Tampa Woman Tries To Kick Squatters Out Of Her House, Winds Up In Handcuffs
A Hillsborough County homeowner’s attempt to kick trespassers off of her property got incredibly complicated.
Linda Meade bought her first home four decades ago on South Himes Avenue in Tampa. Meade was shocked to learn from neighbors this month someone was sleeping in the yard and eventually got inside the vacant house. Meade was out of state visiting her father when she got the alarming news.
“It was the most horrible thing knowing somebody else was in my house, my property, without my authorization,” said Meade.
Meade called police to the property October 12 and to her surprise, police told her she was the one who had to leave.
According to a Tampa Police report, the people in question told officers they paid “Bill Stout” more than $1,000 to move in. But the report states they had no paperwork or proof the lease existed.
Officers told Meade she needed to take the dispute to civil court, a costly process that could take up to 60 days to resolve.
Meade returned to the property the next day and tensions escalated between the two parties. Tampa Police officers claim Meade threatened to physically harm the unknown subjects inside the home, which she denies.
Officers put Meade in handcuffs and threatened to arrest her, which was all recorded by her daughter, Jenna.
“Red flags just started going off, it was like an alarm, OK I’m being treated like a criminal here when we’re really the victims,” said Jenna Meade.
That Sunday, a Tampa Police supervisor arrived at the property and called the State Attorney’s Office. An attorney with the SAO ultimately decided those unknown subjects were trespassing and ordered them out of Meade’s house.
“They were believing these people in the house and not believing me. They were giving them more rights than me and that’s what hurt me a whole lot,” said Meade.
Meade and her daughter both filed complaints with Tampa Police. The agency has opened an internal investigation into how responding officers handled the dispute.
If you want to protect your property, Eason urges all owners to sign up for the Trespass Affidavit Program , offered by Tampa Police. The affidavit gives any Tampa Police officer the right to act as the owner’s representative in warning anyone found in violation of the affidavit to leave, and to arrest violators if they refuse.
Source: WFTS
