Thursday, February 2, 2012

Good Samaritan or Dangerous Involvement?

It was 5:30 am and a loud noise jolted me out of my slumber. My eyes sprang open and I panicked..."What the hell was that?!" At that moment, I notice my two year old had been woken up by the same loud noise. Within seconds, I am out of bed, thinking maybe something fell...like my t.v. fell off the wall or something. But then I heard it again, it felt like my whole apartment shook! That's when I realized my neighbor's boyfriend was banging down her door! I ran to my door and as I looked out the peep hole, I felt the shaking again, this time accompanied with his screaming. I immediately checked my door to be sure all the locks were on and I picked up the phone to dial 911! This was not the first time he had done this, but this was the first time I ever felt like I needed to call the police. When the emergency responder gets on the line, she asks what the emergency is? I was trying to whisper, so he couldn't incidentally hear me. The respondent couldn't hear me, so I went into my other bathroom and spoke more loudly. "My next door neighbors boyfriend is kicking in her door!" I gave them   the address but when they asked what apartment...I drew a blank. I said, I have no idea but I can tell you what door to let them know. In that moment, I felt even more helpless, like if this woman needed immediate help, I couldn't even pin point her apartment with a number. And then came the question...."Do you want to give your name?" It came out my throat almost immediately, "No". All I could think about is, if this man was barreling down her door, what would he do if he knew it was me who called the police?

When I hung up the line, all I could think was, I hope I helped and did the right thing. This man has done this before. But this time it was as if he had super human powers! I swear you would have thought an earthquake was happening! On other occasions, he has banged and yelled for her to let him in. He has practically slept the night away on the floor in front of her door. She has called the police herself and asked that they remove him from her home. I thought he was gone for good this last time because it had been quiet and I had not seen him around. This man definitely has a substance abuse problem, if you would see him, you would agree. But I just feel for this girl. She is a young girl, maybe in her twenties and this man is just BAD news!

So, here is my question, I have never gotten involved to the point of calling the police. But I am a single mother in a home alone with my three children. Our other neighbors also have small children. I just felt the need to protect my own and try to help without being directly involved. At what point does our roles as neighbors go from Good Samaritan to Dangerous Involvement? At what point, is this situation not only unsafe for this woman, but unsafe for me and my family?! What would you have done? Have you ever been in a similar situation? What was your recourse?

1 comment:

  1. it's hard because you're putting your life at risk. not only your life, but your family's life. but as what have God taught us, we should help those people who are need with any possible way we can. and that man should be banned from your area or he should go to jail.

    keep safe!

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