barb dwyer

I was asleep. (duh)
My apt is right next to the elevator shaft.
Around 2:20, I hear

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

I thought a gun was going off in the shaft.

So the elevator (of course) stops right on my floor.

*I think ... oh, boy. Here we go.*

And it's the guy from across the hall
who drinks like ... badly
and got thrown out by his gf
two weeks ago
for being abusive.

He starts banging on the door
( I don't know how he didn't cave it in)
shouting for her to let him in.

She does.

I call the mgr.

Not three minutes later, there's furniture going down
in the room,
screaming
shouting from both of them.

I call 911.

And put a kitchen chair in front of my door
al la hollywood.

So The cops are coming
and this is a locked building.

They can't get in.

Meanwhile -
two other residents are now out in
the hall
and this guy starts beating the tar out of both of them
and one guy's girlfriend
who just (IMO)
had NO business being out of the apt.



The cops call *me* back
and ask if I can go downstairs and let them in

I can't.

I'd have had to jump over all of them
to get to the elevator OR the stairs.

FINALLY

one cop gets in...

drags the guy to the ground
and arrests him.

The woman
(you know what I'm going to say, don't you?)

STARTS TAKING UP FOR THE GUY

saying he's bipolar
he's having an 'episode'
she's talking tho these cops
dripping blood on the carpets
using all these 'Dr. Phil' words ...

and I can HEAR
she's 'playing healer'
that gig where
they think they can control him
they think they know what to do
they think they can 'heal' him
they think ... wrong.

omg.

all the classic stuff
you see on 'bad boys' cops shows.

SO I get a knock on my door
and it's the cop
wanting to get a statement from me.

So I give him one.

He asks if this comes to court
would I go to court to testify on what I heard.
I said of course.

Meanwhile
the gf won't press charges.

LUCKILY -
the two other guys he beat up
ARE going to press charges.

SO bla bla bla
and later on
I hear the woman
outside her place with the landlord.

I hear the woman say
"that nosy BITCH across the hall hadn't called the cops..."

The landlord said

"Now you hang on - *barb* did exactly what you're SUPPOSED to do
and if there's anyone in this building who knows EXACTLY what you're dealing with - barb. She's on YOUR side you just won't see it."

-!-

Needless to say -
didn't get much sleep last night.

The woman is bruised and covered in blood
and she's blaming ME for there being a problem.

Story of my life.

Anyway -
nothing like having something like that
jump off eight feet outside your front door
to remind you


Just how far you've come.
Just how far *I* have come .
Just how far *we* have come.

Never DID figure out what the 'bangs' were.
Maybe he was hitting the sides of the elevator.

I'd have sworn they were gunshots
having spent a LOT of time
in shooting ranges.
I know what enclosed gunshots sound like.
Maybe she hid it before the cops came.

THIS ... is why I have the attitude I have
when people come on here saying they're abused
and then take up for their abuser.
I know that there's nothing anyone can do
they're going to go right back to it.

I treat every single post about abuse
as if they are real.

Because they may just be.

suki44883

You did the right thing, but then, you know that. I just hope you don't have any trouble out of them. Hopefully, the landlord won't allow that to happen.

barb dwyer

I think there's an agreement saying
that they can't come back when the cops get involved.

Something like that.

So if she DOES take him back
she has to move.
She can't be here.

He won't evict her for the trouble
but he will
if she brings him back into the building.

kittykitty

I love you Barb.

Some people just can't be helped. They don't want to be helped. I see so much of that on here, I have actually stopped reading for a bit, because it's all a trigger for me. Some people prefer to remain miserable victims~ mentally, emotionally, and physically.

You are a good person for calling the police, (you already know that ). Well done not leaving the apartment. You did what you could without putting yourself in immediate danger. It's one thing to help someone else, but another thing to put ourselves in harm's way, to sacrifice our safety, to do it. I hope others here get out of your story what I did.

tjp613

Y'know... if he'd have had a gun to her head or a knife to her throat she'd have been very grateful for that nosey bitch across the hall.

You just keep doing the next right thing.

I'm sorry you lost sleep over an a$$hat like that. What a waste.

barb dwyer

awwww. thanks guys!

all ALL I wanted was to come HERE and talk to yall
but I haven't been able to get the computer
online for a couple of weeks now.

All I was thinking was 'man I know if I went there somebody would be up'
I thought of all YOU.

NOW I have a router and it's YEEEEEhawwwww!

Tuffgirl

I wish someone would have called the cops on my drunken and out of control rage-aholic. When he would get on a serious bender - it was scary. I finally started leaving and going to my Mom's. But I wish someone would have called the cops so they could have caught him in the act of screaming obscenities at me while stumbling around drunk and drooling. I know the neighbors heard us.

Thank you for being that person I didn't have in my old neighborhood.

Sylvie66

That's exactly what I was going to say. Thank you.

- Sylvie

LaPinturaBella

I wish more people in the world were like you Barb...standing up for what's right. Instead most of the time people just don't want to get involved because it's inconvenient for the them. I hope you continue to be "a nosy bitch." By being a "nosy bitch," you quite possibly saved that woman's life.

TakingCharge999

Barb you are so smart. I feel bad for the GF. What a horrible situation. And who knows what hell the guy has gone through for ending up doing things like these.

Yes... how close I was, had I stayed with the addicted "boyfriends". Who knows what their current hostages, er I meant partners, are up to tonight?

Here I am, working a bit, chatting a bit, watching Dr House, the cats chasing each other. The apartment is a mess, I haven't bathed, still in the gym clothes.

And its totally peaceful. I can even see a few stars from where I sit.



Thank you for putting things in perspective for me tonight barb. Its those things that make me feel HP has got my back every.single.time. for me to still be here AND healthy. And sometimes even HAPPY. Whoa.

BeProactive

Great job, Barb. That woman should be thanking you.. I will pray for her..

theuncertainty

Barb, all I can think to say is 'thank you'. I'm not even sure why, because I'm not the girl. But, thank you.
BIG hug.

barb dwyer

IT's 2:35, and the elevator just cranked up again.

I call it 'darth vater' when it does that.

ANyhow -

even though I know he's in jail until the end of the week
he *did* (according to her) get into this building
without a key...
and I'm sure it's possible...

but last night's drama is still fresh
so it woke me up.

But tonight -

I CAN COME HERE!!!

And hang out with my friends until I get sleepy again.

Thank you all for such wonderful affirming p0sts! wow.

TakingCharge999

Oh barb can you get some earplugs so it doesn't wake you up that easily...?

I use ones and they block minor noises, I can still hear the alarm and such so its not that you are totally isolated ...

I am training some guys in India and need to sleep now.. my cats send you purrs!!

barb dwyer

I'm one of those annoying people
who can't sleep in earplugs
I take them out in my sleep.

I think I'm just a bit hypervigilant right now is all.

It's all quiet now.

And - I fell asleep WAAAYYYY early so my body thinks it's done sleeping.

It's going to take it a while to figure out it can sleep some more.
So I'm going to read here and that will help me a LOT.

thank you!

RECF

This used to be me, except I was the one calling the cops and then shooing them away once they arrived. Pitiful.

HoopNinja

barb I am thankful for you and others here who pulled sentences out of my posts and posted them separately to clear the fog from my head and brain so I realized it was only a matter of time before fists were involved-not just verbal violence and intimidation. It gave me the courage to leave. I did not want to be one of those people who never came back and people wondered. . .I wonder if she made it out. I made it out. I am still being intimidated and harassed but he cannot come into my house. It's been 2 years and the hate he holds is still fresh. But the power I have over not caving to hit has made me strong.

So, even though your neighbor is not appreciative now-perhaps somewhere down the line when she finally opens her eyes she will realize how lucky she was that HP was using you that night to watch her back.

Seren

:ghug3

StarCat

You neighbor might not be grateful now, but I am sure she will be grateful later, its just that some people take much longer than others.

I am grateful for her sake. I also agree, thank you for being the person that I didn't have.

You are a strong person, and I am so grateful for everything you do and say.