Bells. Which is ethically worse? Hi, I am Aaron O'Donahue, a resident of Eau Claire, WI who is witness to several criminal acts that I am afraid the Eau Claire Police Department is a party to.
The city of Eau Claire has previously refused to execute the law regarding noise ordinance violations that I have reported. I had called the non emergent number for the Eau Claire Police department recently and told them about noise ordinance violations that could be hear throughout the week inside and outside buildings all around the city. The "supervisor" who I was transferred to told me that they would not receive my complaint, not send an officer, not issue a citation, and not further investigate. I was then instructed to contact the city attorney's office. At that point I told him that he was not executing his duties and was himself a party to a crime due to his endorsement, enabling, or otherwise abuse of power and position which facilitated the crime. He restated that he would not receive my complaint, not send an officer, not issue a citation, and not further investigate. The "supervisor" refused to give me his badge number.
At 9:58 this morning I heard the noise violation again while waiting inside of a breezeway with the doors shut at the Public Library while I waited for the inside doors to open. I located a general direction that the noises were coming from and after calling the suspected offender decided it was probably that offender I heard. (The last time I called the Police Department they said that they absolutely needed an address. I told them I believed there to be many offenders and that it needed further investigation just how manny there were and how often they violated the ordinance.) So, I filled out a citizen report form and called the non-emergent number again. At the police department I was again given a "supervisor" who was a police officer. I was told he was a sergeant. He told me that the citizen report form could be filled out but would not probably be followed up on and advised me to go to the city attorney's office. (Strangely, the city attorney has nothing to do with helping me resolve this matter and in fact would be the defense if I were to prosecute. Which I can't because I do not have money lying around for rectifying crimes that the city should be doing all on it's own like a big boy.)
I went to the cities attorney's office and he was not there so I came back after lunch and met up with him. He told me his position on the matter. He stated that the noise ordinance violation was done for the purpose of keeping time, religious expression, and was not what a "reasonable person" would consider unreasonable.
The violation: Church Bells in the City of Eau Claire.
Other cities have gone through the same issues before. Usualy resulting in specific legislation granting churches exemption as long as they comply with a standardized decibel range, hours of operation, and frequency limited to call to worship or special religious observances. That is what a "reasonable person" would decide.
No longer are church bells needed for keeping time. We all have access to time. Religious expression is valuable but that right ends where it intrudes into the public. If we were to grant exception to churches we would also have to grant the ability for Islamic Mosques to read the well metered and poetic Koran through loudspeakers and individuals to play "Meet You at The Cross Roads" by Bone Thugs and Harmony out of their car stereos as religious expression. (Otherwise, government would be endorsing one religion over another.)
A crime is a crime. If the city of eau claire is run by "unreasonable people" who want to make Eau Claire a theocracy and grant Orthodox Roman Catholic Church Bells or any other Judeo-Christian Church exemption from the legislation they can do so. Be in violation of federal law for all I care, but until then church bells in Eau Claire are just a plain old criminal act in violation of a city ordinance.
-Rev. Aaron O'Donahue
206 Vine St. Eau Claire, WI 54703
Case Number: 09-5462
Former Airbrone ranger in the 75th Ranger Regiment
The city of Eau Claire has previously refused to execute the law regarding noise ordinance violations that I have reported. I had called the non emergent number for the Eau Claire Police department recently and told them about noise ordinance violations that could be hear throughout the week inside and outside buildings all around the city. The "supervisor" who I was transferred to told me that they would not receive my complaint, not send an officer, not issue a citation, and not further investigate. I was then instructed to contact the city attorney's office. At that point I told him that he was not executing his duties and was himself a party to a crime due to his endorsement, enabling, or otherwise abuse of power and position which facilitated the crime. He restated that he would not receive my complaint, not send an officer, not issue a citation, and not further investigate. The "supervisor" refused to give me his badge number.
At 9:58 this morning I heard the noise violation again while waiting inside of a breezeway with the doors shut at the Public Library while I waited for the inside doors to open. I located a general direction that the noises were coming from and after calling the suspected offender decided it was probably that offender I heard. (The last time I called the Police Department they said that they absolutely needed an address. I told them I believed there to be many offenders and that it needed further investigation just how manny there were and how often they violated the ordinance.) So, I filled out a citizen report form and called the non-emergent number again. At the police department I was again given a "supervisor" who was a police officer. I was told he was a sergeant. He told me that the citizen report form could be filled out but would not probably be followed up on and advised me to go to the city attorney's office. (Strangely, the city attorney has nothing to do with helping me resolve this matter and in fact would be the defense if I were to prosecute. Which I can't because I do not have money lying around for rectifying crimes that the city should be doing all on it's own like a big boy.)
I went to the cities attorney's office and he was not there so I came back after lunch and met up with him. He told me his position on the matter. He stated that the noise ordinance violation was done for the purpose of keeping time, religious expression, and was not what a "reasonable person" would consider unreasonable.
The violation: Church Bells in the City of Eau Claire.
Other cities have gone through the same issues before. Usualy resulting in specific legislation granting churches exemption as long as they comply with a standardized decibel range, hours of operation, and frequency limited to call to worship or special religious observances. That is what a "reasonable person" would decide.
No longer are church bells needed for keeping time. We all have access to time. Religious expression is valuable but that right ends where it intrudes into the public. If we were to grant exception to churches we would also have to grant the ability for Islamic Mosques to read the well metered and poetic Koran through loudspeakers and individuals to play "Meet You at The Cross Roads" by Bone Thugs and Harmony out of their car stereos as religious expression. (Otherwise, government would be endorsing one religion over another.)
A crime is a crime. If the city of eau claire is run by "unreasonable people" who want to make Eau Claire a theocracy and grant Orthodox Roman Catholic Church Bells or any other Judeo-Christian Church exemption from the legislation they can do so. Be in violation of federal law for all I care, but until then church bells in Eau Claire are just a plain old criminal act in violation of a city ordinance.
-Rev. Aaron O'Donahue
206 Vine St. Eau Claire, WI 54703
Case Number: 09-5462
Former Airbrone ranger in the 75th Ranger Regiment