The most terrifying experience of my life to date

Last nigth We went to bed about midnight. At 2 am Beezer barks... it of course wakes me up and I see a flash in the back yard. Beezer continues to bark and bark and I keep seeing these flashes. I creep down the hallway and peek aroudn the corner so I can see the back door (which we forgot to lock BTW). I tell Brian there is someone in our backyard and he grabs his gun and comes out to where I am. At this point a man appears at the door with a flashlight looking in the house. He sees my head peeking around the corner... I should have moved but I was scared stiff. Beezer was FREAKING. He was charging the door and growling and barking. if he had have opened that door he would have had a new hole or two courtesy of Beezer. Belle was just dancing around like an idiot lol

At that point he said "Is this number 217" I said "no" and Brian told him to get away from the house now and he left. After a minute we see the flashlights next door in the neighbors backyard (these are the new neighbors we have been having trouble with). Brian Looks out the door and sees two men looking aroudn the neighbors yard with flashlights and he lets the dogs out and then see's the badges on their uniform. they were cops. Brian goes out on to the porch and says "Are you police" and they said yes and then we could see their uniforms.

so now I don't know if I am more freaked out that someone was just in our yard or the fact that the cops are searching yards for someone (presumably one of our neighbors)

The most infuriating part is WHY did that cop NOT announce that he was police when he came onto our property, unlatched the gate and came into our back yard and onto my porch and looked in my house. he should have immediately said "Lancaster police. Is this house 217" or something. but they did not announce themselves.

I was TERRIFIED. Hannah slept through the whole thing.

Brian called the police station today to make a little complaint. talked to the sargeant or someone and found out that our neighbor was involved in a high speed chase... lost the cops but they got his plate number and tracked him back to the house next door so they were searching for him. They did find him and he was arrested. we saw them make the arrest out front but couldnt' see who it was or anything. and then Brian told him that they did NOT announce who they were at all and how dangerous of a situation that could have been. As far as we knew they were intruders. I mean a large man standing at my back door at 2 am? what am I supposed to think?

The sargeant or whoever it was he talked to was pretty disappointed that this happened and that they didn't announce that they were police as that should ahve been the first words out of their mouth. or they should have come to the door and told us before breaking into our yard and scaring the ever living daylights out of us.

I haven't slept since lol. I'm so freaked out.

Holy cow!

I am glad the sergeant in charge said they should have announced who they were, especially once Beezer started barking, which I am SURE they must have heard! I am glad they caught the guy, sorry your adrenaline kept you up, but I hope you gave Beezer a big hug and a biscuit for being a good watch dog.

I would file a formal complaint. That's a pretty darn irresponsible act by a police department. Fortunately, Brian wasn't a trigger happy guy. That whole incident could have had a disastrous outcome.

Glad that you're all okay!

yeah not only did he hear beezer barking but he SAW him. when he came to the back door Beezer charged the door barking and growling. Then he started shining the flashlight in and saw my head poking around the corner. thats when he asked me if this was #217 ... he should have started with "lancaster police"

he HAD to have known I would be terrified seeing a strange man at the door.

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Originally Posted by pomtzu

I would file a formal complaint. That's a pretty darn irresponsible act by a police department. Fortunately, Brian wasn't a trigger happy guy. That whole incident could have had a disastrous outcome.

Glad that you're all okay!

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that's what he said when the talked to the guy at the police station when he called. that kind of irresponsibility can result in death . and even the sargeant guy said that is why they need to announce themselves because IF Brian had fired he would have been within his rights as t hey were on our property ... at my door which was unlocked and did not announce who he was. I certainly have never felt more threatened in my life or that my life could have been in danger. for all we knew he was trying to break in or something. You don't prowl around someones yard and come to their back door at 2 am and not announce yourself.

When he asked if this was house 217 and I said no... he hightailed it off of our property pretty darn fast. He knew he was in the wrong.

I know how scary that is. We had a very similar situation about 1 1/2 years ago. I woke up to a helicopter circling with a spot light on our house/yard. It just wouldn't go away so Justin called the police to see what was going on. They told us that they were after someone who was believed to be in our yard (we have 5 acres surrounded by woods on all sides). She then told us to turn on all our lights and call if we see anything suspicious. All 3 of us sat on the couch, Nathan watched cartoons. About 3 hours later (about 5:00 am) the helicopter left and the police cars started pulling out. Justin called police station again and they said the guy was caught on the side of our yard, by the woods.

That cop was lucky he didn't get shot. What would have happened if beezer was outside? I shudder to think.

That is pretty terrifying. When I lived by myself in an apartment for the first time every little noise scared me, even now sometimes things scare and my husband just thinks I'm silly.

I remember one night the neighbors upstairs were making so much noise it was crazy, there was banging going on and it sounded like some guys were having a fight and all I could keep thinking was they were going to punch a hole through the wall, I tried to call the local police # from the phone book and ended up getting the state troppers I believe so by the time I got the correct number I heard some shouting outside and I peaked through my drapes and saw several cops outside asking the neighbors to come downstairs.

I was glad the cops showed up when they did and I've seen them a couple of times walking around our buildings late at night, not so much anymore but I know sometimes they do patrol from their car.

I hope things go better tonight for you.

Melissa

Well, I sure was scared, just reading this. I can't imagine how YOU felt!

Glad all turned out well. Brian did right phoning in to let them know about that lack of identification.

Hugs to all of you, hope you catch up on that sleep tonight.

Oh and Beezer deserves major hugs and treats, lol!

I'm not sure of the law now, but it used to be, that if Brian had fired at someone outside of the house, he could be charged, even tho that person was on your property. If the person had been inside the house, Brian would have been justified to shoot.

My ex always told me that if I shoot an intruder that is outside, be sure to drag him inside before I call the cops. :eek::p

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Originally Posted by pomtzu

I'm not sure of the law now, but it used to be, that if Brian had fired at someone outside of the house, he could be charged, even tho that person was on your property. If the person had been inside the house, Brian would have been justified to shoot.

My ex always told me that if I shoot an intruder that is outside, be sure to drag him inside before I call the cops. :eek::p

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I have always heard that also. Of course you have to wipe up the drag marks after :D

yeah Brian wouldn't have shot anyway unless he actually tried to come in the house. He shouted out a warning for him first and the cop hightailed it off our property when I told him he had the wrong house. he was WAY in the wrong and knew it.

Beezer has definitely been getting special treatment for being such a good boy and alerting us to the problem and defending his house. We offered for him to come sleep in the bed with us but he wanted to stay out in the living room and patrol.

but he got a big slice of cheese and some big lovins.

It amazes me the difference in their reaction. Beezer KNEW something was WRONG. Belle... she had no idea. she was just very excited about the whole thing lol.

yeah we didn't let beezer out until we saw they guys were on the other side of the fence. I too fear what would have happened had he been in the yard when the cop opened our gate and came in.

:) Dont you just love new neighbors.. Heck I would have been Freeked too.. I cant beleive those stupid cops did not announce who they was.. Heck Brian could have shot at one of them.. He would have had every right too.. You know he has to protect his family & home.. I hope those cops got told the right act.. Now for the neighbors = you might have just got rid of them.. They wont come home knowing the cops are after them..

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Originally Posted by lvpets2002

:) Dont you just love new neighbors.. Heck I would have been Freeked too.. I cant beleive those stupid cops did not announce who they was.. Heck Brian could have shot at one of them.. He would have had every right too.. You know he has to protect his family & home.. I hope those cops got told the right act.. Now for the neighbors = you might have just got rid of them.. They wont come home knowing the cops are after them..

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That's what I was hoping... that this would get rid of them.

but nope... today they were out washing their cars and mowing the yard and acting like nothing happened :O

By the way I hope your okay, my biggest fear is someone walking around in my backyard. It did happen once someone had jumped over our fence and ran over the next fence trying to get away from the police.

But to have someone come up to your back door...oh my god I can't even imagine.

Well that cop obviously doesn't watch TV! All of the TV cops announce themselves when they are on a case. 'POLICE....PUT YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR!' :p Of course it is easy for me to joke now since this horrible experience is over for you all. I am glad everyone is OK. :) Actually I had heard that you can't shoot someone unless they are on the floor where you are sleeping (i.e., second floor if you have a two story house). I don't know how true that is....probably someone made it up. :confused::rolleyes:

My main annoyance with police (other than your local police in this instance) is the high speed chases they do that put innocent people at risk and many have been killed. That's a whole 'nother topic and I am off my soapbox! :p

:) Ok so you dont just have new neighbors == You have New Stupid Neighbors.. I guess they will rob a bank next & come back to the house..:rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by sparks19

That's what I was hoping... that this would get rid of them.

but nope... today they were out washing their cars and mowing the yard and acting like nothing happened :O

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well lucky for us the main floor is also the floor with the bedrooms and the same floor where the sliding glass door he was standing at is. lol

Well I am glad he didn't tell me to put my hands up and come out... since I was NAKED LOL :eek:

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Originally Posted by sparks19

well lucky for us the main floor is also the floor with the bedrooms and the same floor where the sliding glass door he was standing at is. lol

Well I am glad he didn't tell me to put my hands up and come out... since I was NAKED LOL :eek:

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hehe okay now I am cracking up!

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Originally Posted by sparks19

well i am glad he didn't tell me to put my hands up and come out... Since i was naked lol :eek:

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lol!!! :d

Yeah lol... I was gonna run out and put the board in the sliding door so it couldn't be opened just before he appeared and then remembered "I don't have any clothes on" :O LOL so I will be wearing PJ"s to bed from now on just in case haha

But WHOA I was just talking to my mom about it and somehow we got to talking about dreams about people breaking in... and I just realized something REALLY creepy.

just last week I had a dream that I opened my front door to find this guy standing in my driveway. I asked who he was and he said he was a cop and I asked him to show me his badge. Later in the dream I was sleeping and heard someone trying to break into the front door and it was this guy that said he was the cop coming back to break in. :O is that freaky or WHAT?

I don't get that at all. When the cop asked if he had the correct house number and Brian said "no", the cop had opportunity to identify himself, even before that, but definitely then and there. This could have had a tragic ending. Fortunately, it didn't and I'm glad you're ok and all is well. Jeez, that would really frost me!

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Originally Posted by Medusa

I don't get that at all. When the cop asked if he had the correct house number and Brian said "no", the cop had opportunity to identify himself, even before that, but definitely then and there. This could have had a tragic ending. Fortunately, it didn't and I'm glad you're ok and all is well. Jeez, that would really frost me!

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yeah after it was all said and done and we weren't feeling like cats on a hot tin roof that's when the anger set in. like there is NO reason to not identify himself. he had the perfect opportunity to do so. he spoke right to me and asked me if he had the right House. At that point I kind of figured he was some drunk idiot that climbed our fence thinking it was someone else's house. I didn't know.

yeah that could have gotten really out of hand all because he didn't utter two simple words "LANCASTER POLICE"

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Originally Posted by pomtzu

I'm not sure of the law now, but it used to be, that if Brian had fired at someone outside of the house, he could be charged, even tho that person was on your property. If the person had been inside the house, Brian would have been justified to shoot.

My ex always told me that if I shoot an intruder that is outside, be sure to drag him inside before I call the cops. :eek::p

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Correct. The law is rather absolute on a bad guy INside my house. Outside is a little more grey.

The big problem with THIS situation is, until I got outside I had no idea he was a cop. If I shoot a cop, I am at best in a jail system that hates me for being a "cop shooter" and at worst, dead too. That guy tries to come in, I would have shot him for sure, no doubt. IF I survive the repercussion of shooting a cop, I have a good case in court. Thats a BIG if.

Basically, I am just VERY grateful it worked out the way it did. Lessons learned to boot.

Wow-that had me scared just reading about what could have hapenned and I was thinking how terrified you would be if you were alone when something like this took place. Lucky hubby was home and he isn't trigger happy or you could be in such a mess right now and all because the cop didn't I.D. himself, how nutso is that?
I lost it after reading you were naked....sorry but I cracked up, settled my nerves though so thanks for that one......lol.

I am trying to think of a reason for their stupidity. Maybe they thought if it was the right house, and they said "police" he would high tail it outta there? I am not saying he was wrong, he certainly was! Snooping around, peaking in windows at 2 am, what the hell is wrong with him? You certainly had a right to be terrified, I probably would've wind up pissing myself if that happened to me. :rolleyes: :o Ridiculious! It's good to know you have a watch dog + attack dog. I will admit I was laughing hard when you said Belle was dancing around like an idiot lol.

How scarey! Is there any chance the cop 'thought' you could see him? I mean that you could see his uniform? A bit of lighting in your yard?
Not to scare you more, but after living next to a drug house for years, (they're gone, thank God)I've come to the conclusion, druggies tend to think, YOU are a druggie too, simply because you live next door.:rolleyes: Hopefully, they'll not be your neighbors for long.

HAHA yeah... I had to collect my thoughts and come back to reality when I almost ran out in front of the door in the nude

No there was no lighting in my yard at all and he was shining the light right into my eyes once he realized I was there... I couldn't see anything but spots for a second.

I understand what he was thinking... that if he said it was the cops that the guy would run... but I think I would rather have to chase a suspect and be tired... then scare the living poop out of someone who is armed and act like an intruder and end up dead. I mean that's the worst case scenario but yeah....

BUT our front lights were on so the number of our house could clearly be seen and his partner was in the right yard the whole time... so not sure how this guy ended up in our yard.

Brian said he was probably a rookie and my dad said after being confronted at the door by the snarling beast that was Beezer probably had him as scared as I was.

yes we had quite a good laugh after everything calmed down about Belle's reaction. She was super excited like someone had come to visit her lol. She seriously was just dancing around the house tail wagging so hard her whole butt was shaking. she was... HAPPY LOL

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Originally Posted by chocolatepuppy

How scarey! Is there any chance the cop 'thought' you could see him? I mean that you could see his uniform? A bit of lighting in your yard?

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Don't know. Don't care. In the moment, that is not my problem. And in this particular instance, I could not see a thing. His dang flashlight was in my face. LOL

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Not to scare you more, but after living next to a drug house for years, (they're gone, thank God)I've come to the conclusion, druggies tend to think, YOU are a druggie too, simply because you live next door.:rolleyes: Hopefully, they'll not be your neighbors for long.

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Yeah... I don't think that will be a problem. They know we have big dogs and that I am a "gun nut". You should have seen the stares I got coming back from a dove hunting trip one afternoon. I was in full camo and had one of my shotguns slung on my shoulder. Around here, that is not a big deal to most people. It was a big event to them apparently.

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Originally Posted by sparks19

yes we had quite a good laugh after everything calmed down about Belle's reaction. She was super excited like someone had come to visit her lol. She seriously was just dancing around the house tail wagging so hard her whole butt was shaking. she was... HAPPY LOL

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Yeah... Belle. No brain, no pain. We like to narrate her life for her.

[silly ding dong voice]

Uhhh, yuuhhh. Somebodys here!!!!! Somebodys here!!! Oh I hope they pet me!!! Oh I hope they pet me!!!!!!


[/silly ding dong voice]


We :love: you Belle. LOL

HAHA yeah. she was ready to invite him in for tea and dog biscuits I swear.

It's a good thing she's so loveable lol

Wow,
Glad that it stopped where it did.

Had things gone horribly wrong - let's say the cop opened your FD and walked in to the house and you had mistaken him for an intruder?

You would have been treated like trash and handled accordingly.:eek:

Out here in the 'wild west' innocent people get shot by the cops and there is no justice done.

Yes, they have a hard job and can't predict the future or read minds, but, there have been cases where the PO's will run into a yard chasing after a suspect and a homeowner, who comes out to investigate noise about the house, is mistaken for a 'perp' and gets blown out of their shoes.

The PO's and PD won't be investigated by an outside entity. The internal affairs section comes out and rules in their own favor!

Oops! The officer feared for his life and shot the wrong guy because it was dark and the person had what the PO thought was a gun.

I think I'd still be cleaning out my drawers today.:eek:

Wow....

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Originally Posted by RICHARD

Wow,
Glad that it stopped where it did.

Had things gone horribly wrong - let's say the cop opened your FD and walked in to the house and you had mistaken him for an intruder?

You would have been treated like trash and handled accordingly.:eek:

Out here in the 'wild west' innocent people get shot by the cops and there is no justice done.

Yes, they have a hard job and can't predict the future or read minds, but, there have been cases where the PO's will run into a yard chasing after a suspect and a homeowner, who comes out to investigate noise about the house, is mistaken for a 'perp' and gets blown out of their shoes.

The PO's and PD won't be investigated by an outside entity. The internal affairs section comes out and rules in their own favor!

Oops! The officer feared for his life and shot the wrong guy because it was dark and the person had what the PO thought was a gun.

I think I'd still be cleaning out my drawers today.:eek:

Wow....

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dPXjQHP_2M&feature=fvw

How scary! I'm glad you guys are OK. A TBone steak for Beezer (hint, hint!)

A few years back when I let Logan out for her last pee of the night, she went ballistic at our side fence. On the other side was a guy with a flashlight walking around. I must have been crazy, but, I ran over and demanded to know who he was and he was a cop. I made him show me ID. There had been a complaint of someone walking through our backyards. I'm the only property with a fence. I told the cop he was lucky I had a fence. I think Logan shocked him and he apologized. I should have complained. I also need my head examined for daring to take a risk. Duh.

yeah... I'm still freaked out about the whole thing.

Brian left early this morning to go hunting and it was still dark out and i couldn't go back to sleep. I just kept thinking there was gonna be this flashlight shining around my backyard again.