Update: My day in court

My case ended up being dismissed. It was not dismissed because the police officers were not present. Rather, the officer who wrote the ticket and her partner were both there, staring myself and my girlfriend down the entire time. I spent most the morning at the front desk because my paperwork had disappeared and I was not on the list of people to be tried that day? Regardless, I showed them my ticket and my appointment to be there. They then put me on the list and I went back to the court room.

The court appointed attorney advised me to plead "no contest". I refused and asked for a trial.

Then a strange thing happened. Once I requested a trial, the officer up and left after talking with a few court clerks. My court appointed attorney then whispers to me that my case is going be dismissed. When I went before the judge, she told me that my case is going to be dismissed on grounds of "probable deniability", whatever that means. And the judge explained that it was also to be dismissed "without prejudice". From what I understand, this means that the charges are dropped, but the City can re-open the case at any point in time in the future if they want. All the cases I saw that were dismissed were dismissed without prejudice, mostly because the police person who wrote the ticket did now show up.

This judge was very good, she was on-top of her game. The court house was crazy, and people were everywhere. Regardless, she was polite, strictly about business and strictly fair. I could also tell that she had a genuine concern for the welfare of Detroit citizens. It was a breath of fresh air to see that the buck can and will stop somewhere.

So, after seeing this whole process in person, here is what I would certainly do in the case that I am not guilty of a crime and am being persecuted by the police:

1) I would never admit guilt, or "no contest" (especially under such crazy situation as the described).. I was pressured many times to take the "easy" (plead guilty) way out. The court made it very easy to pick this option... No trial, no fuss, just a few bucks and a criminal record for a few months. This option was given to me twice and I refused both times.

2) If I could do it again, I would immediately request a trial by jury, it is your right. The court seems to avoid this at all cost due the time and effort involved. However, it seems to be the best chance at actually telling your story.

3) If I could do it again, and if a dismissal came up again, I'd request from my lawyer that the case is dismissed "with prejudice", which would mean that the City has no option of re-opening the case in the future.

Well, that's it. My court date was actually a little disappointing as I was looking forward to telling the judge all about the unfair treatment that I received. I'll just have to keep my own notes about how the system works in case I ever become an unsuspecting target again.

My Story of Serious Crime That's "None of My Business"

This is by no means intended to broadly criticize Detroit, the Detroit Police or the Detroit court system. I understand the realities of budgets and the difficulties surrounding police work in Detroit. It is about a specific incident. I love Detroit and I've been treated with respect by the police except for the problem later on in the text, which is why I am writing this.

I have lived and worked in Detroit for over 10 years. Six years ago, I finally got around to buying a house in an old neighborhood built in the 1920's. The neighborhood is about 5 miles north of downtown and directly south of Detroit's Boston Edison district.

Shortly after I moved in, a very nice family of three moved into the vacant home next door to me. Their house was beautiful. I could not afford it when I was looking for a home, instead, I bought the home to the left.

Five years ago, my neighbor's house had all leaded glass windows, hardwood trim, an original solid oak front door and almost all of it's original architecture.

Crime in my neighborhood is systematic and regular. It is usually, but not always petty. Thefts by drug addicts constitute the bulk of crime. It is largely pathetic low-life crime; car windows broken for radios, packages from UPS stolen from your porch, $25 BBQ grills stolen from your backyard, etc. etc..

For instance, my neighbor and I were in the midst of attempting to assemble a driveway gate to protect the backyard at night, when his car was broken into. The thieves smashed his window and took the new gate hardware from his passenger seat!

When I first moved in, I reported these crimes to the police, but the several hour response on average made it worthless. All they would do is (if I was lucky) make a police report and continue on with more important duties. To be fair, for the most part, the police have been extremely friendly, well mannered, respectful and considerate. Up until the incident below.. please read on.

About 2 years ago, the family who lived in this house moved to Ypsilanti, Michigan (about 45 minutes away). This was for several reasons, but primarily, the amount of property thefts, car break- ins and drug trafficking was too much for a family who was expecting a new baby. They also did not want to put another child through the Detroit school system. I could certainly understand all of this.

I was supportive in their move and worked with the family to get a new swing set assembled at their new home in Ypsilanti. Approximately 3 months after they moved, the husband died of a heart attack. This left his wife and a newborn baby and both mortgages, since as of yet, they had not managed to sell the home in Detroit. Needless to say, my neighbor was devastated and now under an enormous financial burden. She attempted to sell the house for over 2 years with no luck. Home values were at an all time low and her real estate agent was not doing a good job either.

The Beginning

One weekday approximately 1 year ago, my dog went nuts in the middle of the night. I got up and looked around, looked at my neighbor's house, but did not see anybody moving around. I did note that my neighbor's curtains were open on the 2nd floor and from what I could remember, had been closed ever since they had moved out. I thought nothing of it and went back to sleep.

The next day at around noon, while I was at work, I got a call from my girlfriend saying that she had just chased thieves out of our our neighbors backyard with a knife! When the thieves saw her coming (and our German Shepard), they dropped several leaded-glass windows in the backyard and hopped the fence. This would not be the last time she chases robbers from our backyard with a kitchen knife and a German Shepard. They proceeded to escape down the alley. Besides being startled by her actions, I quickly realized that the thieves had probably been in the home all night and were taking everything. My dog knew exactly what was going on.

My girlfriend called 911 and they (the police) responded a few hours later to go through the home and see what was missing. We called my neighbor too, who showed up later to inspect the damage. The thieves took the door knobs, most of the leaded-glass windows, the front door, chandeliers, French doors and lots of other things.

In this case, the police were very friendly but refused to do any finger printing. They expressed concern over this type of crime said that "it was on the rise".

I worked with my neighbor's friend to get the house boarded up and to secure the home since it no longer had any protection from either the elements or from the thieves.

Well, since then, the house has been systematically ransacked. Evidently, just the sight of a boarded-up home is a green light for all sorts of low-life to rape, pillage and steal. This was frustrating to say the least, since we must live next door to all of this going on. We do what we can, and at times more than we can, to stop this. I would go in, fix up, re-secure, re-enforce and tighten the boards and the thieves would come back with anything they could to get in. This happened several more times and the thieves took more, as if there was anything left to take. We were told by an investigating officer that we should call the Western District if and when we question the response that we have received from the responding police.

Meanwhile, our own home has been targeted. For a period of about 6 months, we had crimes every week. The neighbor to the left had his home broken into, we caught several people looking into our back windows, our garage was broken into and several items were stolen. My neighbor chased the guy who stole our lawnmower for a 1/2 mile before he was threatened with a knife and retreated.

We have had varying levels of police interaction to this point, but overall they seem to be too busy, unresponsive.. I don't know.

This is only the tip of the iceberg. Each incident would make a good story, but I need to get to the point here =).

Needless to say, I have become obsessed with security. I have installed a motion-activated camera to catch the crazed thieves. Well, it works.. sort of. I can get pictures of them stealing stuff, but what good is it? I hand the pictures to the police and they sometimes decide to take them, I'm sure out of courtesy.

The montage to the right is of a thief entering and escaping down our driveway after stealing stuff out of my friend's car. This guy broke into my friends car and stole an expensive digital camera from underneath his seat. He smashed the window so hard that glass was found more than 30 feet away.

I subsequently had my side screen door stolen and various other petty thefts such as more packages taken off my front porch (again).

Fast forward to November, 24th 2006. We're beaten down. It's a Friday.. well, I'll just include what I recorded as I think it will speak for itself. Please note that at no time during this incident did I raise my voice or act inappropriately:

November 24th: Call to 911 at 2:15PM

My girlfriend and I called 911 at 2:15pm after seeing a suspicious white van with a broken-out back window (no markings) in front of our neighbor's house. I had seen them before. I had previously chased the people out of backyard on 11/14 @ ~12:15pm. I immediately recognized the suspects. 2 men and a woman exit the van with a cordless drill and a flashlight after knocking on our door, presumably to have us open the driveway gate. We did not answer the door purposefully, as to not make ourselves known, so that the police catch the criminals in progress.

We hear loud cracking noises from wood boards on the front of my neighbor's home. Meanwhile we are trying to get the home owner on the phone. I see a man get into the back of the van. A man leaves in the van, possibly with a female, the 3rd person is unaccounted for @ 2:35pm.

We call 911 again to say that a suspect is leaving in the van and offer to follow the van. We get in our car and look for the suspect van by traveling around the block. We call 911 for a 3rd time to give them an update about our location in looking for the white van. We told the operator that "we were looking for the van in our neighborhood" and the 911 operator said "nothing good can come from this, you need to go back home, police don't chase people.". We went back home.

First Police Response: 3:00pm

Responding officers arrived and took some notes. They noted that the wood boards on the front of the house were in place and that there was no sign of forced entry. I explained that I had a key, and the criminals had probably put the boards back, possibly with a person inside as they had done before at this house. I asked, if possible, to have them to go through the house to see if anyone was in there before I re-secured the boards. Officers did not go through house because they said that there was "no sign of forced entry" (except for the screws laying all over the front porch, which they conveniently disregarded). The officers explicitly refused to search the house. I showed the responding officers the boards broken loose from the front doorway of the house. Officers told me several times that "this is not my house" and "this is not my problem". I tried to explain that I was being sympathetic to my neighbor's situation and that I was looking after my neighborhood. This made the officers notably argumentative, but I remained calm and polite. The officers left.

I then called the Detroit Police Western District office and asked if it would be possible for someone to go through the house since I am looking after it for my neighbor. I clearly explained on the telephone that there is no obvious sign of forced entry, but I would like to see if it would be possible for somebody to go through the house before I entered, because I was not sure if anyone was still in there. He said that he would call 911 for me. The Western district officer on the phone agreed that we could have someone go through the house if we have a key and to "stay there".

Second Response (Same Officers): 3:10pm

The same police officers respond (not specifically to my request) and they appear to be visibly angry.

The first words out of their mouth is an ultimatum: "If there is nobody in the house, we're going to write you a citation".

The responding officers are noticeably mad and close to belligerent. They proceed go through the house, after yelling at me for the door being locked. After I let them in, they find nobody present. The officers proceeded to write me a citation that stated that "Defendant disregarded writer and made 911 phone call again". I explained to the officers that: "I did not make the 'second' phone call" and "The Western District operator did so when I asked if "it were possible to have someone go through the house, even though there was no immediate signs of forced entry, and that I had a key". I also explained that the Western District operator responded with "yes, I'll call 911 for you".

The responding officers replied: They (the Western District office) don't know what we go through here on the street, they have desk jobs".

The police officers clearly explained to me that I should no longer call the police on behalf of my neighbor's home. They also explained that this was "none of my business" and that my "neighbor needs to take care of her property". I asked what I should have done in lieu of calling 911, they responded: "What have we been telling you?". I responded very politely that "my interpretation of your words is that I am to not call the police, because it is none of my business". The police responded by saying "I knew you were going to say that, You have not been listening to a word that I have said". In fact, I had been listening very intently, but never the less, I was astounded at their continued and prolonged ignorance of the crime and disparity in our neighborhood.

Side Note: The officers clearly wanted me to feel for the stress of their job, which I certainly do. However, it is not only the police who are experiencing stress from crime in Detroit. After all, the problem is not actually with crime, it's with all of these people who call it in. Maybe if we take care of them, the crime will go away.

I continued on. On site, I read the citation and explained that it was false and that I did not make the "2nd" phone call as per the report, rather the Western District office did after a truthful account of the situation. The officer explained: "You have a court date sir.", they left.

I called the Western District to get the name of the officer who made the 911 report. I Asked if there was somebody there that may have responded to my call. I was told that "I has no idea who may have answered the phone". I explained the situation and that I just needed to know his name in the case I am asked. The person who answered the phone responded "Sorry, can't help you there". I called the owner of the house, [Jane Doe], at @6:26, explained my situation, she explained that she would be very happy to testify on my behalf and apologized for the trouble.

Saturday, November 25th: Thieves Arrive Again

The thieves are back. We are seriously contemplating whether to call the police or not. But, regardless, my girlfriend does it. The same two police officers arrive almost immediately (presumably to arrest me, haul me in or dish me out some more nonsensical logic), I've never seen such a fast response in my life.. I'm talking minutes. But, to their disappointment, they immediately find the suspects breaking into the home, so their attention is diverted.

The police were on site for most of the morning. The suspects (with the unmarked white van & broken out back windows), as it turned out, had legitimately seized control of the home through a forced foreclosure, unknown to my neighbor. Meanwhile, I am on the phone with my (now ex) neighbor, who is still insisting that "nobody should be in the home".

My Hearing Date

As you can imagine, I'm absolutely baffled. Who is the criminal here?

I show up in court on the day that I am asked, for which I have taken the entire day off of work. I show up at 8:30am and wait until around 11:30 for the judge to show up.

Upon showing up in court, the judge states that we are to be dismissed with a "Sign & Fly", which means that if you plead guilty, then they will hear your testimony and let you off with a small fine. If you plead not-guilty (which I did) than you will automatically receive a court date. With a "Sign & Fly", the judge does not have the opportunity to weed-out the non-sense cases like this one. So, I have a court date: 03/14/07.

Uuh Ooh! I've got a Warrant out for My Arrest!

Another day I have to take off of work to deal with this nonsense. I received a notice from the 36th district court notifying me that a warrant has been issued for my arrest. Evidently, the court recorder did not get my paperwork into the computer. Possibly a bounty hunter or another ignorant and intimidating police officer will get a handsome bounty for my dismemberment or death.

After a lengthly discussion with the supervisor in charge of the court room that I appeared in, the problem was resolved. My warrant has been released. However, I was issued a stern warning to make sure that I appear in court (as if I had violated any law or had not appeared in court in the first place).

Since then, the house has been burglarized several more times, as you can see, several more windows have been stolen, along with a sink. We watched most of this happen in broad daylight by two man who had nothing more than a Ford Taurus and screw driver. And guess what, they left no sign of forced entry! Like a good Detroit citizen, and per the instructions that I received, I did not call 911. After all, it's "none of my business" right? Now since I've been properly schooled on how the system works, the police don't have to worry about my petty calls about break-ins, burglaries and thefts. Hopefully they can take a breather and go after some real serious big-dog crime or possibly show off and turn some good guys into hardened criminals like myself.

That's it for now, I'll update this after my court date (presuming that I'm not in jail for calling the police back in November).