I am posting this question to you as you are known for your love of cats.
I need sources on writing a citizen complaint which I will file with
the internal affairs department of my local law enforcement agency. I
don't want "how to" sources from city, county or state agencies on how
to obtain the form and the filing process. What I want is advice on
the technical aspects of what to write, what to state and what to ask
for in my written complaint. Just for reference, this is in a San
Francisco Bay Area county -- on the east side. The officer handled
the situation badly and improperly because he was lazy. To sum up, my
neighbor came into my house wanting some kittens I had in my
possession. She slugged me. I made a frantic 911 call. After the
officer came, he said he was going to arrest me but would not do so if
I would give the kittens to the neighbor. Two of the items I want to
write in the complaint are: 1) Why did the officer say what he did
and 2) where are the cats now and what is their condition? I am in
the process of obtaining a copy of the 911 tape.
Here is what happened.
Someone in my neighborhood said ?Jane? ?has some kittens in her yard,
do you want to see the kittens??. I said ?Sure?. We climbed over the
hedge and there were five kittens ?maybe one month old -- in the
hedge. They were going in and out of a drain pipe. The mother cat
was skinny and looked half-starved. ?Jane? came out of her house.
She said, ?I?m taking them to the pound! I?m taking them to the
pound! She had the kittens in my house. She poohs a lot so I put her
outside. The kittens are going in and out of the drain pipe. I don?t
want to have to dig up my yard to get out a stuck kitten. I can?t
afford to get the mother cat fixed. I?m taking them to the pound!?
I told her I could take the cats, care for them, make some phone calls
and have them neutered. ?Jane? scooped up the kittens, put them in
her cat carrier, and together we carried mother and five babies to my
house.
She said she wanted the mother and the biggest kitten back at a later
date. I didn?t say anything.
Caring for the cats
I quickly turned my bathroom into the nursery. I gave the mother
kitten food because it?s high in calories. The mother cat ate two
plates of food plus two cans of wet food every day. I roasted a
chicken with all the giblets and skin and she scarfed it all down.
The runt nearly died. When the other kittens scratched her in the
face ? a part of the socialization process not to scratch ? she backed
away and sat by herself because she was too exhausted to tolerate
playing with the others. I started teaching them to use the litter
box. I intended to get them accustomed to baths and brushing their
teeth. I immediately made phone calls to animal rescue groups and
arranged within a day to have them all fixed when the kittens were all
old enough and at no charge to me. Taking care of them is a lot of
work ? washing their bedding (clean, soft towels), cleaning the litter
boxes (two ? one for mom, one for babies), scrubbing the floors,
washing their water and food dishes (two sets ? one for mom, one for
babies). For two weeks, I watched as the mom calmed down and stopped
pacing. I watched as the babies grew stronger and more confident. I
let them romp around the house ? about ten minutes each day because
they were exhausted after that and slept the rest of the day. They
were no more than four to six weeks old.
The incident
Two weeks after I had them, ?Jane? came to my door. From my living
room, I yelled ?Come on in?. I thought she was coming to see the
kittens. She came walking in with a woman she called her daughter. I
thought they were coming just to see how the cats were doing. But
they came walking in wanting to take two kittens. I explained, ?The
mother is still nursing. They?re too young?. Then, ?Jane? suddenly
yelled ?I knew you were going to do this! I knew you were going to
keep them!? and slugged me at point-blank range. I grabbed the
telephone and made a frantic 911 call. I was yelling that I was under
attack and for the police to come quickly. ?Jane? was yelling and
threatening me. The two of them walked into the bathroom to take the
cats. I used the opportunity to close the door so they couldn?t beat
on me. Then, the two of them came out, the daughter saying, ?Mom!
Mom! It?s not worth it. Let?s go? and they left.
The officer came and told me that my options were to make a citizen?s
arrest and get a restraining order. Then, he went and talked to
?Jane?. Upon his return, he asked me about closing the bathroom door
and ?false imprisonment?. I exclaimed, ?She was beating on me and
threatening me?. He said, ?False imprisonment is a serious crime.
It?s a felony. And if I have to decide who I am going to arrest, I?m
going to arrest you and I?m not going to arrest her. But if you give
the kittens back, I won?t arrest you?.
I did not know I did not have to give up the kittens as they were in
my possession. I did not want to get arrested. The officer gave me
?Jane?s? cat carrier. The kittens were shaking to pieces. The
officer carried them to ?Jane?s? house.
Internal Affairs
In the days since, there is on going discussion with other officers of
this police agency as wells as people from the animal rescue group. I
told the assistant police chief that the goal was the welfare and
safety of the cats, and for them to be returned to me. That was five
days ago. We are in the process of filing a formal police report and
focusing on filing this citizen?s complaint.
After Internal Affairs makes their investigation, my complaint would
be classified according to four categories: unfounded, not sustained,
sustained-justified, and sustained. For example, a description of
these categories is at the bottom page of this web site:
http://alamedacountysheriff.org/ADMIN/complaint.htm
Where can I find online sources on the legal and technical aspects
regarding the kind of statements I should make in my written
complaint? Any other advice? Please feel free to ask for any other
details regarding this matter.
I don?t have a home computer so my responses may take a day or two.
Thank you kindly.
Cynthia Diane |
Request for Question Clarification by
pinkfreud-ga
on
16 Jul 2005 17:54 PDT
Cynthia Diane,
Thank you for requesting me by name. I'm very flattered! However,
although I am involved with a local animal rescue organization, and am
an avid cat-lover, I know very little about legal matters, and I don't
have access to the kinds of resources that would be useful in helping
you with this unfortunate situation. I don't even know where such
resources can be found.
Although Google Answers Researchers cannot offer authoritative legal
advice, there are several Researchers who have knowledge and
experience in areas related to the law and law enforcement. I suggest
that you repost your question without my name attached, in hopes that
someone more competent can help.
Very best regards,
Pink
|
