Berwyn Police Blotter
Volume-lowering at previously loud party just not good enough for neighbor
September 6, 2008, 6:33 PM
Police received a complaint of a loud party in the 1600 block of Maple, and arrived to find it was indeed noisy, with a microphone hooked up to speakers for music and games for children. The officer told the party-givers to turn it down, so they turned down the volume and turned the microphone off. At this point, the officer was approached from behind by a 76-year-old woman, a block resident, who reportedly asked, “So, what are you going to do about this?” This officer began to explain how he had already dealt with the complaint, to which the woman responded, “Are you Mexican?” She began to speak Spanish to the party-givers in a loud voice. The officer asked the woman to step back out of the people’s yard and into the alley. The woman told the officer she wanted the music turned off. The officer told her the music was at a reasonable level and said he would not ask them to turn it completely off.
The woman told the officer she wanted the party moved into the basement. She then called the police department a derogatory name and said she would call City Hall and tell them the officer’s name and how rude he was to her. At this, the officer decided to document the incident. He asked the woman her name; she replied, “Ask your dumb people! I told that rude dispatcher my name, get it from her.” The officer explained he needed to verify her name because he was writing a report. The woman then said, “Ask the officer I poked in the chest last time he was here.” The officer told the woman she was being uncooperative. The woman began yelling, said “don’t ever call me that again!” and pointed her finger at the officer’s chest as if to poke at him.
The officer told her to stop it and leave; he said he came only because of her complaint, and had resolved her stated problem by getting the music turned down. The woman walked away, dialing a cordless phone as she went; she yelled back, “I HAVE YOUR NAME!”
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