How To Make A Noise Complaint In El Paso Texas

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El Paso County Sheriff Noise Complaints   915-546-2280

Do not call 911. 911 is for emergency only. 

     This site will show you exactly how to lodge a noise complaint that will result in shutting down the noise maker. We will also show you what to  do when the cops refuse to enforce the law.

       I have had two people cited and convicted in my neighborhood. Once you have someone cited and the word gets around your neighborhood, it quiets down real fast for about a year or so. Once the police understand you are serious and won't back down, they will be more responsive. Once you have someone cited and convicted, the Sheriff, the Assistant DA and the Judge are easier to work with.

FIRST!! Speak with you local Magistrate or Justice of the Peace Judge, show the judge the complete law, explain your problem and ask if she will enforce this law. Also, speak with your local Assistant District Attorney who handles the cases in your area. Show her the law and ask if she will enforce this law. They will. But it is best, that when you call the police, you can tell them, "My Justice of the Peace will support me on this."
        BUT........you MUST be willing to go to court as a witness against the offender. IF NOT, you are just wasting your time and the time of the police, the DA and the Judge. They won't like that.

THE LAW:
TEXAS PENAL CODE   http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/Docs/PE/htm/PE.42.htm

TITLE 9. OFFENSES AGAINST PUBLIC ORDER AND DECENCY

CHAPTER 42. DISORDERLY CONDUCT AND RELATED OFFENSES

Sec. 42.01.  DISORDERLY CONDUCT. (a)

A person commits an offense if he intentionally or knowingly: (5)  makes unreasonable noise in a public place other than a sport shooting range, as defined by Section 250.001, Local Government Code, or in or near a private residence that he has no right to occupy;

Sec. 42.01.DISORDERLY CONDUCT 11 (c)  For purposes of this section:

(2)  a noise is presumed to be unreasonable if the noise exceeds a decibel level of 85 after the person making the noise receives notice from a magistrate or peace officer that the noise is a public nuisance.
The ONLY entity exempted from this law is Shooting Ranges. Parties,factories, schools, churches, trucks, sports games and every other action is illegal if it goes over 85 decibels. But, have a little common sense. Don't start complaining for stupid stuff. If a noise is really bothering you, yes report it. Loud noise has a variety of hazards to your health.

IF THE NOISE MAKER IS TOLD A SECOND, IT IS TICKET TIME!

NOW IT GETS GOOFY: What is 85 decibels? 85 decibels is a diesel truck, a motorcycle or a lawnmower. A hair dryer puts out 70 decibels. Normal speech is 50-65 decibels. A power saw is 110 decibels. A boom box is 120 decibels. A rock concert is 110-140 decibels.
If you can hear the noise across the street, it is 85 decibels or more.

Listen to decibels here: http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/education/decibel/pages/decibel.aspx

NOW IT GETS STUPID: Cops will tell you that they need a decibel meter to test the sound. This is not true. There is nowhere in the code that says sound must be measured with a decibel meter. Common sense should be enough. Common sense is enough for a reasonable police officer and a Justice of the Peace.

Then the cop will tell you he needs to measure the sound from where you are hearing it, or to be a really great guy, he'll measure it from your property line. This will NEVER get an accurate reading. If a stereo is blasting out 110 decibels and you take a meter reading from 20 feet away, you will only see 70 decibels on the meter. and the deputy will tell you he is "sorry, but there is nothing I can do." And if you are ignorant of the law and how to judge decibels, he'll get away with fooling you.

Based on their logic, you can park in front of the Sheriff's Department with a huge Boom Box, crank it up to 120 decibels, blow out every cop's eardrum in the building and he can't make you turn it off. But when I suggested doing just that to them, they threatened to arrest me.

COPS LIE:

When a deputy tells you that El Paso County has no Noise Ordinances, he is telling the truth. Just ask him if he enforces the Texas Penal Code and he will say that he does. Then tell him to look at :       TITLE 9. OFFENSES AGAINST PUBLIC ORDER AND DECENCY

CHAPTER 42. DISORDERLY CONDUCT AND RELATED OFFENSES

Sec. 42.01.  DISORDERLY CONDUCT. (a)

Excuses from Deputies are: "Gee, I don't hear anything.....Doesn't sound that loud to me........People have a "Right" to have a party...........The law is for noise after 10pm......The law is for noise after Midnight........Well, what if you wanted to have a party with your friends?.....I hear it 1/2 mile away, it's loud, but I'm not telling them to turn it down.......I don't have a decibel meter....Give it a break, it's Mother's day, Christmas, News Years, Cinco de Mayo, Mexican Independence, Semana Santa(insert bullshit holiday here_________)....It's just a party for kids, you don't like kids??........The laws says to measure decibels at your location(no it doesn't)....We don't have a Noise Ordinance in the County(yes we do, it's called Texas Penal Code).......The guy's working on his house......If they don't turn it off by 10pm give us a call and we'll come back(and tell me what??)...oh yeah, I remember............."The Deputies are on another call, they'll get to you in a few hours".....

And my personal favorite, when I ask a Deputy why he doesn't want to tell the noise makers to quiet down, "Because I don't have to."
             I have been asked many times, "Well gee.......you're the only one who complains. Why do you think that is?"   "Golly....that's a tough one officer..........let's see....1. Maybe because 50% of the people here are illegal aliens? 2. People are afraid of the criminals coming after them for complaining? 3. They know the kind of crap reasons the Deputies come up with to not handle their complaint? 4. The Deputies are more insulting and disturbing than the loud music? 5. Some of the people here have existing warrants on them?" And maybe I complained once because, shame on me, in a break of the loud music, some guy screamed out on a sound system 1/2 mile away, "Chinga tu America" (Fuck you America) and then his lady friend screams out that she adored her "Racists". The Deputy who responded told them to turn it off at 10pm, then at 10:20pm when they didn't turn it off, then he came back and he told them to turn it off at Midnight and they still didn't. Then he lied to me and his Sergeant about it. I stood in the street in front of the house, screaming at 5 cops to tell them to turn it off. Once the people heard me screaming at them, they turned it off and ran inside.

WHAT TO DO WHEN THE COPS REFUSE TO ENFORCE THE LAW

The easiest thing to do, is to just call dispatch again and ask to speak with the sergeant on duty. If dispatch asks why, tell them you're dealing with a deputy who refuses to enforce the law. Then tell the sergeant the same thing. Be polite to the sergeant. He has no idea what your problem is. Once you explain the problem, that you're familiar with measuring decibel levels, you're familiar with Title 9 Disorderly Conduct, 9 times out of 10, that will stop the noise.

If they still refuse, you may have a case of "Official Oppression" against them.

They're a little touchy about that. El Paso deputies have been arrested for Oppression.

TEXAS PENAL CODE    http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/Docs/PE/htm/PE.39.htm 

TITLE 8. OFFENSES AGAINST PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

CHAPTER 39. ABUSE OF OFFICE

Sec. 39.03.  OFFICIAL OPPRESSION. (a) A public servant acting under color of his office or employment commits an offense if he:

(2)  intentionally denies or impedes another in the exercise or enjoyment of any right, privilege, power, or immunity, knowing his conduct is unlawful;  or

Under the Texas Constitution, you have a right to peaceful enjoyment of your property.           

Nobody has a constitutional right to disturb their neighbors. You also have a right to make a complaint against someone abusing your rights or has committed a crime against you.

If you have a legitimate noise complaint, based on the above and a cop refuses to enforce the written law, he is Officially Oppressing your rights and you can have them arrested, just as with any other common criminal.

KEEP ACCURATE RECORDS

Take notes of the responding officer's name and badge number. Ask them for a business card. Make a note of the address, time and date of the noise. Even if your 2nd complaint is a year later, they have been warned and they should be given a citation.

Make the deputy give the noise maker a written warning. Otherwise, when you call for a 2nd complaint, they will "forget" you complained once before.

Final Note: Sheriff Wiles is very receptive to helping you with problems. If you feel you need to speak with him, call and make an appointment. When you do see him, try to respect that his time is very limited and make your point as fast as you can. If Sheriff Wiles wants to bring his assistant, Bill Ellis into the discussion, politely tell the Sheriff that you would rather keep the discussion between you and him. When I got stuck with Bill Ellis in the discussion, he tossed up every cockeyed BS excuse he could dream up, on why NOT to shut down concert level music noise. A simple 10 minutes discussion turned into 30 minutes of arguing with an idiot. But, that's lawyers for you.