A college friend is being serial stalked and harassed, for several years now by an ex-roommate, and she is unable to get help. Yesterday after discovering a slew of hateful and threatening emails in her Spam dir, she called 911 (on my advice). They said they would be sending out officers and they never did.

This is obviously an abbreviated account, but this has been going on for years now, and since the presidential election this stalker as ratcheted up the harassment and the rhetoric.

She does not have many finacial means, is naturally timid, and has 4 adult children who are out of the house, but this criminal knows who they are and she fears direct action against this man.

I advised her to call 911, document EVERYTHING, and when it happens again, file another police report and keep doing so. In the past she tried to file on this man, and all they did was chase down an old address and then interviewed his sister, then squat. I also advised her to find a local advocacy/support group to speak with and get some support from.

This abuse takes place over email, text, and 1st person ( flattened tires, jammed keyways, etc etc). The abuser is a card carrying / tattooed Nazi, whom I suspect is on boards and forums learning how to cover his tracks, obfuscate sources etc.

What the fuck can ne done about this? I am not in tbe same region as she is BTW.

Thank you, seriously, deeply Thank You.

Columbus, Ohio, US

UPDATE: 15:03 EST: I have finally gotten through the broken Columbus, Ohio prosecutor’s office phone tree to an advocate for the local DV/Stalking Unit and they are now speaking together.

  • @yesman
    link
    1920 hours ago

    According to the SCOTUS, the State and police have no constitutional duty to protect the public, uphold the law, or enforce court orders.

    source: (warning child harm)

    DeShaney v. Winnebago
    Town of Castle rock v. Gonzales.

  • @[email protected]
    link
    fedilink
    3122 hours ago

    Ohio has castle doctrine. Buy her a shotgun, teach her to use it. Set up motion detectors surrounding her vehicle parked on her property.

    Shoot that motherfucker.

    • Roflmasterbigpimp
      link
      6
      edit-2
      14 hours ago

      I don’t think shooting people should be the first option…but since she tried the other ones…

      Murrica that Nazi scum to pulp

  • @robocall
    link
    551 day ago

    Go to the police station to make a report. Bring the emails/evidence with. Then get a temporary restraining order.

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      English
      381 day ago

      I had to go to the police station to be taken seriously even have multiple calls and officers seeing the harassment first hand. Be careful, my harasser knew exactly how to push the line and it took a death threat on camera before anything was done

    • @radicalautonomy
      link
      -114 hours ago

      Lmao, yes go report the white supremacist to the organization largely populated by white supremacists, I’m sure they’ll get right on it.

        • @[email protected]
          link
          fedilink
          171 day ago

          In which case the appropriate advice is dust off the +5 battleaxe and get out of retirement, girl!

          But no, seriously, she should get some mace. And probably let her kids know what’s happening as well as file for a restraining order. Violence like this unchecked escalates.

          • @meco03211
            link
            91 day ago

            she should get some mace

            Like a +5 battle mace?

      • @SweatyFireBalls
        link
        622 hours ago

        In all seriousness this was the only thing I could think of myself and then I had a moment of thought about a dwarf (irl not rpg) having a stalker. It is something that never crossed my mind. Not to say they couldn’t or anything but I could just feel the realization hit.

        Anyway, cheers for the actual definition before the brain rot set in too hard.

  • Tiefling IRL
    link
    fedilink
    151 day ago

    Police are useless and will take the side of the abuser, but she needs a police report to get a restraining order

  • @agent_nycto
    link
    131 day ago

    Either call 211 or go to 211.com and they will help you, they connect you with every community resource for your county, and if you tell them what happened they can help with you even finding a new place and maybe even help get a lawyer. Temporary housing for animals, helping with apartment, help with living expenses, all sorts of stuff

    • Noble ShiftOP
      link
      523 hours ago

      Thank you, I had no idea this existed.

  • @[email protected]
    link
    fedilink
    English
    141 day ago

    She should document absolutely everything and then seek a protective order in whatever jurisdiction she’s in. She should also really consider setting up a camera to record any areas she’s concerned he will visit or vandalize again. Video evidence will be actionable where harassment through email/text frequently is not actionable. She could maybe reach out to a domestic violence shelter in her area for advice too, as they should be experts on this type of situation

  • @gnomesaiyan
    link
    51 day ago

    She might want to invest in a personal body cam. It’s something I’ve thought about, being a transgender person. If anything happens, it’s all recorded and very damning evidence.

    • @meco03211
      link
      51 day ago

      As always, when things like this are mentioned, be sure to check your state and local laws for one or two party consent rules.

  • @[email protected]
    link
    fedilink
    31 day ago

    Serious answer: if you suspect which boards this person is a part of to learn this stuff, join the same boards to learn their tricks.

    Also get a gun. That’s a no-brainer in this kind of situation.

    And talk to a lawyer. Even just a free consultation can provide very useful info. Even if it’s not legal advice, lawyers tend to be close to lots of drama and have good collections of skills and tips to share for dealing with problematic people.

    • @Zak
      link
      1224 hours ago

      Also get a gun. That’s a no-brainer in this kind of situation.

      I’m pretty pro-gun and absolutely in favor of armed self defense. This is not good advice.

      We don’t know enough about this person’s temperament to say whether she would be psychologically able to shoot someone. OP’s description suggests she might not. Sometimes people unsuccessfully try to use guns for intimidation and end up disarmed by their assailant. There’s also the matter of proficiency; we can’t assume she knows how to use a gun safely and effectively. The costs of instruction and practice ammunition add up, on top of the cost of a firearm.

      Some people in this situation should get a gun, and it’s something I would encourage OP’s friend to think about, but it absolutely isn’t a no-brainer.

      • @[email protected]
        link
        fedilink
        122 hours ago

        If one is incapable of harming an aggressor, they need to fix that as soon as possible.

        I used to have that problem and I got fixed of it by letting an aggressor hurt me (I got extremely lucky to be saved from that aggressor by some other strangers who happened to be there; else I would have been fucked) at which point a deep part of me reorganized my priorities.

        A person who’s incapable of defending herself needs to take immediate steps to fix that. To me it’s a no-brainer to start down that path immediately, when there’s some psycho entering her physical space repeatedly.

        Get a gun, get training, etc. Get the ability to defend oneself, if it’s absent. This means psychology too.

        I should have said get a gun and the will to use it. The only reason not to have that will is naïveté, and hers is eroding.

    • Noble ShiftOP
      link
      131 day ago

      Calling 911 is in fact the start of documentation. Thanks.

        • @[email protected]
          link
          fedilink
          323 hours ago

          911 calls are recorded. If the police are refusing to help, at least there is that as a record.

          • sunzu2
            link
            fedilink
            022 hours ago

            you are missing the point 1) what 911 is for; 2) police are not obligated to respond to these calls; 3) record of what, somebody using improper channel to report a crime?

            • @[email protected]
              link
              fedilink
              114 hours ago

              I know what 911 is used for.

              The point I was trying to make is that the calls are recorded, so if anything happens to the caller, call logs show 911 calls. They can pull the recordings to help police investigate potential crimes, in this case, a potential stalker turning into a murderer. Cases are solved all the time through it.

      • @Zak
        link
        4
        edit-2
        24 hours ago

        I think the grandparent comment’s poorly articulated point is that 911 is for emergencies involving an immediate risk of death. It’s better to call the non-emergency number for the local police department to report crimes that have already occurred because the phone system will prioritize the calls differently.