CMPD doesn't seem to care... (Charlotte, Concord: apartments, crime, lawyer)
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On my way home tonight from work, some drunken homeless looking guy chased behind my car (while shouting). He was coming out of my neighborhood which is a gated community. I was very concerned about this person's intentions so I called CMPD and reported the incident. CMPD arrived promptly and found the guy at a nearby transit stop. I watched as they talked to this obviously drunken fellow and then they let him go.
My question is this. How in the world can this guy walk free after a home owner reported an assault that he committed; and this guy was clearly under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol? Being homeless is certainly not a crime. However, trespassing in my neighborhood and chasing behind my car in a threatening manner are crimes. You can always make the claim that it was my word against his, but what about the obviously staggered walk he had? Even on a dark night, one could not miss his drunken walk.
Maybe this was a case of CMPD having much bigger fish to fry than some weird aggressive homeless guy? I guess this guy has to actually harm somebody or damage property before he is considered jail-worthy. On the flip side, CMPD have shot perps for doing less than this guy did?
The more I think about this incident, the more I feel as though CMPD is beginning not to care about our city. I hope I'm wrong....
If they arrested him, he probably would have been released pretty quickly. Unless he has a prior record, this would have likely just been a Class 2 Misdemeanor charge and the guy would have gotten a free night out of the cold / prison meal.
Since he didn't touch you and didn't have a weapon, I don't think it could be a more pressing charge.
Maybe a lawyer could chime in. Did the PD say why they didn't arrest him?
If they arrested him, he probably would have been released pretty quickly. Unless he has a prior record, this would have likely just been a Class 2 Misdemeanor charge and the guy would have gotten a free night out of the cold / prison meal.
Since he didn't touch you and didn't have a weapon, I don't think it could be a more pressing charge.
Maybe a lawyer could chime in. Did the PD say why they didn't arrest him?
I stayed away from the area where this guy and the Cops were. I DID NOT want this guy to recognize who called the Cops on him. After all, he chased my car at the front gate of my neighborhood. I wanted him caught, but above all else I didn't want him to see me when the cops arrived. So to answer your question; I didn't speak with officers after they let him go. I simply observed them letting him go from a safe distance.
I stayed away from the area where this guy and the Cops were. I DID NOT want this guy to recognize who called the Cops on him. After all, he chased my car at the front gate of my neighborhood. I wanted him caught, but above all else I didn't want him to see me when the cops arrived. So to answer your question; I didn't speak with officers after they let him go. I simply observed them letting him go from a safe distance.
I ask to confirm: the man's *actions* consisted of him yelling at your car? Is that it?
Now in asking this, I am not faulting you for how you reacted, nor am I faulting you for having concern. But if all the guy *did* was yell at your car, at best they could hit him with a drunken disorderly charge.
I'm sure that CMPD interviewed the guy, reasoned that the man didn't know you, was simply shooting off his mouth (drunk), so they looked to get him out of there. When you say the officers let him go, did they usher him somewhere (e.g. into someone's car - someone who knew the drunk guy), or did they let him wander away? Even if they didn't ticket the guy, they should have a protocol that would've moved the guy out of the area, given the circumstances.
He chased behind my car on foot (almost at running speed) while yelling in an aggressive manner. It literally scared the you-know-what out of me. If he had done that exact same thing to a police officer he would have been arrested at the least.
Last edited by urbancharlotte; 02-07-2018 at 07:43 AM..
On my way home tonight from work, some drunken homeless looking guy chased behind my car (while shouting). He was coming out of my neighborhood which is a gated community. I was very concerned about this person's intentions so I called CMPD and reported the incident. CMPD arrived promptly and found the guy at a nearby transit stop. I watched as they talked to this obviously drunken fellow and then they let him go.
My question is this. How in the world can this guy walk free after a home owner reported an assault that he committed; and this guy was clearly under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol? Being homeless is certainly not a crime. However, trespassing in my neighborhood and chasing behind my car in a threatening manner are crimes. You can always make the claim that it was my word against his, but what about the obviously staggered walk he had? Even on a dark night, one could not miss his drunken walk.
Maybe this was a case of CMPD having much bigger fish to fry than some weird aggressive homeless guy? I guess this guy has to actually harm somebody or damage property before he is considered jail-worthy. On the flip side, CMPD have shot perps for doing less than this guy did?
The more I think about this incident, the more I feel as though CMPD is beginning not to care about our city. I hope I'm wrong....
No assault occurred according to your post.
I don't know how many houses are in your gated community, but how do you know he was not an invited guest in your community at one point that evening?
It is a good possibility that man was impaired on drugs or alcohol, but perhaps neither and it was a mentally ill person.
Did you report this anonymously? If so, Police are not going to have much else to go on besides your initial report to Police and they are only going to get that mans side of the story.
You could call and follow up and see what the deal was.
" CMPD have shot perps for doing less than this guy did?" - when ?
I don't know how many houses are in your gated community, but how do you know he was not an invited guest in your community at one point that evening?
It is a good possibility that man was impaired on drugs or alcohol, but perhaps neither and it was a mentally ill person.
Did you report this anonymously? If so, Police are not going to have much else to go on besides your initial report to Police and they are only going to get that mans side of the story.
You could call and follow up and see what the deal was.
" CMPD have shot perps for doing less than this guy did?" - when ?
I'm not about to get into a debate about the situation. It might be time for me to consider a new community to call home maybe even a new city
Do you live in an area of the city with lots of homeless people? Many cities are struggling with how to deal with the homeless problem. As residents are moving back into city cores and city centers across the country, residents above the poverty line and often affluent, are now sharing space and rubbing shoulders with the homeless and poor. It has been a major issue in cities like San Francisco, Miami, Los Angeles, Seattle, Denver, Minneapolis, etc... for a while now and it is starting to become a bigger issue in Charlotte as areas along the light rail that used to be warehouses and homeless areas become upscale apartments and townhome communities.
Many homeless people even commit small crimes in hopes of getting arrested for a minor crime and get a free meal at the prison overnight. If you haven't gotten any money or food for a couple days, the county jail is better than starving.
To avoid situations like this, you might consider a more suburban area. Ballantyne, Matthews, Waverly, Huntersville, Concord, etc... don't usually see many (if any) homeless.
I'm not about to get into a debate about the situation. It might be time for me to consider a new community to call home maybe even a new city
In all communities, unless he commits a crime, there will be no arrest.
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