To protect and serve?I am writing this letter because of an incident that happened at my residence on the night of June 27. Shortly after midnight, my son called and informed me there was an officer walking around our house looking through the windows with his flashlight. I decided to park a couple of blocks away from my home and walk to see if there was anyone around my house. While walking down the alley, I noticed a figure standing in the dark behind my garage. As I got closer, I realized it was a police officer. As I approached, he asked if I was out for an evening walk. With no response, I questioned him on what he was doing. He then pointed toward my driveway and said, "I am waiting for one of those cars to leave." My response was "Are you going to pick him up?" He replied, "Yes." At that time I became very upset and told him to get off my property. He seemed somewhat surprised that I was the owner and refused to leave. I became even more enraged. I asked what his name was and went into my house to call the sheriff. I told the sheriff in so many I wanted them to get away from my house. After hanging up the phone I went back outside and the police officer was driving away. As I walked to the end of the driveway, I noticed a set of headlights came on about a half block away. It was another police officer sitting in the dark waiting for something to happen. As I stood at the end of my driveway, the patrol cars continued to drive by my home for the next hour. This is no longer police work; it has become a big game hunt for a few officers. On Saturday morning, I talked to the sheriff again and explained I was still upset and wanted to know what was going on. He told me an officer was driving by my house and had seen some kids standing in the driveway. As the officer approached, they put something in a car and ran away. If this did happen, why didn’t they leave when they couldn’t find the kids? The officer continued to walk around my home and hide in the dark until I caught him. I was told he looked into the car that was sitting on my property, there was no search warrant. I do not know the law, but this seems to be an invasion of privacy. I have not checked but I would bet this officer is No. 1 in giving DWI’s. Don’t get me wrong, if someone is driving out of control, I have no problem with them getting pulled over. On the other hand, when an officer simply sits outside of an establishment and waits for someone to leave and then starts following them around town hoping they make a mistake, this is not justice. It has turned into a game for a certain few; it’s like when it gets dark the hunt begins. I had one personal incident. As I left the Eagles Club, I noticed an officer parked on the street. As I turned out of the parking lot to leave, a set of headlights came on. I had no idea which officer it was, but they followed me down Highway 75, down Warren Street, and as I turned into my driveway on Donaldson the officer continued driving southbound on Donaldson. This is not law enforcement, it’s not serving the public, it’s simply a witch-hunt. My situation is not the only occurrence, there are many others which the public does not know about. Since 9-11 happened everyone talks about terrorism. We have a similar situation in Rock County with certain individuals on the force. It’s too bad that when it gets dark, you are afraid to go out and drive home. A sad factor is some of these same officers can go out drinking and think nothing of it. They drive home without a worry in the world, knowing no one is waiting for them. What makes them any different than the rest of us?Our local police force has been tarnished due to a few officers. I feel sorry for the other officers who serve Rock County the way it is intended. I hope I have not upset all the officers in Rock County with this letter, but I do feel something has to be done. I wouldn’t doubt that sometime down the road you will see my name appearing in the paper under District Court. I believe that what occurred at my residence on June 27 and me voicing my opinion with this letter, I now have an "X" on my forehead, and certain people will go out of their way to find me. Terry ReischLuverne
