Harassed by neighbor.

I've searched and I can't find anything regarding harassment laws besides sexual harassment. I suppose this is criminal, but I don't think this woman deserves jail or anything, we just want for her to stop.

Recently, a friend of mine moved into a new apartment near where he works. This apartment is on the 3rd floor and from what I can see, the community is geared more toward programmers and the like, and *possibly* people who are just starting their own families. Unfortunately, the walls in the apartment building are very thin and you can hear conversations in neighboring apartments if they are held at anything above a low talking voice.

The first week my friend moved into this apartment, he invited 5 of us over to play some video games and hang out. We weren't wrestling, yelling, or really being rowdy in any way. There wasn't even anything stronger than soda being consumed. We were, however, taking turns playing on his foosball table. Around 10 pm (this was on a Saturday night) a neighbor from the first floor came up and asked us to be quiet because she had a newborn baby and it couldn't sleep with all the noise. We thought she meant that the foosball table was making too much noise. We immediately stopped playing foosball, turned the volume on the tv lower, and tried to speak only in lower voices from then on that night. About 10 minutes after the neighbor complained to us, a policeman showed up at the door and said there had been a complaint about a noise violation. Given where my friend lives, this indicates that the police had been called about 20 minutes BEFORE the woman showed up at the door, because it usually takes police in this area awhile before they respond and he is in a newly developed area somewhat in the middle of nowhere. The policeman spoke with my friend for several minutes, then agreed to not give him a noise citation since he didn't notice any overly loud noises.

Since that first incident, the woman has called the police EVERY TIME he has had people over. Once, he only had his parents over for dinner and the police showed up while they were sitting on his couch watching tv. He hasn't used the foosball table since that first night, and whenever he has guests over he asks them to walk and talk as quietly as possible. Neither she nor her husband/boyfriend have gone to complain to him directly since.

The last time I was there, I distinctly heard screaming and yelling coming from a neighboring apartment, and 30 minutes later there was a cop at the door saying that the report was that it was coming from THAT apartment. The cop refused to listen to reason and said that there was no proof that we hadn't been screaming and yelling before he got there, nevermind the fact that we didn't know he was on his way to "cover up" anything.

I understand the reason behind noise citations and such, but this woman is really going overboard in calling the police on my friend like this. He hears her baby crying at all hours of the night and has lost hours of sleep because of the noise coming from below, but he hasn't called the cops on her because he recognizes that it's just part of living in an apartment, and he's a pretty nice guy. Not only is she inconveniencing my friend and infringing on his right to have friends over in his home, but she is abusing the legal system by making a policeman spend an hour of his time going to and from my friend's apartment to discover 3-6 people sitting in the living room talking.

Is there any way to make her stop, or can we report her behaviour to the police so they recognize that she's the little boy who cried wolf? Any and all advice is appreciated.

I would first of all, make the management of the complex aware of this situation since the management of the complex is responsible for the behavior of all the tenants. Provide them with a log of the times this woman has called the police and explain how you believe it is harassment. I would also have family and friends who have been at dinner write and sign statements regarding the frequency of these police visits, and have them state there was nothing untoward happening at the time these "incidents" occurred.

I would ask the management precisely what action they expect to take regarding the issue. It may be possible you aren't the only tenant having trouble with the woman in question. I would also follow up your visit to the manager with a certified letter reiterating the concerns you brought up in your meeting, and state specifically what remedy you wish, or put in writing what remedy was agreed upon at the meeting ( if any ). And I would ask for resolution regarding the issue within 30 days.

If the complex does not respond, then he will have to address the issue with the woman directly. I would write her a letter, certified, with the information (and logs of dates and times) that you have provided for the management and tell her if these calls to the police do not cease, you will file a complaint against her for harassment. And, if she does, then you make a police report regarding harassment. And, if given the chance, press charges against her.

I suspect the manager of the complex will want to be involved and will address the issue with the woman in question---after all, you are a paying customer as well.

If none of these ideas work, I would ask to be released from the lease without penalty and find a new place to live.

Good luck.