Evidently this has been an on going problem that has reaked havoc on the neighborhood for the past several months. The neighbors have been calling the police at all hours every Saturday night asking them to do something. The police have been by there every weekend asking the kids to leave. They leave and then come back the following weekend. 1:00 sounds rather mild, but the letter said it usually went on till 3:00 A.M. and sometimes later.
If anyone has the article I wish they would post it. I always think it's best to look at the complete picture rather than just a portion of it.
There is no doubt that these gatherings are a nuisance to the neighborhoods. The problem is that no law is being broken by the kids being there.
The cops need the permission of the property owners to run the kids off, which they may or may not have had. If they do have the permission, and the kids refuse to leave, then they may be arrested for criminal trespass. But they have to be given a chance to leave.
If there is a fight or something like that, or if motorcyclists are doing wheelies and are being loud or dangerous, an arrest could be made for disturbing the peace. That is what the police should have focused on.
But there is nothing illegal about people getting together on private property and having a good time, which is essentially what was going on here.
Apparently, police believed that these gatherings preceded some street racing, and this was sort of a staging area. Stopping street racing is an appropriate police function. But what they should be doing is patrolling the places where street racing occurs and stopping it there.
I have sympathy for those people who have their homes or apartments adjacent to these parking lots, but it essentially comes with the territory. If they don't like it, they should move to a quieter neighborhood. Anybody who lives within a block or two of Westheimer needs their heads examined, anyway. The street is a madhouse, especially on weekends.
There is always more to the story than what those who are arrested initially want to tell you. It doesn't seem like the Houstin Chroncile is too interested in printing the responses of those who had complained, though.