Email from me July 27, 2012
to

Shiawassee County Sheriff

George Braidwood

Yesterday, Thursday, July 26, 2012, sheriff’s deputy knocked on my door. I was on the phone at the time. I put calls on speakerphone and hook the cordless phone on the collar of my shirt. I told my caller there was a sheriff’s deputy at the door and she was going to let me go. I told her, “NO, you stay on the line.”

It was the animal control officer (ACO) who had a few things to say:

“ I’ve had a report of dogs barking along Bennington Rd. I didn’t realize you were this close to Bennington Rd. They heard the dogs across the field. Even if they were barking there is nothing I can do about it. I know your dogs are fine. The lady that was here when I did the inspection…………

What was your name? What is your birthdate?”

OK, there was some back and forth in there.

I said, “I know there is nothing you can do. Why didn’t you tell them to mind their own damn business, or move back to the city if they don’t like country sounds.

I know my dogs are fine. I don’t need you to tell me my dogs are fine.

My name is Kay Lorraine, you don’t need my birthdate.”

ACO, “I need it for my report. It is probably already in the system. But what is it?”

I said, “3/9, you don’t need the year” ACO, “1953”, Me, “That’s close enough”

ACO, “What is it?” Me, “You don’t need that”

He was getting a bit perturbed. ACO, “You should be glad that I’m checking on the welfare of your animals. If you were a decent person you would tell me. Nobody else has a problem. A girl told me hers just a little bit ago. She was 16.”

Me, “She’s too young to have a problem with it. What are ya gonna do? Arrest me because I won’t tell you my birthdate? I’m not a decent person.”

ACO, “I’m just gonna leave it at that and leave.”

Fine by me, near as I can tell he had no business knocking on my door anyway. There is nothing he can do about dogs barking. He don’t even know if it was my dogs barking. “Along Bennington Rd covers quite a bit of territory and we are a quarter mile from Bennington Rd. “Across a field”, also covers quite a bit of territory. Across what field? From where?

So how did it get to he was“checking on the welfare of my animals”? That’s bullshit. He already said he knew my animals were fine. Now, I don’t kiss his ass and he is “checking on the welfare of my animals” and I’m not a decent person. Bullshit, bullshit. I’m thinking this was nothing but a harassment call and I’m sure he could be out catching a dog running loose somewhere.

I spoke with one of my neighbors“along Bennington Rd”. This officer didn’t stop at their house. So , I’m just an easy mark for him? He knows I have dogs and even if it is a bit of a stretch to say I’m located “along Bennington Rd”, that is close enough for him to knock on my door over something he can’t do anything about even if it was my dogs.

Whoever called in could “hear the dogs across the field”. There are probably only two people that could ever possibly hear my dogs “across a field”. I know they did not make any such call. This guy not very smart about locating the source of such barking, but then………….I’m an easy target. If he thinks I am a willing an eager easy mark for any and all dog complaints in this corner of the county, he just better think again. That I will not be. He had no business being here at all. I know you have at least one decent detective on the force that should have been able to figure out any such barking did not come from my house. Who cares……….nothing to be done about it anyway. So I chalk it up to just another harassment I must endure? No, I don’t think so. He can stay off this property. I’ll have to put up my sign again. The one that says “No Trespassing and Unauthorized land use fee $5000 per day per person.”

His lame excuse does not warrant anything anywhere close to “probable cause”. He had probable cause to approach and question the houses along Bennington Rd. Maybe, he really didn’t, since there is no law about dogs barking across a field, he had nothing! I don’t think he even talked to anyone along Bennington Rd. We are at least a quarter mile from Bennington Rd. His ruse about “checking on the welfare of my animals” was just that, a ruse made up out of thin air. My dogs don’t need him checking on their welfare.

Well, if he were a decent officer of the law he would do some better detective work and not go around harassing people for no good reason.

I trust you to make sure there will be no such further harassment.

Sheriff Braidwood called me, left message, I called him, left message, he called and I picked up the same time as my answering machine started to record.  He said "Shut that thing off"  lol ....What's he gonna say that can't be recorded?   Nothin'...He said, "When is your birthday?"  and I said, "Go to hell."  lol  Then he just turns on the charm and smoothes everything over.  This is a young guy he's just trying to do his job   yada yada yada ........... I might have bought it all until I saw the young guy's wild report...

Then I decided to FOIA and see just what ended up on his reports and how he spent his day, since he wasted a lot of it on something he should not have bothered with.  He doesn't respond to calls about cats, there are no state laws or county ordinances about cats, nor is there for barking dogs.  A complete and total non-issue.  AND, come to think of it, even if there were any kind of law or ordinance about barking dogs, who is paying for him to be chasing down barking dogs?  The Dog Law of 1919 says the dog license fee may be set sufficient to cover the cost  of administering the Dog Law of 1919....and it doesn't say anything about barking dogs.

Interesting................This is the FOIA as the FOIA COORDINATER forwarded it to the Sheriff's dept..

You can click on these copies and that will enlarge them enough to make them just barely legible..
click on them again and it will make them full page.

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Customary letter accompanying response to FOIA.

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Basic Event Listing - apparently this was all the calls for animal control this day

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911 Event Report

Ah - the complaint

Location: 100 W Bennington Rd

from the complainer at 350 W Bennington Rd

who also mentions dogs on Cook Rd and he is not sure if they are neglected or not.

Well, can't say I can blame all the asshole part of it on the aco.

Sure I can, apparently he didn't even question this guy and he later told me he knew my dogs were fine.  Seems like that knowledge should have put some suspicion on this jerk.  Nope, he just trotted right on over to my house.  I haven't figured out what he did around 100 W Bennington.  He kinda blows past that in his report.

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OMG - he can pick up a stray dog!  That is the first I have KNOWN that to happen.  All I hear is people telling me they call AC and get no response and if they do get a response it is to say they won't be running about trying to catch anything.

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Aw yes, now here is the "Field Contact" report at my house.  It kinda resembles what was said when he was here, "kinda".

He never mentioned anything about 100 W. Bennington when he was here and this report only says he arrived in the area of 100 W Bennington/S. Cook Rd.

He never mentioned anyone had made statements about whether the dogs were neglected.

He never mentioned a complainant had pointed in the direction of my house - across a field.

I never stated I was the only one in the area with dogs.

He did not "advise" me about any complaint.

If he had no suspicion, why was he here?

I refused to give him my full date of birth.  I was not confrontational about it, not even close.

He became extremely 'annoyed' that I would not give him my full date of birth.

First he used examples, then insults.  I gave him month/day.  He guessed 1953, I said that was close enough.  Then he insisted I give him the year.  I refused.  Then he went to his examples and insults.........again.  He said, "If you were a decent person you would tell me.  I need that for my report."  I told him I wasn't a decent person and still refused to tell him.  He finally said he would get it off the records and left.  No doubt there is more I should say, but I will leave it at that.............

Where is my date of birth on his report that he needed so badly that he had to insult an harangue me over it?

and include on his report that I "became very confrontational".?

I suppose any future calls he will be accompanied by a SWAT team.............

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So, I emailed  Sheriff Braidwood, again

So, I FOIA’d your animal control officer’s reports for July 26, 2012.

There is an Event Report, Event ID 2012-031821

Location 100 W Bennington Rd/S Cook Rd

Caller: Garrett Rood

350 W Bennington Rd

Notes: Include dogs who own dogs down on cook rd that bark so loud that his dogs are barking…etc

Not sure if the dogs are neglected or why they are barking all the time

There is an attachment that says “ANIMAL COMPLAINT at 100 W BENNINGTON RD

Ok, that barely resembles what your ACO told me when he was standing at my door. First off he needs to learn how to speak English. “Somebody complained about dogs barking along Bennington Rd.”

Is what he said. What is the truth. “Somebody along Bennington Rd complained about dogs barking at !00 W Bennington Rd and also on Cook Rd.”

That“somebody” who complained just happens to be the home where they have had a dog tied to a dog house 24/7/365 for years. The original one may have died and maybe he has a new one. Talk about a neglected dog…………..people are disgusting.

Then he has a “Field Contact” at 4244 S Cook RD (that would be me) Case # 2012-00360

I don’t see where he contacted anyone at 100 W Bennington Rd.

I certainly did not state I was the only one with dogs in the area. I don’t know that, unless you want to consider “the area” as being the 5-10 acres around my house, maybe as much as a ¼ mile around my house. Kind of a long ways away for anyone to be complaining about any barking. I also consider “the area” to be more than just these sections of land.

I refused to give him my birthdate, but I certainly did not “become confrontational”, let alone “very confrontational”. I don’t much appreciate that stupid lie. Did I ever tell you how much I hate liars?

At the beginning he said he knew my dogs were fine. I told him I knew they were fine and I didn’t need him to tell me that.

He kept insisting, haranguing, insulting me in an attempt to bully me into giving him my birthdate, he needed it for his report, he guessed he could get it off previous records. That didn’t work so he puts in his report that I became very confrontational. That’s a lie. Plain and simple.

Guess what? He left the “PERSON INFORMATION”section of the report form blank. Guess he didn’t need my birth date so much after all. So why did he get so ugly about it? Did I mention I hate liars?

He has been busy with the fair and I haven't heard back from him, yet. 

Don't really care whether I do or not.