
One woman recently opened up on Reddit about an ongoing issue she has been having with her neighbor’s children.
In a post on the popular “Am I The A**hole” subreddit, the woman asks if she’s in the wrong for calling the police on her neighbor’s children who will not stop playing in her backyard. Giving context to the situation, the user wrote that she had previously spoken to the children’s parents about the issue.
The 32-year-old woman lives next door to a family who has three sons, ranging in ages from 10-14.
She explains that due to COVID-19 and quarantine, the boys have been playing in her backyard quite frequently.
“Fast-forward to March, and I’m working from home and these kids are home from school. Soon after lockdown started, the kids started playing in my yard. I initially just bit my tongue and dealt with it, because I was sympathetic to the fact that their worlds had just been turned upside down. However, as the weeks and months went on they started to test my limits.”
She began to explain that one of them even ended up IN her home.
“Last week, I came home from a jog, and one of them was hiding in my garage (which I had left open) as part of their nerf gun game. Not realizing he was there, I closed the garage and walked into my house. The kid then came into the house and asked me to let him out,” she wrote.
She said that now more than ever, it’s not okay to come into a stranger’s home. However, she didn’t yell at him because he was probably scared that he was locked in the garage.
She ended up going to their parents directly.
“I knocked on the door of the neighbors’ house after I calmed down a bit, and told the parents that I didn’t want their kids playing in my yard. They were pretty taken aback and said that it was normal for kids to play in other people’s yards in this neighborhood, but I stood my ground. The conversation was awkward but civil, and the kids seemingly stayed away after that,” she said.
However, the kids returned and this time, things got a bit strange.
“Fast forward to earlier today. I’m in my living room working out, and I turn around to find two of the kids standing in my yard watching me through the window. I took a picture of them for evidence, then called the police non-emergency line and told them that two middle-school aged boys trespassed and were watching me work out in just a sports bra through my window. The police came about an hour later, and I showed them the picture and gave the background of the situation. The police said they would go talk to the parents,” she wrote.
The police ended up speaking with the parents of the boys and the father paid this woman a visit afterwards.
“The dad just came and knocked on my door, and told me that I totally overreacted and that his kids were just looking through the window to see if I had noticed them out there playing, and that they had no sexual motives. (I never told the police that they did, though I guess mentioning the detail of being in just a sports bra might have implied that).
He told me that I wasted police resources and upset his kids,” she wrote.
She asked Reddit if she was “overreacting” about the situation, fearing that she was being “a Karen” about the whole thing.
Many people on Reddit agreed this woman was not in the wrong. In fact, the majority of them said she was 100% right because the kids and parents did not respect her boundaries.
A number of people who have experience working with children also shred insights.
One middle school teacher even weighed in:
“Middle school teacher here. Kids need to learn boundaries. Either their parents teach and enforce boundaries or society will. And society is more harsh [sic] than a parent ever could have been. You did everything correctly and didn’t call the cops immediately. You spoke to the boys and you spoke with the parents.
You put up with a lot more than I would have and I’m a mom and a teacher. Kids are my life, but this is a big no-no. Call every time it happens from now on because you and the police clearly need to teach the parents boundaries as well.”
Do you think this woman overreacted by calling the police?
