Noisy Neighbors

I spent a great amount of time working graveyards at both the Weber and the consolidated center. One of my frequent callers for several months was a man named J* E*. He had a thick accent and always called with the same complaint.

“My neighbors make too much noise,” he would say. 


I hadn’t been home from the mission that long, so I never pressed him for more detail. I had a great deal of empathy for people trying to communicate in a different language. I would confirm his address, and apartment number, and then inform him that I would send an officer over right away. This process repeated itself at least twice a week for quite a few months. The officers would always respond and clear without seemingly doing anything. It was unclear to me if the offending neighbors were silenced or had quieted themselves before the officer arrived.

One night I decided that I would press J* for a little more information.

“What is it that your neighbors are doing?” I asked.

In broken English he explained that the sewer pipe from the neighbor’s bathroom drains in the wall at the head of his bed. Every night when they use the bathroom the sound of the flush and descending sewage wakes him up.

I wasn’t sure exactly what to say to him. I’m pretty sure I can’t explain that to an officer in a way that would encourage much action on his part.

“I’m not sure that officers can forbid your neighbor from using the bathroom at night,” I told Javier. “Maybe you should talk to your apartment manager about it.”

“Okay,” he replied. And he never called again.