Threatening Vagrant at Dover Post Office! Elderly ladies don't go alone! (house, law)

[Missing Turtles]

So today, Saturday October 15th, late afternoon I'm going to the post office. There's this guy I've seen before who starts his remarks with, can you help me? It's a high pitched voice but the man himself is black, about 6'4", cropped hair and typically wears dark clothing that includes a hoodie.

Today he's sitting on the white bench in front of the post office. I've seen him before down town where he scopes people going to the Wells Fargo bank on Bank lane.
I had no change so I told him I couldn't help. I go inside the PO. As I'm about to leave a woman comes in speaking to him through the door and telling him she has nothing for him.

This is the thing to watch out for. He followed her into the post office. This is a big man and this lady was very petite.
He's following her over into the box area behind the partition there in the second room after the lobby. And the PO is closed. Seemingly there are no staff present. But they are in the back. Not likely to hear someone scream if they even could.

He's confronting her at the desk from the other side to where she's standing. She's scared. Suffice to say, I arranged to walk her out of the PO and he didn't put up any fuss. But another woman, elderly, comes in and he starts his thing with her. We wait at the door watching so he knows there are witnesses and an open door to the public, so he lets that lady leave.

Then he comes out of the Post Office and sits down on the bench again. I call 911.

Fat lot of help that did. He saw that I was on the cell phone and proceeds to leave the back way through the parking lot of Dover public library.
He makes it all the way to the back street, Kings Highway and disappears.

The 911 operator was failing. He cuts me off in my description of the suspect, says he'll get someone out there.
I call back to let them know of his present location which is far removed from the PO and I get the same brush off.

I proceed west on Loockerman street and low and behold just after the State street intersection on the left near the merchants shops there are FIVE City of Dover police. And one unit on bank lane. Not one of them received the call about this threatening vagrant.

So, this post is to alert elderly ladies who may think to go to Dover post office on Loockerman street when staff aren't present on the weekend. Or even after hours during the week.

Be aware of this vagrant. If you're elderly and you don't help him, he'll likely follow you into the post office. There are no open doors and no sign of anyone working there.

Bring something with you if you must go inside. Preferably a companion. Or, pepper spray.
This guy was very threatening to this elderly lady I helped out of there.

Protect yourselves from this guy. He's huge! And calling 911 doesn't help.


If you're sick and tired of the lame, we'll send someone out, and no one shows take heart. Delaware State police typical response even when you've had someone break into a building on your property is, "there's nothing we can do."


Do for yourself. Especially when a huge threatening vagrant that asks for help follows elderly women and intimidates them for saying, no.

[skeddy]

dialing 911 is for police emergencies, you didn't have one. He didn't do anything illegal, thats why the cops do nothing. It's not against the law to be big and black and ask people for help.

[Aery11]

I think perhaps 'anti-bullying' laws could conceivably to be stretched to cover 'intimidation' in Delaware, no?


There might be a case for calling the police based on age/gender/disability (the last may be a little too loosely interpreted .. but the older ladies no doubt had 'less ability' to defend themselves against the 'vagrant' than he did against them - unless they were carrying). Whether this guy meant to or not, it sounds as though he could easily intimidate some people especially when he followed them into a closed area with only one way out and continue to 'harass' them for money. I would have liked to see whether he did the same to taller, younger, seemingly stronger males however ... if not, book him Bono.

[Annie53]

Loitering Law & Legal Definition

Many states, cities and towns there are statutes or ordinances against loitering which aim to control aggressive begging, soliciting prostitution, drug dealing, blocking entries to stores, public drunkenness or being a public nuisance. Under such laws, the police can arrest someone who refuses to "move along."

OP, check and see if there is such a law in your jurisdiction, and if there is, remind the police that there is.


And, I would speak with the Postmaster......he/she should be the one addressing this problem and the police would be more likely to respond.

[pdpfa3]

Skeddy, I disagree, asking once for a hand out and I would say no foul. But, once the person says no and the vagrant continues to ask and follow the person, I would say that falls under harassment. Further, you're right 911 is for emergencies but in this instants an officer should have been sent. It isn't the dispatchers job to determine when and when not to send an officer. If someone feels that someone's behavior is aggressive or threatening a 911 call is certainly plausible.

[NextExit40Miles]

There is such a thing as aggressive panhandling. Working as a medic in NYC and having responded to many assaults I can attest that aggressive panhandling can and does turn violent quickly. The RMP should be made aware of any such occurrences in their area.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Aggressive panhandling is a legal term that refers to unlawful forms of public begging.
Proponents of such legislation advocate placing limits on these activities. Some opponents lament what they perceive to be the "criminalization of homelessness" and argue that such laws are discriminatory and unevenly enforced.
Contents

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aggressive_panhandling[/quote]

[james777]

Originally Posted by pdpfa3

Skeddy, I disagree, asking once for a hand out and I would say no foul. But, once the person says no and the vagrant continues to ask and follow the person, I would say that falls under harassment. Further, you're right 911 is for emergencies but in this instants an officer should have been sent. It isn't the dispatchers job to determine when and when not to send an officer. If someone feels that someone's behavior is aggressive or threatening a 911 call is certainly plausible.

The above post is spot on. Once the person says no, ANYTHING beyond that point is harassment and needs to be met with police action or force from the individual being harassed. Yes, 911 is known as the emergency number, but in most places it is how you call the police, emergency or not. No longer do we have a seven digit number to call the police as we did back in the day. For that reason, the dispatcher in this case was not doing his/her job by not passing this information onto the police.

[rdlr]

If I were in the OP shoes, I'd get in the car, ride 4 blocks West to S. Queen Street where the Dover City Police Dept. is. The police would go over to the post office and see what's going on. That's a 5 minute drive from the post office, is much quicker than calling 911 and makes much more sense.

On another note, the City Library is on that same block and there have been reports of homeless people sleeping in the library with an open book in front of them.

[Podo944]

Originally Posted by skeddy

dialing 911 is for police emergencies, you didn't have one. He didn't do anything illegal, thats why the cops do nothing. It's not against the law to be big and black and ask people for help.

I understand the sentiment, but in reality it's about behavior. I have the feeling the OP would have called the police if the same behavior was observed of a white dude doing the same. Black or white or whatever, continuing to ask, following them around and not taking no for an answer is harassment and intimidation and it is not okay.

[Gerania]

Originally Posted by james777

The above post is spot on. Once the person says no, ANYTHING beyond that point is harassment and needs to be met with police action or force from the individual being harassed. Yes, 911 is known as the emergency number, but in most places it is how you call the police, emergency or not. No longer do we have a seven digit number to call the police as we did back in the day. For that reason, the dispatcher in this case was not doing his/her job by not passing this information onto the police.

They are there during the day, and then they go home like the rest of us. I once called the non-emergency number on a weekend. No one was there. It was 911 or nothing. The situation wasn't critical. I was just calling to ask what I could do about the guy on my lawn. He dozed off for a while, woke up, and finally left. Life in the suburbs isn't always boring.

The former neighbors were distributing kiddie porn and drugs. I had the safest house on the block for a couple of years because there was a car parked in front of my house at least once a week. The officer was waiting for one of them to leave.