Had the cops at my house the other day.. TWICE

[letsrunem]

Moved into my neighborhood about 6 months ago and apparently someone has it out for me. Now up until this point I have been working on my cars here a fair amount. Replacing the trans on my civic, building my mustang, and misc exhaust work on a friend's car. So the cop comes up and says they got a report that I'm running an auto repair shop out of my garage...WTF. I just laughed it was so random/funny. I told him no, apparently that's illegal. He says be careful, leaves.

A few friends come over, we're all talking, messing with cars. Cop comes back 1/2 hour after he left the first time. "Yeah we received a call that you were recklessly driving." I said you've got to be kidding me, there were no plates and not even a steering wheel on the car. I gave him the number on the one friend that left in case he'd like to ask him and the other two friends that were still here swore we never left.

He said the calls came in anonymous and he had nothing to follow up on them with. Can you really call on anyone you want just to fuck with them even if it's complete bs? I just wish I knew which neighbor it was :flipoff2:

[Squatch]

Id start giving them a reason to call the cops at this point.

[USMARINE1108]

Id start giving them a reason to call the cops at this point.


So the cops have a reason to give him a ticket? What would be the reasoning behind that?

[pOrk]

Its all hearsay, tell the cop to prove it. Eventually the cops will stop showing up.

[lilws6]

thats messed up just put up with it for a while and if it don't stop i'de go down to the police station. remember what happened to the little boy who cried wolf? nice mustang by the way and it was good to meet you the other day. Does it drive better now?

[juicedimpss]

the key is to NOT leave evidence around. Making noise is ok,as long as there are no cops around to hear it. You may even want to call the cops on yourself during the day while you are not home. Get the cops on your side. Make sure you are as polite as you can possibly be to them. Remember,its their word against the annonomous persons.

[DR.FORD]

Absolutely!! If the person IS calling anonymous and the cops never witness you in any wrongdoing, then there is no one to press charges or to have a ticket issued against you. Once there WOULD be a ticket issued, then you know who it is:devil Another helpful hint is put up a sign facing the street saying "No burnouts allowed" or something to that effect- shows cops that you made the effort to make it right.
Not that I ever went through this before:goof

[Waver]

Absolutely!! If the person IS calling anonymous and the cops never witness you in any wrongdoing, then there is no one to press charges or to have a ticket issued against you. Once there WOULD be a ticket issued, then you know who it is:devil Another helpful hint is put up a sign facing the street saying "No burnouts allowed" or something to that effect- shows cops that you made the effort to make it right.
Not that I ever went through this before:goof


Jim, you? Burnouts? never!

[Moparjim]

I used to get them called on me from time to time when I lived in Saint Francis. My favorite was the time we were working on my brother's Road Runner and had just dropped the 440 in and were firing it for the first time with the timing set "close" and it we were pretty far off at first causing it to backfire a few times.

Like 5-10 minutes later several squads roll up and the police pounce out wanting to know "who has the shotgun" lol. One of the dumbass apartment dwellers on my block then comes over and starts talking crap like "he knows the difference between the sound of a backfire and a shotgun" so at least I knew what jackass had called. Obviously, after explaining what had happened to the police they left, and seemed a little pissed at the moron actually since he had wasted their time.

[juicedimpss]

I used to get them called on me from time to time when I lived in Saint Francis. My favorite was the time we were working on my brother's Road Runner and had just dropped the 440 in and were firing it for the first time with the timing set "close" and it we were pretty far off at first causing it to backfire a few times.

Like 5-10 minutes later several squads roll up and the police pounce out wanting to know "who has the shotgun" lol. One of the dumbass apartment dwellers on my block then comes over and starts talking crap like "he knows the difference between the sound of a backfire and a shotgun" so at least I knew what jackass had called. Obviously, after explaining what had happened to the police they left, and seemed a little pissed at the moron actually since he had wasted their time.
and thats exactly why you need to call the cops on yourself for making noise when you are not even home....just to kill any remaining credibility the anonymous caller has.:thumbsup

[Waver]

hell I have a friend who is on a first name baisis with some of the waukesha cops because of him running his quad through the yard...he did it once, the next few times he wasnt home and someone accused him of doing it.....now they just stop by the garage and say hi

[flyin_blue_egg]

even if your friend was driving recklessly he can't get a ticket. All the cop will do is tell you/him that he got a call of reckless driving, and to not do it anymore. The only way he would get a ticket is to actually say yea I was driving recklessly. And at that point i'd say he deserves a ticket

[URLOZIN]

even if your friend was driving recklessly he can't get a ticket. All the cop will do is tell you/him that he got a call of reckless driving, and to not do it anymore. The only way he would get a ticket is to actually say yea I was driving recklessly. And at that point i'd say he deserves a ticket
This is not true. I did donuts one time in a boat landing one time after I was done I parked my car at the park. I get out and start walking away and I see a cop, he comes by and just says hi, starts to leave and some drunk guy in a truck came down and started yelling at the cop to arrest me for reckless driving. He didn't even see it, just heard it

Took it to court, and the guy in the truck was there, said my car was a v8 (its a v6) also said it was orange( it was red). The judge still gave me the ticket and didn't reduce it, even though I made the prosecter and the witness look like idiots. Judge said it was my word vs. the witness and he was "more credible".

[94greenbandit]

I wouldn't worry about it because after time the anonomous caller will eventually be dismissed since he will always be calling in false reports. Just take the abuse for a short time and make friends with the cop. You can't call it an auto shop if you are helping friends.

Why cant most people leave others alone

[Waver]

This is not true. I did donuts one time in a boat landing one time after I was done I parked my car at the park. I get out and start walking away and I see a cop, he comes by and just says hi, starts to leave and some drunk guy in a truck came down and started yelling at the cop to arrest me for reckless driving. He didn't even see it, just heard it

Took it to court, and the guy in the truck was there, said my car was a v8 (its a v6) also said it was orange( it was red). The judge still gave me the ticket and didn't reduce it, even though I made the prosecter and the witness look like idiots. Judge said it was my word vs. the witness and he was "more credible".

what happened with you was that your age and the car you drove were used against you....you are a younger male driving a muscle car (yea so what if it is a 6). So the judge used that against you

[pOrk]

This is not true. I did donuts one time in a boat landing one time after I was done I parked my car at the park. I get out and start walking away and I see a cop, he comes by and just says hi, starts to leave and some drunk guy in a truck came down and started yelling at the cop to arrest me for reckless driving. He didn't even see it, just heard it

Took it to court, and the guy in the truck was there, said my car was a v8 (its a v6) also said it was orange( it was red). The judge still gave me the ticket and didn't reduce it, even though I made the prosecter and the witness look like idiots. Judge said it was my word vs. the witness and he was "more credible".

Haha, WOW. Had to laugh, thats gotta be a somewhat rare occurrence. MOST people don't have time to actually show up in court to testify against you for something so petty.

[1320PNY]

I had a similar issue where the police raced up on me in my garage. They got a report that I was reckless driving and tried to "ram" a woman. I simply told them the truth, that I was driving home and following my wife. They went and asked my wife questions and they found out I was driving normal, following my wife, and just hanging out in my garage detailing my car.

So I turn the conversation, asking what prosecution option I have for people making false claims and taking an officer off the street. They didn't want to hear it, so I drove over to the police station and got the commanding officer to come outside and look at my car. I reiterrated the whole story to her and she said, nice car, i'll let them know.

So now I don't have any issues. If I was going to "ram" people I would probably not do it in a new plastic car. I also wouldn't have a vanity plate and drive to the police department to tell them where I live and introduce myself to their boss.

Be proactive, if you have nothing to hide then get to know the local law enforcement. They just need to clarify the threat, and once you show you are not a threat, then it's done.

[Russ Jerome]

He said the calls came in anonymous and he had nothing to follow up on them with.

I cant get them to my house when a van load of thugs rip off my kids in my own yard........and I wrench most every night. Your a fine candidate to get into Milwaukee!

[URLOZIN]

what happened with you was that your age and the car you drove were used against you....you are a younger male driving a muscle car (yea so what if it is a 6). So the judge used that against you
Probably true. I thought if there was a reasonable doubt it would get tossed out? The judge basically called the witness a moron, a little more polite though. The same witness called the cops on my brothers orange v8 camaro and got him a ticket too. I think he thought it was him. but idk.

[letsrunem]

Id start giving them a reason to call the cops at this point.
I wouldn't do that, I have more respect for the rest of my neighbors that aren't dickheads.


thats messed up just put up with it for a while and if it don't stop i'de go down to the police station. remember what happened to the little boy who cried wolf? nice mustang by the way and it was good to meet you the other day. Does it drive better now?
That's what I'll do. Thanks! Definitely drives better but unfortunately I need some new skinnies now :(


the key is to NOT leave evidence around. Making noise is ok,as long as there are no cops around to hear it. You may even want to call the cops on yourself during the day while you are not home. Get the cops on your side. Make sure you are as polite as you can possibly be to them. Remember,its their word against the annonomous persons.
Hmm that would be a possibility, never thought of that.


Absolutely!! If the person IS calling anonymous and the cops never witness you in any wrongdoing, then there is no one to press charges or to have a ticket issued against you. Once there WOULD be a ticket issued, then you know who it is:devil Another helpful hint is put up a sign facing the street saying "No burnouts allowed" or something to that effect- shows cops that you made the effort to make it right.
Not that I ever went through this before:goof
Something about safe driving would be a good idea. Hybrids are dangerous in my neighborhood, there's a deaf kid. I would say that makes my car safer.


This is not true. I did donuts one time in a boat landing one time after I was done I parked my car at the park. I get out and start walking away and I see a cop, he comes by and just says hi, starts to leave and some drunk guy in a truck came down and started yelling at the cop to arrest me for reckless driving. He didn't even see it, just heard it

Took it to court, and the guy in the truck was there, said my car was a v8 (its a v6) also said it was orange( it was red). The judge still gave me the ticket and didn't reduce it, even though I made the prosecter and the witness look like idiots. Judge said it was my word vs. the witness and he was "more credible".
That is a shitty situation that's unbelievable they believed the horribly wrong story of a drunk guy.


I had a similar issue where the police raced up on me in my garage. They got a report that I was reckless driving and tried to "ram" a woman. I simply told them the truth, that I was driving home and following my wife. They went and asked my wife questions and they found out I was driving normal, following my wife, and just hanging out in my garage detailing my car.

So I turn the conversation, asking what prosecution option I have for people making false claims and taking an officer off the street. They didn't want to hear it, so I drove over to the police station and got the commanding officer to come outside and look at my car. I reiterrated the whole story to her and she said, nice car, i'll let them know.

So now I don't have any issues. If I was going to "ram" people I would probably not do it in a new plastic car. I also wouldn't have a vanity plate and drive to the police department to tell them where I live and introduce myself to their boss.

Be proactive, if you have nothing to hide then get to know the local law enforcement. They just need to clarify the threat, and once you show you are not a threat, then it's done.
I happen to know most of the Delafield/Hartland cops pretty well, unfortunately I live in Waukesha.

[lordairgtar]

Hybrids are dangerous in my neighborhood, there's a deaf kid. I would say that makes my car safer.



if he's deaf, how could he tell?

[letsrunem]

Exactly how deaf do you have to be to be considered "deaf"?

[lordairgtar]

When I'm thinking deaf, I'm thinking all the way deaf, not the kind where a hearing aide would help. I guess there would be vibratory stimuli to consider. But I would agree that a whisper quiet car like a Prius would catch even the hearing unawares.

[SmokinRAM114]

waukesha eh? where abouts? a couple LOUD drive bys once a day will piss them off :)

[Yeehaw]

usually waukesha cops are lazy

[Adam Brooks]

Can you really call on anyone you want just to fuck with them even if it's complete bs?

yes. unfortunately you can anonymously destroy someones life


Hybrids are dangerous in my neighborhood, there's a deaf kid. I would say that makes my car safer.
i can hear and almost get hit by them. they are dangerous!

[letsrunem]

waukesha eh? where abouts? a couple LOUD drive bys once a day will piss them off :)
I live near UWW. Have you seen a really LOUD blue '94ish GTP? Really random but I met the kid and he had a custom Procharger setup on it.

[quote=Adam Brooks;549075]yes. unfortunately you can anonymously destroy someones lifequote]
There's got to be a way to test this- like wait until you know only a few neighbors are home, make a little racket, see if the cops are called, narrow it down from there :alcoholicThis is why I hate people.

[LIL EVO]

The fucking corpses next to me call the cops if I'm loud a minute after 10pm (9pm?).

They came twice in two days because my car was idling in the garage at 9:05pm. They just came the other night at 1020pm because I was blasting music in my living room.

He said he could hear it from the street in his squad. Never got any tickets, just verbal warnings.

[kenseth17]

Thats kind of my fear. I live in a neighborhood of mostly older people, but they all are pretty cool and I haven't had any problems working on cars. The older people next door were often gone on weekends, and other side of me was state property and the highway. The old people new I painted cars occasionally in my garage, and only thing they ever did is to compliment on a painted car.
Well the state will be tearing the place down for highway expansion plans, and I'll be forced to move. And to top it off, I am laid off now as I am looking. Going to prove hard to find what I have hear so cheap, plus have a garage I'll be able to run my compressor. The garage is close enough to the 220 for my drier I can plug into it without running too long of a cord.
The problems you are having is one reason I hope to find something out in the country. I always use to have my dads garage out in the sticks to work in, but he passed last year, and the evil stepmom showed up just before he died, to make sure she got his pension and house.
Some people have no life, and either just want to be a dick or look for something to give themself some sort of excitement. The old man next door when me and some friends rented a place when I was younger, spent most of his time looking out the window to see what we were doing.

What about putting up a privacy fence (if you own) so they can't see what your doing. And if you find out whos been calling, make sure you find something to complain about and return the favor by having the cops constantly show up at their door.

[brewcity_mach1]

that sucks!

i have a story. lol

story happens between 8-840pm on a saturday.

my gf's dad is building a front engine dragster. lives right next to the freeway so decides to point the dragster so the exhaust goes towards the freeway. he just bolted up his powerglide and wanted to see if it would shift right or not, plus he wanted to get the carb dialed in. had it running for about 15 to 20 mins. we had it shut down for 15mins and we see a cop ride through. about 5 mins later another one ride through. 5 mins after that, 3 squads came and stopped and walked up the driveway. asking what was all the noise, we had the dragster out still and told them what was up. 2 of them wanted to hear it running. but one was all serious and took down some notes, and said they couldnt do anything because it was way before 10pm. then they left.

some people have too much time on their hands to worry about stupid stuff like that and call the cops. i dont get it.

[animal]

Just go out on sunday morning and get coffee, OJ, some mcD's sandwiches, donuts, and a few other assorted quick-grab breakfast items. Then make it test n tune day in the driveway at about 8am. When cops show up, offer them breakfast. :)

I guarantee it's either a next door neighbor or right across the street. Anyone else wouldn't care about calling anonymous imo.

[95 TA - The Beast]

Here is the key, are you constantly making noise or not?

If it is "every now and then" as in maybe once a month, twice a month, or even once a week, then who the hell are people to complain?

If you do it damn near daily, or even multiple times a day, then yeah, I can understand about people getting upset.

We all have neighbors that do stuff that tends to 'get on your nerves', but you learn to live with it. Hell, I got a guy that him and his wife are redneck hillbillies, yell at thier kids at the top of thier lungs either inside or outside. It is annoying as hell, especially if I am working out in the garage and have to listen to that all the time I am out there. But, do I call the cops??? Hell no. Why the hell would I be an asshole about it? No sense causing trouble for them.

Last year the cops showed up twice while I was outside working on cars. Both times the cop rolls up, asks whats going on, explains there was an anonymous complaint. Both times I am sitting and *IDLING* a car, usually doing tuning of some sort (audio or computer), and even showed the police exactly what I was doing. Both times the responding officer thought it was cool as hell, loved the cars, even one guy wanted me to rev it up for him. In both cases the officers said there was no disturbance and left.

Just last friday I was out in the garage idling the T/A for the first time in a month charging the rear battery. Now I started the car at 9pm, it is in the garage, and revved it to 3500rpm only twice, once after 5 minutes, and once after almost 30 minutes. Now the exhaust is closed and it is going through a Borla. Quite quiet, with a noticeable rumble that shakes the ground, but still FAR from an open exhaust.

Well, at about 9:30pm, my neighbor whose house is right behind the garage knocks on my window while I am inside the car messing with the stereo. He asks me why was I idling and revving the car for 30 minutes? I gave a look of "huh?", and explained I was idling the car to warm it up as well as to charge the rear battery and change some stereo settings. (Mind you the car is totally sound deadened and you CANNOT hear the stereo outside of the car, not unless it is full tilt and I was at 1/4 volume) I also mentioned I revved it TWICE. The guy goes on to wonder why I had to idle it for so long??!?! Again I explained. Then I notice his wife standing near thier house and she blurts out that she was sleeping and the idling of the car woke her as thier bedroom window faces my open garage door, and there is no way she can go back to sleep with 'that racket'. She goes on to mention that the previous owners said they had to call the cops a couple of times because of the noise.

Now, me being as nice as I am , I tell the guy no big deal I was just about done anyways and decided to shut the car off and call it a night. But, what pisses me off is a) thier lack of 'tact' in *asking* me to not idle it because she is trying to sleep, as if I was "in the wrong", and b) thier "assumption" that they have the right to have everyone around them cater to what "they" want. Now the guy did say 'thank you', and he even said he was in another part of the house and noticed nothing.

I would have felt much better about the situation had he came over and explained about thier bedroom shaking when I was idling the car, asking me to I could please do it at some other time, and thanking me for being considerate. That would be the 'proper' way of dealing with a neighbor. I mean it isn't my fault they bought a house with a bedroom window that faces another persons open garage door. If they want total quiet move out to some house out in the sticks. I mean what woudl they do if I bought a fu(kin Harley??? I mean I could imagine how pissed they would be if I idled that bitch for a few minutes at all hours before I decided to drive off.

Next time I see the guy outside I am going to clarify I was a little upset at thier 'assumption' that I was somehow in the wrong. I mean I let the guy use my driveway (and he didn't ask) to load up the remanents of a tree he cut down right on the edge of his property. If I wanted to be a dick about it I could have made him either drive his truck up in lawn to that spot, or forced him to carry the shit to the front of his house. I mean I am quite socially aware of not being a nuisance while in the garage, and that is evident by not working on stuff past 10pm, and hell I even payed quite a bit more for a belt-driven 2-cylinder oil lubed pump air compressor to keep noise to a minimum. I'll also have to remind him I am well-aware of the 'quiet time' covenant of 10pm in regards to the law.

[SmokinRAM114]

just because some of you live in the "city" it isnt all gravey here in the country either...
this was what happened to me...
http://brewcitymuscle.com/forum/showthread.php?t=22447&highlight=motocross

[buttersgt350]

where i live in waukesha the houses are pretty close together. theres my driveway and a wide strip of grass and then the neighbors house. with that being said i am pretty aware of my neighbors work schedules and if i had some outdoor racket that i had to make i am conscious of the time and try to do it when their awake and not trying to sleep. but my next door neighbor is an asshole. he knows i get up at 4 am to go to work and my kid has school. yet hes outside past 9 pm with his radio on and making noise. i have gone over and asked him to be quieter and he has said ok and been ok with me asking. and what i dont get is hes a bus driver for kids and is home all day damn near and doesnt do any work or make noise til night. if it was earlier or the weekend i wouldnt care, but come on you have to be courteous to your neighbors, especially when they live 20 feet away.

[88Nightmare]

my neighbors are all pretty decent. I used to work with the one across the street, and he always lends me tools all the time. The one adjacent to my driveway is a milwaukee county sheriff, however he is real decent. My brother and I have had late nights in the garage finishing up our stock cars (circle track racing) and getting them ready for racing the following day, so we've had nights in the garage until midnight or 1am. Even with the garage door wide open and us minding our noise level, I'm sure some things are still audible. We never made a habit about it, but the next day when I'd see the sheriff outside with his dog or something, I would apologize for our late night in the garage, and he would always brush it off and say "Don't worry about it, we weren't bothered at all". Its always nice to have decent neighbors.

[Reverend Cooper]

calling them on yourself when you not around works well,so I hear.

[letsrunem]

where i live in waukesha the houses are pretty close together. theres my driveway and a wide strip of grass and then the neighbors house. with that being said i am pretty aware of my neighbors work schedules and if i had some outdoor racket that i had to make i am conscious of the time and try to do it when their awake and not trying to sleep. but my next door neighbor is an asshole. he knows i get up at 4 am to go to work and my kid has school. yet hes outside past 9 pm with his radio on and making noise. i have gone over and asked him to be quieter and he has said ok and been ok with me asking. and what i dont get is hes a bus driver for kids and is home all day damn near and doesnt do any work or make noise til night. if it was earlier or the weekend i wouldnt care, but come on you have to be courteous to your neighbors, especially when they live 20 feet away.

I can't think of any time I've made lots of noise here at all up until I got my car running. So yes, there had been a little bit of revving, but nothing above 2000rpm and that day the car was fired up about 11AM on a weekday.


calling them on yourself when you not around works well,so I hear.

Hasn't happened since but I've been gone a lot. Will give this a shot if it happens again.