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| Libertad Green |
Libertad Green is a fashion blogger, as well as a model, so almost every time I take her out, she obliges me to take photographs of her modeling her outfits of the day for her fashion blog, at
libertadgreen.blogspot.com
As is often the case, we had neglected to take pictures while we were out, so she decided she wanted me to photograph her on our front lawn, which I did. Here is one of the photographs I took of her on
this occasion.
After our little photo shoot, we went inside our home, where she edited the photos. Then we sat together on the couch in our living
room, where, while ignoring the television, she read a magazine, and I played Blackjack on her smart phone.
Suddenly, our doorbell started ringing. I assumed it was her
parents, who often pay us unexpected visits, but then my wife told me it was the police, because she could see a squad car parked in front of our house.
By the time I opened our front door, a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy was beating on the screen door in such a way that I suspect he was testing it to see how difficult it would be to force open.
He told me that someone had reported "an old man photographing a
sixteen-year-old girl on the front lawn," and that she appeared to be "under duress." He asked if I had been taking photographs on my front lawn.
I told him that I had been taking pictures, but they were of my wife, who was in her twenties, and she had not been under duress. I asked her to come to the door, which she did, and I suggested that she could show her I.D. to prove her age.
When the police officer saw my wife, he seemed to realize that there had been a misunderstanding, and asked if I was from Virginia, since there were several vehicles in our driveway with Virginia license plates on them.
I explained that my wife and her parents are from Virginia.
He chatted pleasantly with my wife about Virginia, but, before he
left, he asked to see her I.D.
She asked if she had to show him her I.D.
He admitted that she did not, but he asked her age and her name.
She told him her age and her name.
Even though he seemed to be Hispanic, he seemed to have difficulty understanding her Spanish name, Libertad, which, of course, means "liberty." When he finally grasped that concept, I told him her last name was "Green, just like the color."
At which point he asked me for my name.
I told him my name was William Mortensen Vaughan, and he left.
Somehow, I now feel less like photographing my wife in public, and, as I told my wife, our front yard is, for all intents and purposes, public. I also admitted to her that I feel less like being seen, let alone affectionate, with her in public.
And we are curious to know what the caller told the police to get
them to send one Deputy, rather than an entire S.W.A.T. Team to our residence. If my wife appeared to be under duress, and I was holding a knife or gun to her, why didn't a S.W.A.T. Team just bust in shooting? Did the caller say I was yelling at her, or holding her, or that I had her bound in place?
I called the police today, and asked them to let me hear the
recording of the 9-1-1 call placed in regard to me. A lady at the police station informed me that I would need a subpoena for that, because those recordings are for their use, and can only be obtained by subpoena.
Which, she admitted, means I would need to hire a lawyer.
Since the humility of my circumstances makes me reluctant to hire a lawyer, I don't get to hear what was said about me as a matter of record - record which I believe should be public.
Although I've been a law-abiding citizen all my life, and served
honorably in our nation's military a quarter of a century, I'm
starting to feel harassed by the police.
A few years ago, I took my wife to a voice-over gig in Torrance,
California. Unfortunately, it was at a private residence near the home of a busy-body. As usual, we arrived early, because Libertad Green likes to be punctual. We parked in the shade in front of the busy-body's house, and listened to the radio for about half an hour.
When my wife exited the vehicle to go up the street to the address she had been given for the voice-over gig, the busy-body asked her something which was none of her business.
My wife, in a hurry, gave her a curt response, and strode off to her gig. I remained in the car, waiting for her.
The busy-body made a call from a cell phone as she stared at our car.
I supposed she was probably calling the police, and hoped that I
would be able to resolve the issue before my wife returned.
Unfortunately, my wife returned in about forty-five minutes, just as a squad car was approaching.
It made an illegal U-turn right behind me, and followed me as I made a left turn, en route to Walmart.
The squad car flashed its lights and beeped, so I pulled over.
Long story short, the hag assumed my wife was a prostitute.
This was upsetting enough, but to have a cop come to the door of our home in response to a report of a photo shoot on our front lawn - this is too much! As the saying goes, now-a-days, it seems that there is neither justice nor peace - not even in our own home.
What say you?
UPDATE:
On July 2, 2015, I submitted a written request for the transcript of a 9-1-1 call, on a Los Angeles County form, personally handed to me by the Lancaster Watch Commander at his Front Desk, at his office on the northwest corner of Lancaster Boulevard and Sierra Highway. The Deputy at the Front Desk in whose hands I placed my formal request, when I asked him how long it should take before I received the transcript, instead of answering my question, told me what I already knew - that "they could call me." I already knew that because I had written my name and cell phone number on the form.
Today, not having received any notification from the police, I returned to the same Front Desk before 7 a.m. No one seemed to be on duty. Eventually, a prison guard came and attended two other people, but ignored me, leaving me standing there at the Front Desk for perhaps another five or ten minutes.
Finally, Deputy Burchett appeared to ask what I needed.
I informed him that I was checking up on the request I had submitted to another Deputy at that Front Desk a week ago, and would be happy to submit another such written request if that one had been misplaced.
Deputy Burchett asked me for my name and looked in various files and in-boxes all around the Front Desk area. While doing so, and failing to discover my request, he informed me that "qualified desk personnel" aren't usually there until 8 a.m., so he didn't know what they would have done with my request.
Which implies that at least some of the Deputies who work the Front Desk are unqualified to work at the Front Desk while they are working at Front Desk anyway. It also implies that the L.A. County Deputies don't know what the Chain of Custody is for a formal, written request for the transcript of a 9-1-1 call; otherwise, Deputy Burchett would have known exactly where to look and or who to ask for my request.
Which begs the question: What else do unqualified personnel do at certain times on certain days, for the L.A. County Sheriff's Department?
Are there times when unqualified personnel take 9-1-1 calls, and dispatch Deptuties who are unqualified to respond to 9-1-1 calls, to respond to 9-1-1 calls?
Was the Deputy who responded to the 9-1-1 call about me photographing my wife on our front lawn June 30, 2015 qualified to do so?
Was the dispatcher who dispatched him qualified to do so?
Was the 9-1-1 Operator who took the call qualified to do so?
Is anyone at the L.A. County Sheriff's Department qualified to accept and process my formal request for the transcript of the 9-1-1 call without misplacing it?
I will return to the Watch Commander's Front Desk tomorrow, at approximately 8 a.m., and if there aren't any "qualified desk personnel" there to process my request for the transcript, I will be having another word with the Watch Commander, and I will tell him to tighten his Front Desk's "shot group."
UPDATE: On Friday, July 10, 2015, I returned to the Front Desk, where Deputy Bivins attended me. She seemed to know where to look for my request for the transcript, in a certain folder, in a certain drawer, but it wasn't there. She tried to find the call herself, but misunderstood where the call came from, thinking it was made from my home. She said she would research it, but it would take time. I gave her my cell phone number, so she could call me when she had something for me.
UPDATE: On Monday, July 13, 2015, I returned to the Front Desk, where Mr. Coker attended me. He gave me the rank, name, and phone number of the man who would be the one to find the call I'm interested in. I called that man, Sergeant Brian [?] Dunn, and left a message. Mr. Coker also gave me two more forms to fill out, which I have yet to fill out and return.
UPDATE: On Tuesday, July 14, 2015, I returned to the Front Desk, and submitted both of the forms Mr. Coker gave me, to Deputy Van Arsdale, at approximately 8:15 a.m.
I have still not heard from Sergeant Dunn or Deputy Bivins.
UPDATE: Sergeant Dunn called me at about a quarter to 1 p.m. today, and let me listen to the 9-1-1 call, muting some of the call that would identify the caller. Apparently, the caller was not one of our neighbors, but merely someone who was driving by, and thought our photo shoot looked suspicious.
Sergeant Dunn refused to grant me a transcript, but told me that, if I persuade a judge to approve it, he will provide me with an audio file of the call.
He also insisted that the Deputies are "mandated" to investigate calls about such suspicious activity.
William Mortensen Vaughan
Spanish Translator
La Libertad eZine
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