"Sir, she's claiming this is a shared community facility and you're unlawfully restricting access," the officer said, looking confused. "Officer, please take a look at this," I said, pulling out my iPad. I had already downloaded the video files and pulled up a PDF of my property deed.
First, I showed them the deed. "Here are the county property lines. You can see my lot is entirely excluded from the Oak Creek HOA. It is 100% private property." The officers studied the document. Brenda’s fake tears suddenly stopped. "Second," I said, tapping play on the video. "Here is 4K footage of Brenda using bolt cutters to destroy my padlock, breaking and entering into my property, and ignoring my direct orders to leave."
The video played loud and clear. The snap of the bolt cutters echoed in the quiet street. Brenda's face drained of all color. She looked like she was going to be sick.
The older officer handed me back my iPad. He slowly turned to Brenda, his expression stone-cold. "Ma'am," he said, his voice dropping an octave. "Did you cut the lock on this man's gate?" "I... well, you see, the HOA bylaws state—" she stammered, backing away. "The HOA has no legal authority to break and enter into a private residence," the officer interrupted. "Turn around and place your hands behind your back."