How to Prepare For HOA/Proper Spy Car Stalking

The Union learned last last week that Proper HOA management company has every intention of picking up where Goodwin & Co left off, by sending their spy cars to stalk our (and even taking photographs of) homes, invade our privacy and disturb our peace, all in order to look for anything they can spin into an alleged "violation," which the Peachtree HOA Board can then use to target the residents they don't like! Of course, it's the Union's position that whenever the HOA directs their agents to spy on us for the purpose of attacking us with fines and causing us all sorts of emotional trauma, it's no different than any other instance of committing the crime of stalking, a serious offense in the State of Texas. But in order to hold the HOA and their current agent (Proper) accountable for these invasions of our homes' privacy and sanctuary, we need to start preparing now.

Yes, it would be nice if all we had to do is call 911 and have these people arrested on the spot. It would also be nice if all we had to do was fill out a sworn statement of how these people are causing us the same sort of emotional trauma as does any other stalker, present it to the police or the Attorney General and they would immediately begin conducting a full investigation to get the evidence to present to a judge to issue warrants for their arrest. But that could take a LONG time! In reality, whenever any citizen is being violated by someone, it's always best for YOU to obtain as much evidence as you can, so you can present it to Law Enforcement along with your allegation. If the Law Enforcement agent who reads your report sees more than just an accusation, what's going to move your report to the head of the line for investigation is when you've done a lot of the work already!

The following is what a former police officer advised homeowners to do [so to be clear, this is NOT some sort of legal advice, nor what the Peachtree Village Neighborhood Union came up with] when they have HOA spy cars rolling up on their property:

"Former police here (not NYPD). I also suggest calling and requesting a call for service (sometimes referred to as; Assist Citizen or Speak with Officer).

Explain the suspicious vehicle and give a description. Explain the suspect taking pictures. Explain that the HOA denied knowledge of the vehicle. Tell them that you don’t wish to file charges at this time, but you just wanted advice and to request a Close Patrol (sometimes called a Directed Patrol or Vacation Watch, etc.) just in case you are being targeted. The request is usually for about 1 or 2 weeks. This will generate a call in their CAD system, but does not require any real paperwork (cops like these types of calls). Make sure you record his name and badge number and if possible get the Call Number (this is not the same as a Report Number - there will not be a report in this case).

Then create a notebook and record everything that you remember and include dates, times, names, phone numbers, etc. Any contact that you have from now on; and any suspicious occurrence (even a weird sound that you hear in the middle of the night) gets recorded in your notebook. Best case: nothing happens and you have an interesting story in the future. Worst case: you go to court and you will be very pleased you have everything written down."

So, while we're hoping the HOA and their hirelings at Proper will think better of their current plan to begin spying on and stalking us, as their former agent Goodwin did, and instead, focus their efforts and use OUR money for our real needs (fixing potholes, picking up the trash, finding a much better and less costly way to maintain our greenbelt, etc.), let's begin preparing now just in case they make good on their threat. Here are some suggestions:

Install a camera on the front of your house so you have a video record of whoever approaches your property. Many of these today can be set to turn on when there is any motion and will send an alert to your smart phone. Be sure to save the video, so it can be shared later on with Law Enforcement.

Have a notebook and a pen handy by your front door, so if you see a spy car from Proper on your street, you can write down as much information as you can do so safely, such as, the type of car, a description of the person in it, the license plate, the time and date, and a description of what you observe them doing (taking photos, writing things down and so on.)

If, and only if you feel comfortable doing so, bearing in mind your personal safety and that of your family, you would also have every right to ask the spy/stalker for their name, their driver's license, and company ID card. Get photos if you can. Just because someone SAYS "I'm just doing my job," doesn't make it true! It would be best to have a smart phone out and video/record everything, such as, if the spy/stalker makes any threats, speaks to you an any demeaning manner or tries to falsely claim you somehow gave them permission to spy on/stalk you. (and by the way, even if you had, you have every right to revoke such "permission" on the spot)!

[The Texas State Laws against stalking are very specific about dealing with the excuse that stalkers often use to justify their behavior, such as, "She agreed to me coming over." In the cases of stalking by a person who is sexually obsessed with someone, it doesn't matter whatever sort of permission was granted before (like having gone on a date). And to be clear, the anti-stalking laws are not limited to stalking for the purpose of sexual interest. Whatever the motive of the stalker is, once (and it only has to be ONCE) you revoke any permission for that person to be near you, any attempt to approach you again is against the law!]

It's important to realize these people are strangers! Even if they are an employee of Proper or any other sort of hired HOA agent, like someone from their Zombie ACC, that doesn't mean they have no other ulterior motive! For example, what better way for some sex offender to seek out potential victims than to get a job as an HOA management spy car driver, under the guise of conducting "compliance checks"! If we can find out who these people are, we can then run checks on them to see if they have any warrants for their arrest, if they're listed as a sex offender or if they have any other history of using what should be our protected, private information in order to commit further crimes...in addition to the stalking which is, in and of itself, against the law.

Of course, if you perceive you are in imminent danger, don't hesitate to call the police. You don't have to have evidence beyond a reasonable doubt to get the help of the local police before you call. However, if as the former police officer suggested in the article above, you could also call the non-emergency number of the Plano Police and request a "call for service" (sometimes referred to as an Assist Citizen or Speak with Officer request). If so, be sure to tell the officer (who will not likely get there before the spy car escapes away, but that's OK) how the incident made you FEEL! This may not seem important, but the State of Texas' laws against stalking are very specific about the how a stalker may cause you to have any of the following emotional reactions to their behavior--harassed, terrified, intimidated, annoyed, alarmed, abused, tormented, embarrassed, or offended. Ask the officer to make a specific note about how the spy/stalker made you feel.

Please also notify us here at the Union if you are spied upon/stalked by the HOA/Proper. We will compile all the information and reports as they come in so, the more evidence we gather, the better the odds will be that we can get Law Enforcement to act sooner rather than later.

This information will also help a lot when our Union, together with other similar groups who have organized to defend their homes against HOAs, approaches our legislators, so we can amply demonstrate why HOAs must either be completely banned or to have their powers curbed by State and Federal Law.