mobile phone warning

[landcruisergal]

Just a quick warning to anyone who saves those lovely nasty messages in their mobile phones.I did and my boy did. We'll be deleting them asap or using codes from now on.
On the weekend my pup had in incident with the local police in his home town.
Earlier that evening we had a few...'cant wait for sunday night mistress/ you are in big trouble pup' type sms's.
Whilst in the lockup a police officer thought it would be amusing to pick up his mobile, and from midnight to 3am I received weird messages from the phone. One was disturbing " your pup is hurt and bleeding". ( he had been in a fight)
I asked 3 times for the identification of the caller,and finally he (stupidly) gave me his rank and name, when I asked for his direct number and that of his superior as I doubted his accessing the phone and sending messages of that nature was correct procedure, and that someone might be interested in the messages I had received, he responded with "he will be allright" and gave the phone to my boy, who then rang and spoke with me.
Of course we cannot persue this further for fear of further embarrassment, and the boy brought it on himself for his behavior.Still very unsettling that this stranger has obviously read thru my messages....
Take care. LCG

 

[Jay Davis]

While I certainly understand your boy not wanting to suffer further humiliation in his home town, I'd be willing to bet that just listening to the messages without probable cause or a search warrant constitutes a violation of his 4th and 5th Amendment rights.

The phone calls to you are a separate crime entirely.

If the cops in his home town are criminals of that variety, I'd think long and hard about moving.

 

[landcruisergal]

We live in Australia, and if it was just a friend I would be definitely taking it further.

I guess the officer in question knew from my earlier messages that I was someone who would be reluctant to expose our relationship. He was obviously of the impression that I would get upset by his messages, as they became more disturbing, and maybe hoped it would bring me down to the station and they could all have a good laugh.

But he was quick to hand over the phone when I said I lived in the city and implied I wasn't afraid to report his actions.( and I can spell senior sergeant, he couldn't)
I was pretty angry with both of them by this point.
And another officer was rude to me earlier in the week when I needed a clearance for work..so I am driving carefully as I believe in the power of 3's.

 

[Jay Davis]

Oh, duh. Stupid me. I should have guessed you were in Australia from your "Location"--I just didn't think to look. The ugly American strikes again.

Still, it's pretty damn chilling that the cops in his town behave like the kind of hooligans they're supposed to protect us all against.

 

[oddity83]

I am a little dim on Aussie law, but why was cop handlng the phone, should it not have been a locker waiting the release of your pup?

 

[catalina_francisco]

If you can I would still seek legal advice on what can be done, even if possibly only a warning letter sent to the police in question by your solicitor stating you have reported to them what has happened and any further problems will provoke legal action. IME, it will not stop at what has happened and they will be free and easy with discussing it with others and possibly exposing you both, or at least your pup, to boost their egos and humiliate and/or punish people they feel are deviots who should not be respected. Good luck with it all and hopefully it is behind you both now.

Catalina

 

[landcruisergal]

I am a little dim on Aussie law, but why was cop handlng the phone, should it not have been a locker waiting the release of your pup?

I have no idea.That's why I was pretty confused when the messages started.It was obvious it wasn't pup.I really had no idea of who was making them until he identified himself.
In my previous experiences, belongings are listed, you sign them into an envelope and they are put in a safe. Mobile phones included. This gives me the impression he carried it around, as he wouldn't have been with pup all that time.
He must have grinned everytime I rang and it was ignored, and he would send a message a few minutes after, referring to him as my boy and pup etc.He would have seen the calls were from the same number and knew I was starting to worry. Asshole.
One good thing is,from my last message, he knew I would have kept them and my boy's arrival time and departure are logged. So for the duration, the phone was sposed to be in property, the boy couldn't have made them. If they went ahead and pressed charges he could have dropped himself in it.
Might make him think twice about the same trick on someone else.

I wont take it any further, but it has left a worse impression of cops than I already had. I know they do a difficult job under difficult circumstances, but the ones who think they are untouchable (esp the ones who can't spell) or use the uniform to intimidate people.....deserve the title of pig.

 

[Jay Davis]

In some small towns, in any country, the cops get the idea they are untouchable. I think Catalina has a valid point about possible further harrassment of your boy. At the VERY least, save the official phone records from the cell phone company--which should tell when each incoming and outgoing call to the number were made, as well as the number they were made to, and roughly where the phone was when the calls took place--along with the paperwork detailing the boy's time of arrest and release, and the cop's name and badge number. (Wow, he's not only a bully, but an idiot, too...great combination.)

If this or any cops in that town harrasses your boy AT ALL, you need to hit this cop in the face with both barrels. As it is, you've almost certainly got enough on him to get him fired, and probably arrested for evidence tampering and harrassment as well, even assuming Aussie law doesn't afford the same protections against unlawful searches and self-incrimination that we enjoy in the US. This moron cop has put himself in a position where he has even more to lose than your boy does, but that may not stop him and his buddies from picking on the boy in the future, as they no doubt now perceive him as easy prey.

 

[catalina_francisco]

I am also hoping he has not caused further problems by running up the phone account for fun and your boy gets a huge bill to pay for calls he never made.

Catalina

 

[Jay Davis]

I am also hoping he has not caused further problems by running up the phone account for fun and your boy gets a huge bill to pay for calls he never made.

Catalina

Good point. Add "Theft of Services" to that cops list of offenses.

 

[landcruisergal]

No charges were laid. The boy has just built his first house there, and his family are all local. He doesn't want to persue it any further and neither do I, but we will keep the phone records, just in case he gets any further harrassment.
But until my next bill comes in, they will be the only messages I keep in my phone.
Lesson learnt.

 

[landcruisergal]

I am also hoping he has not caused further problems by running up the phone account for fun and your boy gets a huge bill to pay for calls he never made.

Catalina

I dont think he would be that stupid, but the thought occured to me as well.

 

[Jay Davis]

Not that it matters, but even if the cop ONLY called you, his use of the phone was unauthorized by it's owner, and constitutes theft of services. Not trying to influence you or your boy to do anything, but helping to arm his response, should he ever need it.

 

[Tele2047]

Contact their superior anyway, I doubt you'd need to tell them what was in the messages other than "personal" information. For all they know it could have been highly classified for whatever job one or both of you worked at. His behavior was unacceptable and he's going to need a warning before he'll stop doing that to people.

 

[Magnum44]

I understand your not wanting to persue it. It's a brotherhood and they stick up for each other, even the bad ones to a point. Both my wife and my brother in law are police officers and I can say first hand that most are great people just like everyone else, but they stick together because they have to. As a matter of fact my brother in law left one agency because it was so bad he couldn't stand it anymore. The higher ups were corrupt as hell and had to leave because of some of the things they did and got away with. But that is in the minority here anyway. I can't say that for other countries but I imagine Australia is the same. It's a shame that he will get away with this one but remember one thing landcruisergal, what comes around goes around (or vice versa) and he will step on his own dick eventually. When he does it's gonna hurt so rest assured his time will come.