Should I report this to the gardaí or not?

Darlughda

Hi,

Am wondering if my question can be answered here.

I had a very unpleasant experience with other tenants in the house of flats I live in last saturday night.

Before, I expand on that I witnessed a horrible episode of domestic abuse on the street in front of me a couple of months ago.

An asian woman was dragged along the street, in front of my window, by her hair while being slapped around the face and as they reached the doorway of their house of flats, there were a number of other men there who went in after the guy dragging her in kicking and screaming.

When I went to the Rathmines Gardaí, a young blonde girl caked in make up kept asking me how much I had to drink???
I told her I had gone out for dinner with friends and all night it had been preying on my mind so instead of going home I decided to go to the guards and report this.

She made me feel so ridiculous for coming in on a Friday night at 11.30pm to report something I had seen at 6pm the day before.
But, talking to friends who work with social services agencies since, they have said that she was in the wrong and in future I should have no hesitation about reporting things.

Now, this incident that happened last saturday might seem amusing.

Two other tenants in the same house of flats as me began to verbally abuse me, and I stood my ground over the issue, and one of them, obviously off his head on drugs, dropped his pants and waved his penis at me all the while yelling abuse at me.

I quickly locked myself into my flat, and immediately contacted the landlord. He said he would deal with it on Monday.
It's now Wednesday night, and I am really uncomfortable coming in and out of my flat and I haven't heard from the landlord since.
Should I report this to the local gardaí, or am I going to get laughed out of it again?

endacl

Darlughda wrote: »

Hi,

Am wondering if my question can be answered here.

I had a very unpleasant experience with other tenants in the house of flats I live in last saturday night.

Before, I expand on that I witnessed a horrible episode of domestic abuse on the street in front of me a couple of months ago.

An asian woman was dragged along the street, in front of my window, by her hair while being slapped around the face and as they reached the doorway of their house of flats, there were a number of other men there who went in after the guy dragging her in kicking and screaming.

When I went to the Rathmines Gardaí, a young blonde girl caked in make up kept asking me how much I had to drink???
I told her I had gone out for dinner with friends and all night it had been preying on my mind so instead of going home I decided to go to the guards and report this.

She made me feel so ridiculous for coming in on a Friday night at 11.30pm to report something I had seen at 6pm the day before.
But, talking to friends who work with social services agencies since, they have said that she was in the wrong and in future I should have no hesitation about reporting things.

Now, this incident that happened last saturday might seem amusing.

Two other tenants in the same house of flats as me began to verbally abuse me, and I stood my ground over the issue, and one of them, obviously off his head on drugs, dropped his pants and waved his penis at me all the while yelling abuse at me.

I quickly locked myself into my flat, and immediately contacted the landlord. He said he would deal with it on Monday.
It's now Wednesday night, and I am really uncomfortable coming in and out of my flat and I haven't heard from the landlord since.
Should I report this to the local gardaí, or am I going to get laughed out of it again?

Report it. Not amusing at all. In no way is it ok for you to feel intimidated in your own home. If you're not happy with your reception at the desk ask to speak to the sergeant on duty. This was sexual intimidation and is not acceptable under any circumstances. Best of luck.

J K

That was very irresponsible of you to not phone the guards after seeing a woman beaten and dragged into a house.

Darlughda

J K wrote: »

That was very irresponsible of you to not phone the guards after seeing a woman beaten and dragged into a house.

How dare you.

I had never witnessed anything like that before in my life, and it took me too long admittedly to do something. Yet who the hell are you to judge? The road was full of people coming and going about their day, none of them did or said anything.

I was frightened out of my wits as they had stared back at me as I held the curtain open.
They are a group of guys who tend to dominate the street and I am a single woman living alone with no one to call on in an emergency so if I am a fúcken failure in your eyes, go suck your own ass, you have no idea what it is like to live in constant isolation and have no defence.

I do regret that I reported the incident late, but as the smart assed girlie at the station said to me no one else had reported it. She didn't even bother to take the report seriously.

brembo26

Sorry to hear your situation Darlughda, get back on to your landlord again and get yourself sorted first. Nobody should have to put up with what the other tennant did to you, its sick!

hefferboi

J K wrote: »

That was very irresponsible of you to not phone the guards after seeing a woman beaten and dragged into a house.

dead right..

Darlughda

hefferboi wrote: »

dead right..

See my response to the reactionary poster before you judge me.

By the way, my question was in regard to whether or not I should report the incident that happened on Saturday night? Anything constructive to add to that?

If not quit judging me.
I only mentioned my ADMITTEDLY LATE reporting of the abuse incidence I witnessed to illustrate my point of why I was hesitant about approaching the guards.

ResearchWill

Darlughda wrote: »

How dare you.

I had never witnessed anything like that before in my life, and it took me too long admittedly to do something. Yet who the hell are you to judge? The road was full of people coming and going about their day, none of them did or said anything.

I was frightened out of my wits as they had stared back at me as I held the curtain open.
They are a group of guys who tend to dominate the street and I am a single woman living alone with no one to call on in an emergency so if I am a fúcken failure in your eyes, go suck your own ass, you have no idea what it is like to live in constant isolation and have no defence.

I do regret that I reported the incident late, but as the smart assed girlie at the station said to me no one else had reported it. She didn't even bother to take the report seriously.

The reason she did not take it seriously was the delay, just imagine if the case went to court, the guy says it never happened the victim is obviously in a bad relationship, and then you have to give evidence, you can imagine what the defendants lawyer is going to say to you, it was not serious other wise why did you wait hours to report it etc. Also the fact that the victim had not reported it would be an issue for the Guards. Talk to any Guard they will tell you how hard it is to deal with a person in an abusive relationship who will not give evidence, it's soul destroying for them.

Now in relation to your own matter, again you should have reported it straight away, but yes I understand it is hard to report things, you have to be committed to the long haul, once it's reported someone is moving out of the flat.

While it may not be something you wish to consider, I for one would move out and report the incident. if you feel the Guard does not take you seriously then ask to speak to the member in charge explain your issue, if still not satisfied then make a complaint to the Garda ombudsman.

the_syco

hefferboi wrote: »

dead right..

Internet hardman? Cop the f**k on.

=-=

Darlughda: call the Garda Confidential line @ 1800 666 111 if you see this sort of behaviour again.

mikemac1

Work the hierarchy

Ask the garda for the sergeant
Ask the sergeant for their superior and so on

What happened by the flats on Saturday was unacceptable so make the report

When you leave the station I'd write a text message to myself with the gardas name and rank and save it for yourself. Maybe type an email to yourself when you get home.
Just so if it happens again and you make another report you can say I spoke to a certain garda on a certain date.

The garda might give you a card with their name and rank, that's good too
Or a letter with a pulse ref, better still

Make the report and keep records, I do be writing text messages for myself all the time

LoanShark

In fairness.. It did take you almost 30 hours to report a situation that you saw happening on the street... You went into the guards on a Friday night at an hour when most people who've been out for an evening are starting to become a bit tipsy... And you expect the guards to start an investigation? Because in your mind at the time it seemed right to jump into action..
You say that when the incident happened that there were others in the street, and why did they not do anything??? That is the attitude that has the people of this country fcuked... Ill not do anything, but someone else should... What stopped you from ringing the guards when you saw the incident??? When they could have arrived on the scene and done something then...

As for your other incident, you should call the guards and report this as it us indecent exposure...

Darlughda

ResearchWill wrote: »

The reason she did not take it seriously was the delay, just imagine if the case went to court, the guy says it never happened the victim is obviously in a bad relationship, and then you have to give evidence, you can imagine what the defendants lawyer is going to say to you, it was not serious other wise why did you wait hours to report it etc. Also the fact that the victim had not reported it would be an issue for the Guards. Talk to any Guard they will tell you how hard it is to deal with a person in an abusive relationship who will not give evidence, it's soul destroying for them..

I know understand this and it is killing me that I didn't report it straight away. I unfortunately felt too frightened because they had seen me, and was thinking what might happen if they traced the complaint back to me. Still, in future, I am determined to be braver if I see anything like that again.

ResearchWill wrote: »

Now in relation to your own matter, again you should have reported it straight away, but yes I understand it is hard to report things, you have to be committed to the long haul, once it's reported someone is moving out of the flat. ..

I felt weird enough calling and texting the landlord about it, and he assured me he would deal with it. Which was more that I got the time I reported the incident to the station.

ResearchWill wrote: »

While it may not be something you wish to consider, I for one would move out and report the incident. if you feel the Guard does not take you seriously then ask to speak to the member in charge explain your issue, if still not satisfied then make a complaint to the Garda ombudsman.

Moving out is not an option. I am on illness benefit, and it took me ages to find a place that was half way decent that took rent allowance. There is no way that i am going to risk homelessness because of other tenants who behave in a scumbag manner.

Darlughda

I notice how free and easy posters seem with attacking me for not reporting the incident I saw on the street in time.

Yet NOT ONE has mentioned how shocking it is that when I reported it the girl was not a bit interested in the statement I made??

Regardless of the fact that it was the following night, a friday night, I still went in asking advice to rathmines garda station, having never witnessed anything like that before, let alone been into a garda station for anything more than a stamp on a form,yet some of the posters here think its ok to attack me? rather than the attitude of that guard that night on duty who didn't even bother to make a report about it?WTF?

mikemac1

Darlughda wrote: »

Hi,

Two other tenants in the same house of flats as me began to verbally abuse me,

Darlughda wrote: »

I felt weird enough calling and texting the landlord about it, and he assured me he would deal with it.

Maybe it's just my past experience but I doubt your landlord will do anything.
You live around Rathmines, flatland so and popular with renters. But many landlords just want the rent paid and have zero interest otherwise.
And if it means losing two rent paying tenants or losing you on benefits, the landlord would rather you were the one who goes

Look at it from the landlords point of view. Three tenants, does he lose two or lose one?

My post seems a bit harsh maybe, just your landlord doesn't care about you, just your rent

Darlughda wrote: »

I notice how free and easy posters seem with attacking me for not reporting the incident I saw on the street in time.

Yet NOT ONE has mentioned how shocking it is that when I reported it the girl was not a bit interested in the statement I made??

What happened months ago is done and nothing will ever be done about it, nothing I can post about it.

I'm concentrating on last Saturday

alphabeat

J K wrote: »

That was very irresponsible of you to not phone the guards after seeing a woman beaten and dragged into a house.

i'd like to have seen you do it , the boys watching you watching them ,
you call the cops , guards come by, later on the boys pay you a visit

thats right , you'd have done nothing .... and well you know it .

Keith in cork

Darlughda wrote: »

I notice how free and easy posters seem with attacking me for not reporting the incident I saw on the street in time.

Yet NOT ONE has mentioned how shocking it is that when I reported it the girl was not a bit interested in the statement I made??

Regardless of the fact that it was the following night, a friday night, I still went in asking advice to rathmines garda station, having never witnessed anything like that before, let alone been into a garda station for anything more than a stamp on a form,yet some of the posters here think its ok to attack me? rather than the attitude of that guard that night on duty who didn't even bother to make a report about it?WTF?

Yeh guys, come on like...two wrongs make a right and all that :pac:

Welcome to boards love, where opinions are voiced, like them or not. I do think that you were very slow to report it, fears or no fears. Rolling in a day later to report such a vicious assault.... i'd say you were barking too. If it was as bad as you say then what good was it reporting it when you did? so they could go find a body?

On your own position though..... Report him, ring the landlord again.... and move out. Your obviously living in a ****hole. You dont need that chaos in your life. No matter your circumstances be it work / affording rent/ anything, get the hell up out of there.

As for the copper........ Pfffft!, if you read the papers lately, my friend was thrown over a railing into the river below. He went and reported it to garda, they told him to **** off or they'd throw him in the river again. 1 week later my best friend and another man were murdered and thrown into same river. The same two attackers of point 1, are now both being held on murder charges of point 2. Preventable? unfairly treated? Negligence? All of the above? Quit whinging, your problems are easily solved............

Darlughda

thanks for that post Mikemac, I understand what you are trying to say.


I have a part 4 tenancy, so the landlord can't just chuck me out over this.


I think I will let my landlord know tomorrow that I am disappointed that he hasn't contacted me back and that I will be going to Rathmines Gardaí to report the incident.

Thing is the guy who did it prob has nae memory of it, he was off his head, still, if anything does happen again I would rather there was an official record of this.

I doubt the gardaí would even pay him a visit. He would probably just lie and deny everything anyway.

obplayer

J K wrote: »

That was very irresponsible of you to not phone the guards after seeing a woman beaten and dragged into a house.

Easy to say if you don't have to face the possible backlash from the men doing this. Having said that I have intervened in bad situations more than once but I was younger, fitter and in better health. Also, and this does matter, I am a man and unlikely to be subject to sexual harrassment. It is very easy to judge if you were not there and don't have to live there.

kawasaki1100

Get out of there asap, tell your loadlord to stuff his flat and get out. You dont need to live like this. Its only a matter of time before things deteriorate further.

obplayer

Darlughda wrote: »

thanks for that post Mikemac, I understand what you are trying to say.



Thing is the guy who did it prob has nae memory of it, he was off his head, still, if anything does happen again I would rather there was an official record of this.

I doubt the gardaí would even pay him a visit. He would probably just lie and deny everything anyway.

Worth contacting the gardai for this anyway, he sounds like a bit of a cowardly headbanger but having said that do not confront him yourself, make him aware that the Gaurds are involved.

Darlughda

obplayer wrote: »

Worth contacting the gardai for this anyway, he sounds like a bit of a cowardly headbanger but having said that do not confront him yourself, make him aware that the Gaurds are involved.

Ok. That's good advice. I have been growing more angry since the incident and tempted to give him a piece of my mind. But I suppose its best to say nothing regardless of whatever he might say.

Fol20

mikemac1 wrote: »

Look at it from the landlords point of view. Three tenants, does he lose two or lose one?

Not necessarily, i would prefer an honest clean person any day to 2 dirty people who does god knows what inside your house.

hefferboi

the_syco wrote: »

Internet hardman? Cop the f**k on.

=-=

Darlughda: call the Garda Confidential line @ 1800 666 111 if you see this sort of behaviour again.

Thats it ya.

MagicSean

Why were the two tenants abusing you? What was that argument about. You should report it but only if you are prepared to make a statement and go to court in the future.

In relation to the other incident, you'd be surprised what crazy stories are told after a few drinks. Gardai don't tend to get too excited about them. People often take this as apathy. And when they are not kept updated they assume nothing was done when it probably has been.

If you are unhappy with your landlords response then speak to threshold or even the prtb.

Zambia

Darlughda wrote: »

An asian woman was dragged along the street, in front of my window, by her hair while being slapped around the face and as they reached the doorway of their house of flats, there were a number of other men there who went in after the guy dragging her in kicking and screaming.

By Asian do you mean Indian or Chinese like

Darlughda wrote: »

When I went to the Rathmines Gardaí, a young blonde girl caked in make up kept asking me how much I had to drink???
I told her I had gone out for dinner with friends and all night it had been preying on my mind so instead of going home I decided to go to the guards and report this.

Yeah this is a bad idea , reporting stuff after a few drinks is just a terrible idea. Really bad idea ... cant stress that enough.

Darlughda wrote: »

She made me feel so ridiculous for coming in on a Friday night at 11.30pm to report something I had seen at 6pm the day before.

It was ridiculous to come in after a few drinks on a friday night sorry but that's what I reckon.

Darlughda wrote: »

But, talking to friends who work with social services agencies since, they have said that she was in the wrong and in future I should have no hesitation about reporting things.

Yes but not with Alcohol on board

Www.whiteribbon.org

Yes you should report the indecency incident to the Gardaí but ONLY if you are prepared to go to court with it. You are the witness and injured party so only you can say what happened.

As for the domestic incident, it's easy to say call the Gardaí there and then but sometimes shock kicks in and people don't know what to do. Ideally you should call 999 but as mentioned already unless the woman makes a statement the Gardaí have their hands tied.

And finally, what does the amount of make-up that a person is wearing have to do with your story? What if it was a bloke with his hair in a mess, would that be an issue to you too?

JohnnyTodd

If I seen a women being dragged and beaten I would have intervened and called the guards immediately.

What took you so long to report this incident? You should be ashamed off yourself

Zambia

Easy on johnny.

JohnnyTodd

Zambia wrote: »

Easy on johnny.

I'm sorry but this is a very serious issue. The OP seems to be more concerned about someone flashing their penis to him than the girl being beaten incident.

Bullseye1

So if your a witness to a crime and you have a few drinks on you should wait to sober up before reporting? Are you speaking with authority on this subject? Or if you have drink on you your testimony is disregarded anyway?

Zambia wrote: »

By Asian do you mean Indian or Chinese like


Yeah this is a bad idea , reporting stuff after a few drinks is just a terrible idea. Really bad idea ... cant stress that enough.


It was ridiculous to come in after a few drinks on a friday night sorry but that's what I reckon.


Yes but not with Alcohol on board

Www.whiteribbon.org

Radharc na Sleibhte

FFS, The OP is a fcukin woman livin on her own in what sounds like a lovely place.