HOA Karen Reported Me for Hunting on My Own Land — The Wildlife Officers Asked Her to Leave
Chapter 6
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She said she had been nervous and had only saved the section that seemed important.Officer Carter then opened my security footage and matched the timestamps. Her expression changed when she saw Patricia standing near the gate, recording the scene from my property. The full video showed that I had remained in the same safe area throughout the morning.Then Officer Brooks noticed the second detail. In the background of Patricia's original recording, a small white sign was visible beside the fence. He zoomed in and read the words aloud: "Private Property, No Trespassing."He looked at Patricia and asked why she had crossed that sign before making her report. This time, she did not answer immediately. She simply gathered her photographs and held them against her chest.Then Officer Carter asked the question that shifted the entire investigation: "Did you obtain permission from the wildlife department to enter this property while collecting evidence?"Patricia looked toward the county road, then back at Officer Carter. Her confidence had almost disappeared, but she still tried to sound certain. "I did not need permission," she said. "I was documenting a safety concern."Officer Carter remained calm. "Documenting a concern does not give you permission to enter private property."Officer Brooks asked whether Patricia had crossed the boundary before or after she contacted the wildlife department. Patricia said she had only stepped a few feet past the gate.I pointed toward the camera mounted above the barn. "The footage shows she entered three separate times," I said. "She was on the property before she made the call, while she was making the call, and again after the officers arrived."Patricia immediately objected. She claimed the camera could have been edited. I explained that the system stored the recordings on a remote server and automatically added timestamps; I had not changed or trimmed any files.Officer Carter asked me to open the original clips so she could compare them with the copies Patricia had submitted.The first file showed Patricia arriving at 6:42 in the morning.The second showed her crossing the gate at 6:45.The third showed her standing near the fence at 6:49 while speaking with someone on her phone. Her call to the wildlife department had been placed at 6:51.The officers compared those times with the report Patricia had given them. According to her statement, she had been watching from the public road when she heard a possible violation. She had not mentioned entering my property or filming from inside the boundary.Officer Brooks asked why that detail was missing. Patricia said it was not important. Officer Carter replied that it was important because it affected the reliability of her complaint.I could feel the situation changing. At first, the officers had arrived to determine whether I had broken a hunting regulation. Now they were carefully examining whether Patricia had provided incomplete information while making the report.Officer Brooks asked to see the original message she had sent to the department. Patricia hesitated, then opened the email on her phone. The message described me as an unknown man carrying a rifle near a residential area. It said I had refused to identify myself and had ignored repeated orders to leave.None of that was true. My name was visible on the license I had handed over, and Patricia had never asked me to identify myself.