Hi, my name is Kali Filice and recently I was the victim of a crime that I believe was mishandled by the law officer that oversaw the incident.

I have a vehicle that was given to me upon turning 18 by my late grandmother. It was my very first vehicle and though it no longer makes sense for me as a daily driver, I have kept it running and in good condition as a backup. Recently I had to move it from where I was storing it, and as I have a neighbor who has unreasonably threatened to tow my vehicle in the past, I chose to park it in a dirt lot across the street from my home where many other people park their cars. The only parking restrictions for this lot are for snow removal conditions which are not currently an issue at this time.

The morning of November 4th, I noticed my car was missing from its spot when I took my children to school. When I called to report it stolen I was informed that it was actually towed away for blocking the sidewalk. There is no sidewalk where my car was parked, and there are also two other vehicles parked in the dirt lot that were not towed, so I was confused and worried, especially seeing as I had already been the victim of unreasonable threats of towing by my neighbor. I was sick over the weekend and thus had no idea what had happened or when.

I filled out the form to request the record of the incident, as advised by dispatch, and also requested for the officer that handled the incident to give me a call so I could get more information. When the officer called me back two days later, he was very rude and aggressive. I was only asking questions to try and understand the situation at hand, and many times when I tried to speak or ask questions, he spoke over me. I felt this was not only very unprofessional but also extremely disrespectful. As I live so close to where my car was parked, I was trying to inquire as to why there was no attempt to make contact, especially when the officer told me that my car was, in fact, not blocking the sidewalk, but was in the road, and had appearances of an attempted theft. I tried to inquire, if there were appearances of attempted theft, wouldn’t it be protocol to run the plates and attempt to make contact with the vehicle owner? But I wasn’t even able to complete my sentence before the officer talked over me again, and informed me that it is not his job to make any contact. This did not make sense to me and had me very concerned. I am not claiming to be an expert in the legalities, but I feel that if an officer of the law comes across a vehicle that is found in the road and has an appearance of attempted theft, it would only make sense for the officer to attempt to make some kind of contact with the registered owner. Even if it is not protocol by law, living in a small town as we do, combined with the fact that I, the registered owner, lived right across the street from the location of the incident, I feel it would have been the right thing to do for the officer to at least attempt to make contact of some kind. I do understand that officers have a job to do that encompasses many responsibilities, and sometimes there are circumstances that take precedence over common courtesy, but the officer made it very clear on the phone that that was not the case, but rather, “it is not his job” to do anything other than have the vehicle towed. I really feel as though if there is evidence of a crime, as he clearly stated on the phone, there should be more to it than just having a vehicle towed.

When I tried to inquire whether he took any photos to document the evidence of the incident, the appearance of attempted theft and the car being in the road, he informed me that it is not his job to document any evidence but that there is video footage available that I can request. 

I arranged for another public record request with a specific request for video footage, as the officer told me that a record request alone would not grant me access to the video footage. When I was informed the records were ready, I was also informed that there was no video footage available; I made contact with the officer again and inquired as to why he said there was video footage when there was not. He stated that he never told me that there was footage, just that “there might be video”, but actually he had not turned on his body cam that day. This was very frustrating to me as he did, in fact, definitively say that there was video footage, and was now changing his narrative. When I tried to say anything else, he spoke over me and wouldn’t listen to what I had to say, and then informed me that I was more than welcome to file any complaints I might have. When this phone call took place, I was actually on my way to the police station to retrieve the records I had requested. When I entered the building and stated my name and reason for being there, I heard a door slam loudly the moment afterward, and even the dispatch officer seemed taken aback, but that is merely my own observation. 

When I had obtained said records, it stated on the incident report that the car was towed for blocking the sidewalk, as I was originally told. I asked the dispatch on staff if I could please speak with the officer, and she went back to get him and returned, informing me that he refused to speak with me and that she could put me in touch with a supervisor. I asked, for confirmation, that he was refusing to come and speak with me about the incident report that he had compiled, and she affirmed. I am not sure why an officer of the law would refuse to speak with a citizen about an incident he had overseen, and I feel that it was very unprofessional. In every interaction we had, I remained calm and composed, only wishing for communication that would help me to better understand the situation that was so detrimental to me personally. Even when I was treated rudely, unprofessionally, and with absolute disrespect, I still remained calm and respectful, so I had not given the officer any reason to refuse to speak to me and give me information about the incident he had overseen. I feel that it is a reasonable request for me to speak with the officer who had compiled the incident report and receive explanation for its contents, especially as he was not busy with other duties at the time.

I am now in a position of owing $1200 (pending further charges as time goes on, it is $100 per calendar day) for a situation that I feel could have been entirely avoided if it had been handled with more consideration and compassion, not to mention due process regarding a crime. I grew up in Siskiyou County and have lived here all my life. I work as an educator at our local elementary school and am an upstanding member of this community. Teachers and educators of every kind do not make very much money; we are in it for the honor of serving our community, not for the financial reward. I am definitely not capable of paying a $1200 charge to retrieve my vehicle at this time, and it only increases daily, making it more and more impossible for me to get it back. I went to the towing company today to ask if they would be willing to work with me on a payment plan, to which they refused.

I know everyone is in hard times right now, and the holidays are upon us. I am typically not the type of person to ask for help but I am left with no choice, as I truly have no other options at this time. If it is possible for you to donate, please know that I truly appreciate your kindness and will pay it forward in the future. Thank you for taking the time to read this, and for any compassion you have in your heart for my situation.