Legal Column
What to do if you’re being followed.
“One night, my friend Jackie and I were walking through an isolated part of the mall at around 11 pm. Jackie always likes to ask me crazy “what if?” questions, so when we passed an open alcove that led to one of the bathrooms, she said: “What would you do if, right now, two big guys came out of there, came up to us and asked us. “Do you ladies need some company tonight?” I answered, “I would say ‘no thank you’ and keep walking.” She came back with, “Well, what if they grab you and say, ‘well we think you do need some company.” I told her I would scream and run.
Jackie may have just mentioned the situation hypothetically, but it got me thinking about how I really would react. I talked to some people who have been followed, chased, verbally harassed, stalked and gotten harassing phone calls and found out how they reacted.
Mary*
About two weeks ago, my friend Mary called me. She was out of breath and crying hysterically. She told me that she had just come from a restaurant only four or five blocks away from her house to get some food. She was walking in her “safe” neighborhood at about four in the afternoon. On her way home, Mary, a 5’5″ girl of 19, started noticing a man drive past her. He stopped his car after he saw her and backed up, at which point he tried to yell to her. She ignored his comment and proceeded to walk home at a slightly faster pace. The man started following her down the block. Mary began to run; the man sped up; Mary turned the corner to throw him off; he continued to follow her. Finally, Mary turned another corner where the man was unable to see her, so he drove away.
Anna*
Sometimes Anna used to walk through an alley next to her apartment on her way home. There was a homeless man that would sit in the alley. One night the man tried to talk to Anna. When she ignored him he began following her. On her way into her building, the man caught the security door and walked into the building. Anna saw him following her and she ran up to her apartment and inside. Anna’s mother locked all the doors behind her. The man pounded on the door until he finally gave up and left the building.
Olivia*
Olivia met a man at a party and gave him her phone number. Shortly afterward, he began calling her late at night and sexually harassing her over the phone. This continued for a month even after Olivia and her mother told the man to stop calling their house. The calls increased in number, with the man calling as many as 10 times a night. After he threatened to hurt her, Olivia called 911. The dispatcher ignored Olivia and told her that she should have never given the man her phone number. But how could Olivia have known what he would do?
The police had good tips
I interviewed Maureen Baldi, a retired police officer from the Crime Prevention Unit in Beverly Hills. The function of the crime prevention unit is to prevent crimes before they occur. She gave me the following tips:
1. It is a good idea to take a self-defense course, but you must practice your skills and remain in shape, otherwise, all of your work will have meant nothing.
2. Never fight back unless you are in extreme danger and fighting is your last resort.
3. Always assess your situation before you decide to take action. You must decide what to do based on the size of your attacker, their motives, their sanity and your own strength.
4. You can report any offense to the police, but you should do so only if you truly feel you are in danger, especially if you suspect that you are going to be hurt or contacted again. In the case of harassing phone calls, like Olivia’s story, the police won’t do much until something other than a few phone calls occurs. Usually these crimes are considered misdemeanors.
5. If your attacker wants money or other material possessions, give it to them. Never allow someone to take you to another place or put you into their car; this is when you should fight back because your chances of being hurt rise substantially when you allow someone to take you with them.
6. To prevent yourself from any kind of an attack, walk with confidence, be aware of your surroundings, and, if possible, carry pepper spray or even a whistle (see below for information about pepper spray and tear gas).
7. In the following situations, this is what Maureen Baldi recommended that you do:
Phone calls: hang up, call the police if the calls occur consistently, change your phone number if necessary.
Being followed: cross the street, change direction, yell to stop, go to a public, well-lit place where there are other people, possibly near a police station.
Harassment: try to walk or run away, give the person what they want if it is money, jewelry, etc.
According to Officer Morgan, you must be 18 or over to purchase and carry pepper spray and tear gas, unless you are 16 or over and are accompanied by your parent or guardian or you have their written and signed consent. Note: if you are caught spraying it frivolously, you are subject to up to 16 months in a state prison.
For more information, contact the Beverly Hills Police Department Crime Prevention at (310) 285-2163 or the Los Angeles Police Department Crime Prevention Section at (213) 485-3134.
* names have been changed”