Bellingham, WA. The place where you can point to a random stranger, say "BANG", and then be arrested for felony harassment.

I would like to know where you get off calling any part of the situation a "funny little" thing. First off that message that is send to all of us is not some little joke, those messages are to inform us of happenings that we need to be aware of.

Second, coming onto a public forum like this and making fun of someone for acting out in their own safety is uncalled for. There is absolutly no reason that she nor anyone else in that postion should not have gone to the police about it and comeing on here making fun of there actions is stuipid because now others maybe afraid to report such an incident in fear of being made fun of. This could then potentially lead to someone who actually does have a gun getting away and being able to attack someone  else.

So i say to you Strebes, why don't you rethink what you are doing next time you come on here to post a message.

Uh, calm down?

Whoa there, turbo.  This poster was merely discussing the police's actions, not that of the girl's.  They clearly said that they felt the girl had every right to report what she did, which I am in agreement with.  However, I also agree that, from the information we the public have been given, the polices' actions may have been unfitting to the crime.  Every time I read that little box thing in the Western Front that is dedicated to weekly police activities, I can't help but chuckle at how little they have to do around here.  Bellingham, for the most part, is an extremely low-key and safe environment, so when things like this occasionally go down they can be easily and quickly blown out of proportion.

Of course if anyone ever feels unsafe in any way, the police should be notified.  The girl was completely in the right when letting her concerns be known, because it is always better to be safe than sorry.  I am not criticizing anyone in this post, so no one needs to post a denfensive reply, outlining all of the offensive and essentially "evil" things I've thus stated. 

May I point out that the reason this was a felony was that the police said that he is known by the police...meaning that he has done stuff like this before. He would not of had a felony had he not of already been on the University and City polices radar. Maybe you should read the whole message first. I would be royally upset if they just let him off with a slap on the wrist if he had done something like this before. We all have the right to be safe on campus and that is why the police did what they did. Second of all the guy didn't just say "BANG" he said "BANG BANG YOUR DEAD"...that is called a threat no matter who it is. No normal person in their right mind would point at some random person and say that unless they had issues. Issues that should be addressed. I think your a little misguided and need to get your facts straight. Not to mention the fact that you need to get your head out of your ass.

I hope he had something serious on his record because bang bang your dead is no joke but niether is a felony, you can recieve a felony for just walking in someones house and stealing a chair, thats not cool but revoking someones right to vote, leave the country, get a decent job etc can really screw things up.  Maybe it fits in this situation but felonies are given out way to often around here.

staffon, I was with you untill the last statement.  That is just juvenile.  Keep your argument civil, okay?

strebes, good post.

 EDIT:

I just found this posted on the reddit article.

http://www.letswrap.com/legal/harass.htm:

"harassment can be prosecuted as a felony if: the harasser was previously convicted for violated harassment laws, was motivated by bias, was falsely impersonating someone, possesses a weapon, if the victim was under 18 and the perpetrator is more than 3 years older than the victim, or if the harassment is aimed at a juror or judicial officer.

I also agree with Staffon up until the last childish statement.

Am I the only one who thinks that the girl shouldn't have reported the "incident" to the police? I'm pretty sure "bang bang you're dead" is a joke, and if I were in that position, I would have gone on with my life like every other time someone says something stupid. No need for that kind of paranoia, folks. Relax.

  The first thing that came to my mind when I read the "cops box" was all the people running around campus the last couple weeks trying to "kill" each other. If you did not notice, they have neon orange arm-bands or head-bands and nurf guns.

  I've overheard a couple conversations along the lines of " Man, I can't believe they killed me so fast!", or "Got you!" I'm guessing it's part of some campus wide survival game, and I can't help but wonder if it had anything to do with the guy saying "Bang, bang. You're dead.".

   We know so little about what actually happened that it's unreasonable to jump to conclusions. Three or four sentences in the Western Front is hardly an in-depth story. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out... or if we ever even hear of it again...

If I called the cops on every random person downtown or around Bham or at my old job or school in Tacoma who yelled something offensive or vaguely threatening at me, I can't even comprehend how much time of my life I would spend chatting with cops. That's all I'm saying.

As I was reading the above post, the melodious sound of some drunken douchebag wandering up and down 32nd Street screaming "COME BACK, I'LL KILL YOU, YOU F*****G F****T" over and over again to nobody in particular caught my ears.

So, yeah. That.

First off, I think calling the police was a good thing. However, it shouldn't be considered felony harassment because that makes no sense. Yes he was being weird and making someone uncomfortable. However, what makes that a threat? We don't know the tone of the statement and we certainly don't know if it was a you're or a your because it could mean different things to different people. He should have been jailed for disturbing the peace or something, not a felony harassment charge. Also, the point has been made that he has issues that need to be dealt with. Well if that's the case, why is he not in a hospital? If the police knew what him so damn well why wasn't he committed. People should be mad at the police if this man is insane because it's quite obviously their own fault if he's a menace to society. But let's break it down. He did something weird with an as of now unknown motive that made someone feel threatened and uncomfortable. That's grounds for calling the police (duh). However I'm sure everyone will agree that being slapped with felony charges is hardly appropriate. If he needs help he should get it, but not by the way of a prison sentence.

I think the arrest is completely warranted on basis of the perpetrator already being known to local law enforcers for whatever harassment reasons.  Furthermore, the victim was walking near Sehome Arboretum and the Fairhaven Complex.  Lest we forget, that area is pretty remote;  it isn't downtown during the weekend or red square where hundreds of people are around at any given time.  I know that I would be entirely scared for my life if I was in a more remote area and a man pointed at me and said/yelled/sang/whispered/whatever, "Bang bang, you're dead."

dude...

"harassment can be prosecuted as a felony if: the harasser was previously convicted for violated harassment laws, was motivated by bias, was falsely impersonating someone, possesses a weapon, if the victim was under 18 and the perpetrator is more than 3 years older than the victim, or if the harassment is aimed at a juror or judicial officer."

You agree that she should call the police, and the police just followed the laws of the land. He's been charge with harassment before, so it is a felony

Ok, just because I'm curious, what "different thing" could "bang bang, you're dead" mean? I mean, honestly, the "your" was a typo because I'm fairly positive this girl didn't have dead people laying around in her possession that this person just happened to know about and "mention." So yes, I'm sorry, but we do know that it was a 'you're.'

I think it is really important for us to question weather or not the police had the right to charge this person with felony harassment. I think that we all might be a bit quick to take either side of this issue, especially considering what little information we have. 

Of course the student who felt threatened did the right thing, but what happens from there is really critical in terms of the long term safety of our community. I hope that the person who was charged with felony harassment gets the help they need to recover from whatever issues they have. Slapping a felony on someone does not make us any safer in the long run.

The police were being too harsh is an assumption on the part of the Original Poster.

I'm willing to bet that if it was a joke by a person who had never previously been dealt with, the individual would have been contacted, and likely let off with a warning.  As it was this person had had previous issues, and I suspect they dealt with him in a manner consistent with the law and public safety.

There are many cases of police overreaction (though none here that I know of), I just don't think this particular instance qualifies.

The random stranger is only guilty of being a jackass.

One time, a random stranger walked up to me and tried to kiss me. And since harassment is loosly defined as "any unwanted" physical/verbal/visual expression/offense/display/action/etc., should I have called the police? Hell no. Some people are just weird... or freaky. And before you roast me for comparing kisses to bullets, c'mon: "Bang, Bang! You're dead?" Really? This "felon" is a dope.

We need to keep in mind that the world has gone from a free speech world to world where everything you say will be held against you to the fullest extent of the law. These days it's best to keep you mouth shut, your eyes down, and your step in line with everyone elses. Any deviation and you're tossed in the dock and locked up for good. Over policing, extreme paranoia, cultutal/gender/racial/national/ect    indifferentce/intollerance/profiling/ect  are the ways of the world now. I can't imagine what would happen to people who grew up with trash talking and bar fights as a friday night would handle our police state. I'm scared to dress how I want or share my opinions in class let alone in public. Heck, I'm restricted on almost every level of existance if not by law then by over protective do-gooders who think they have to stick their nose in my business if it regards them or not. We've moved beyond, "...as long as no one gets hurt..." to "...as long as no one complains..." as our legal mandate. Fines for smoking (which I don't do), fines for doggy poop, fines for loud music, spitting, and on and on. Yet violent crime is still going on, and there is no shortage of drugs and guns on the street. what good does all this over protection get us? I'd rather see the police down town aressting all the drug dealing homeless people I witness every time I drive through (yes, I have witnessed dozens of deals in progress) than ruining some morons life for being verbaly agressive. But your results will vary and this is just my opinion. Though I'll get persicuted for it I'm sure. (well, for my spelling if nothing else :D )

THIS.

I think you need to read what strebes wrote again cause you are totally wrong on the points you made. I do not see any remarks of him "making fun" of the girl, he was simply talking about the polices actions towards the guy who committed the crime. You need to read a little more careful before you make remarks like that Redk. So i will say to you exactly what yuo said to strebes, you should think the next time before you post redk.

Nice to know I'm not the only one who finds that section amusing. :)

1st.  I don't think anyone should attempt to criticize this person for reporting what she perceived as a threat.  It all comes around to your perspective on the matter.

While it's easy for me to shrug off something like a random stranger pointing a finger at me and saying something like "Bang, your dead".  This is obviously my perspective.  There are many things that don't bother me personally, but I find it perfectly appropriate for someone else to react in a different manner.  Similarly, if I knew the person was a gun freak, or unstable, or had an issue against me, I might have an issue with them pointing a finger at me and doing the same thing, while noone else would.  Would I be justified in calling the police?  Yes, because I felt threatened.  If this person felt threatened, then it is her duty to report it, rather than let it go unreported.

At that point, the responsibility lies with the authority.  Will they act appropriately?  We can only trust that they will, and hold them accountable if they don't.  In this case, the woman felt threatened, reported it, and the police responded in a manner appropriate to the situation.  The guy might have been a fool, or he might have been playing around, but the fact is, they'd had previous issues with this person, so they handled it in a more severe manner than they might for someone with which they didn't have a history.

2nd.  You cannot judge them by 'how little' they do, but how well they react when something does get reported.  I'm glad their dance card isn't constantly full, because they wouldn't be able to respond quickly like they are currently able to do.

I would also request that people try to stay respectful.  There's nothing to be gained by overreacting or being petty.

In my opinion the girl did what she was supposed to. The police did what they were supposed to. The issue I have is with what the police are supposed to do. Yes, the law says that this man has committed a felony, but as many have said before me, felonies are handed out far to frequently. Felonies destroy lives, you cant get a good job, leave the country or vote or a long list of other basic rights that you often never get back. The law is far to strict in this particular case, while the man deserved to be taken into custody, and probably charged with something considering his history, a felony is too much, your making an already difficult life harder for something that this man probably thought was just a joke.

 yea the game that heimbid was talking about is zombie tag. the ppl w/ head bands were zombies, and the armbanded ppl were humans, who used nerf guns to protect themselves. it could have possibly been related to the "bang bang you're dead" incident, but i think that might only work as any sort of defense if either one of them were wearing the orange band. So i'd have to agree that the guy probably had some issues, and i agree that the girl did the right thing in telling the police. i mean, if some random stranger came up to u and did that, wouldn't you be afraid that maybe they were targeting you or something? i know i would. just because Bellingham is a pretty safe place, that doesn't rule out the possibility of there being terrible incidences or threats to society.

Great points Chad!

+1

Sarah Pozzi and fosterc2.. Where does it say that the police's prior knowledge of the man had anything to do with harassment? For all we know, he could be "known to local law enforcement" because he's the son of one of the officers. I agree that it's likely he has some kind of criminal background, but it doesn't say anything about a history of harassment...

Go T-Town! I seriously can't believe what people see as "dangerous" or violent, etc. round here. I'm like.. until you see a 14 year old girl get her head smashed through a school window by another girl or have the police runnin' through your house trying to find a guy who was cuffed and then kicked an officer in the stomach OR watch as a guy gets dragged out of a car by a gang and beat the hell up... shoot you don't know what dangerous is. Bang Bang, i'd be happy if that was all that was said round T-town.

I don't really understand how "Bang bang your dead" could be offensive anyway unless said in a very menacing way. But like others have said, we don't have a lot of information about the situation.

which is why I am so glad to have been raised in University Place lol.

But seriously, anyone who runs around yelling "bang bang you're dead" (who is not five years old or younger) deserves to be punished.  It is a big deal.  It is socially unacceptable.  Like yelling "fire" in a theatre, you just can't do it.  It does not fall into the category of freedom of speech if it threatens others, which it did.

consider this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHdEbRDdMiI

Great video!  This is why Osaka's my favorite Japanese city (okay, not really why, but you get the point).

I never received a message telling me about this, and after this thread I would really like to read the original story.