[mag-nolia]

What can I do legally as a tenant in my apartment complex in this situation?

Background: A woman moved into our building about a month ago. The way my complex is set up, there is one long building with 4 “buildings” within it. It’s essentially one long building with 4 separate entrances, but you can get to and from each building without ever going outside simply by using the basement, which is just one long basement.

She is not actually in my entranced building, she is two entrances down, but still technically in my building. I had not met her, but one of the women that does live in her same entranced building told me last week that she is crazy and has been keeping them up at night. She said that she will bang all night out in the halls and sleeps all day but is up all night.

Saturday night during the storm, I was out walking my dogs to potty and another neighbor from that entrance that I am friendly with came out and said to the girl (the one who I had talked to days before) “I just called the cops, she assaulted me in the stairwell, the cops are on their way”.

I brought my dogs back inside and went over to their building to check on her. When I entered the building, the “crazy” lady stopped me and began telling me that she knows that I have been spying on her and taking pictures inside her apartment, and that she wants me to knock it off because she has alerted the Vermont police. She’s clearly not with it.`

I knocked on my neighbors door and stayed with her until police came. Here is what happened, which was told to the police:

The “crazy” woman tried to stop her from entering the building and was yelling at her. She finally was able to get by her after her arm was scratched up by the lady, and the woman tried to push her down the stairs (it’s a half flight of about 6 stairs).

The police spent over an hour trying to get the woman to open her door, I’m not sure if they were ever successful or not, I turned off the police scanner and went to bed.

The woman who was assaulted told me that this woman has been in the hallway yelling at them many times. That she’s up all hours of the night and bangs on their doors and windows asking for food and looks inside their windows from outside. She said that she has a case worker that comes to visit her daily, and when they complained to the case worker about her behavior, the case worker told them to just keep complaining.

It sounds to me like the woman is a paranoid schizophrenic, and that she clearly is not someone who should be living on her own. It also really worries me that she is living in our apartment complex, as now, she has become dangerous.

What can I do? I do plan to talk to the management person, but I feel that something REALLY needs to be done. I don’t think this is a safe situation at all but I’m not sure what my rights are legally, and what the best course of action is.

[parentologist]

You're right. It's not safe for her or you or anyone who has to deal with her. She definitely sounds psychotic, and you're probably right that she's a paranoid schizophrenic. Stay away from her. Luckily she's not in your area of the building. Those who live around her should call the police every single time that she makes a disturbance. Eventually the police will wind up taking her to the ER for a psych evaluation - hopefully she'll get admitted. Shame on the case worker for not dealing with this woman. But this is not your battle to fight. Leave it to those who are most closely affected by her disturbances, and stay out of that area of the building!

[JayCT]

I agree. IF she confronts you just walk away immediately and then call the police when you are safely somewhere she cannot bother you. Your safety is most important. Jay