Neighborhood Harassment, Intimidation and Threats

If your problem goes beyond the standard neighborhood dispute and enters into the realm of violence, threats of violence, harassment and intimidation the rules mentioned earlier don't apply. You are now forced to deal with this person like you would any other threatening or dangerous stalker, harasser or attacker.

If you feel you have no other choice but to get a no contact order, harassment restraining order or orders for protection then start hoping for the best, but planning for the worst. Because once court petitions are filed, depending on the type of person you are dealing with, it can take things to a whole new level or problems, it could go away, or anything in betweeen.

Whatever the case, make sure you have first exhausted diplomatic options first. I assume most of these have already been tried those methods, or else I can assume you wouldn't be looking for information that would lead you to this site. That being said, if you have not tried less dramatic means, try them first. A restraining order should never be the first course of action, it should be a last resort unless there is a physical threat at stake.

Start keeping a detailed log of events, hopefully you already have been, but this documentation can come in handy later. When anything of an even remotely serious nature happens, or appears to be coming, make a police report for later evidence. The officers will sometimes offer to talk to the neighbor. Sometimes this can work as a simple "we are watching" type of message from the local police. Sometimes it will simply mean they'll start calling too, then it's all downhill.

Probably the single most important thing to consider before deciding you need a restraining order is this; it is not a crime to be an asshole. They can stare at you, they can talk behind your back, they can disrupt neighborhood relations, but that isn't a crime. The only way you can even have a fighting chance is if they actually create problems, such as assault, serious verbal harassment, intimidation or the like. The only other option is if they spread rumors and crap suing them for slander or some such thing, which is, well, a waste of time unless you have tangible evidence that it has directly cost you something in life, or witnesses and proof of serious lies being told about you. Should that be the case, you may have a possible defamation case, but those are not easy or cheap to prosecute. If this is the only type of harassment you are facing, your case will not hold much water in court as that is pretty useless evidence.

The biggest and loudest message we got from everyone was that it's not illegal to be a jerk...and a vast majority of what the woman we are dealing with did wasn't illegal, just a pain in the butt and very weird behavior. Sadly, she was stupid enough to get physical with my wife, that is what gave us the power to actually start pressing charges.

At the end of the day, however, in the eyes of the law, there is a big difference between a weirdo and a criminal.