Can i ask a cop to quit parking and staring at my business
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Can i ask a cop to quit parking and staring at my business
For the last 3 weeks, there has been a cop sitting for 3 to 8 hours per day parked staring at my liquor store. He doesn’t even park in a parking spot correctly and its not always the same car. Its freaking out my employees and customers
Asked on July 13, 2018 under General Practice, Colorado
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 5 years ago | Contributor
Unless you can show that the cop or police department has *no* legitimate reason to do this--i.e. that there have been no complaints of disorderly conduct or underage buying associated with your store; that there is no other criminal investigation which might involve you, your store, your employees, or other persons regularly there--you can't stop him from doing this. If there is *any* connection to legitimate police business, he can do this; the police may watch people or businesses if it is part of investigating or deterring crime.
On the other hand, if there is reason to think that he is harassing you for a personal reason, no matter what it is (e.g. he is your significant other's ex; his brother has a liquior store and he's trying to hurt the competition; you coach his son's little league team and he's not happy that his boy doesn't get more playing time; etc.) then this is illegal: the police may not use their positions for personal gain.
Try contacting the police department: complain about this. If there is no good cause for what he is doing, they may and should rein him in. If there is some investigation, etc., they will probably not tell you and will let it continue. If not happy with the results of your conversation with the department, your next step is to speak with a lawyer about both trying to stop this and, if necessary, protecting you if there is some investigation going on that touches on you or your store.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.