Police: Racial slurs, animal noises played in Virginia neighborhood not considered a crime

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va — The Virginia Beach Police Department said Thursday that the "disturbing and reprehensible" concern occurring betwixt neighbors connected Jessamine Court has stopped and volition not beryllium prosecuted.

According to the department, successful October 2020, officers responded to respective calls for work related to nuisance and large euphony complaints connected the street.

A neighbour claimed that different neighbour was playing "offensive sounds, lights and words" astatine a precocious volume, including banjo music, radical slurs, and carnal sounds.

“The lights connected his location would commencement blinking due to the fact that arsenic we measurement retired of our home, we would trigger sensors that would past crook connected music,” said Jannique Martinez, who lives adjacent door. “We had 1 household that arsenic soon arsenic they’d propulsion up successful their driveway, the euphony would start.”

Martinez said her youngest lad was affected the astir by the taunting.

"He was terrified," she said. "He would beryllium acrophobic to spell get his shot if it ever went implicit there, oregon helium would perpetually consciousness similar helium would travel retired and outcry astatine him, which helium has before."

Police Chief Paul Neudigate said helium spoke straight with the complainant successful the lawsuit Thursday, who told her neighbour to halt playing the noises.

"I was pleased to perceive from her that the violative behaviour voluntarily ceased arsenic of Sept. 23 and has not reoccured," Neudigate said successful a statement. "I assured Ms. Martinez that the Virginia Beach Police Department volition proceed to assistance with her concerns, and she should not hesitate to telephone if the behaviour recurs."

After they conducted a thorough investigation, the section said that the City Attorney, Magistrate, and Commonwealth's Attorney are "all successful agreement" that the neighbor's behaviour does not emergence to the level of a transgression nether Virginia statutes.

The statutes successful which "may lone criminalize words that represent existent threats oregon are reasonably apt to provoke an contiguous breach of the peace."

"The sounds, lights, and words displayed from wrong the location connected Jessamine Court, portion violative and unacceptable, bash not conscionable that standard. Therefore, the existent grounds does not enactment a transgression charge," the section said.

Police besides said the large euphony doesn’t spell supra the sound level successful the metropolis ordinance.

Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police Executive Director Dana Schrad said to complaint idiosyncratic with a hatred transgression successful this benignant of matter; you person to person circumstantial intent and beryllium that idiosyncratic intended to instill fearfulness oregon intimidation against a person, oregon purposely harassed them due to the fact that of their peculiar class.

“The defence portion of this is, does the idiosyncratic person a escaped code close that would beryllium successful immoderate way, they person a archetypal amendment close to pass immoderate they want,” Schrad said. “You tin person [a] bias against anybody; it’s not a transgression to bash that. The transgression occurs erstwhile you specifically mean to harass oregon intimidate erstwhile your code elevates to that level.”

Because helium didn’t marque immoderate nonstop threats to her family, Martinez said there’s not overmuch that tin beryllium done.

“I felt deflated,” she said. “I felt truthful defeated. I conscionable felt similar I couldn’t support my kids. I couldn’t ideate surviving similar this.”

According to the department, officials proceed to research different avenues of redress, including contacting the FBI to spot if determination was thing actionable from a national standpoint. In the meantime, the Civil Division of the Attorney General's Office is investigating.

"My Office of Civil Rights is successful interaction with the victims of this harassment, and we are moving alongside them and authorities entities to halt it," Attorney General Mark Herring said successful a tweet. "Race-based harassment and favoritism successful lodging is illegal, and I volition not let it to hap successful Virginia."

Antoinette DelBel astatine WTKR archetypal reported this story.