To Anyone Who Will Listen, Please Read To Help STOP Harrassing Community Patrol VOLUNTEER

We are writing this post in hopes of reaching out into the community so no citizen ever has to deal with what we were forced to deal with this past evening.

Around 8pm Sunday (Father's day) my fiancé and I stopped by Union Cemetery to decorate my fathers grave site in celebration of the holiday. My dad passed away unexpectedly a few years back so this time of year is especially tough. He's not with us anymore but we always like to keep his site decorated with cards and his favorite things.

This evening we were decorating as usual when we were approached by the volunteer community patrol guy. At first we didn't know what he was doing as he just parked at my fathers grave (after driving through the lawn at the cemetery) and stared at us. Finally I asked him if he needed any help or if there was anything we could do for him. His response was simply "yea". I proceeded to ask him what we could do for him to which he replied "cemetery closes at sundown (the sun was still up and I have pictures to prove it), leave now or I'll fine you $2500".

We explained to him that it was Father's Day, the sun was still out and that we were simply decorating his grave and hanging a card and that we would be heading out shortly. He replied "I don't care, leave or I'll throw you out of here". My fiancé proceeded to inform him that he was not an officer, we were not b, breaking any laws and that we would be leaving shortly to please give us some privacy. He replied "no, I'll call the cops, you'll see who has authority around here".

Keep in mind up until this point neither of us had said much to him, he just showed up with a horrible attitude and decided to intrude on what is supposed to be a private observance of Father's Day. About this time I called the police myself to report the man who was harassing us and parked to close to our car that it was nearly impossible to get back in. The dispatcher asked us to wait for an officer, so that's what we did.

My fiancé and the community patrol guy had a few words as I was clearly upset and still trying to decorate while he sat there watching my every move and mumbling about having us both arrested. My fiancé told him to back off and see what the police have to say when they arrive. The community patrol VOLUNTEER proceeded to reach for his hip as if he were about to draw a weapon, at this time two Leesburg Officers showed up and he went into statue mode and moved his hand away from his hip.

At this point my fiancé was very angry and was asked to sit in our car while the cops sorted things out. They informed us that we were allowed to be at Union Cemetery then and after dark as we have a family member buried there. They also informed the community patrol officer of this as he was still arguing against their commands. We pulled away to let them deal with him, after about ten minutes they all departed and we finished decorating the grave in privacy like we requested.

This was probably one of the most taxing emotional experiences anyone could ever have and it was completely un called for. Our community patrol guys are there to observe and report, nothing more. They have zero authority and should not be allowed to harass law abiding citizens, much less threaten them with firearms.

We are putting this out there for anyone who will listen, if you have encountered this extremely disgruntled and dangerous individual on a power trip, we urge you to contact his supervisor at Leesburg PD to tell them your story too. We are going to post this on every local forum, send it to every news outlet available and will not stop until this man is removed from our streets where he can never do this to anyone else.

The job of a volunteer patrol officer is to peacefully observe and report anything he thinks may be suspicious or criminal, that is all. These guys are supposed to make us all feel safe, not threaten and harass citizens. Especially citizens in a private cemetery who are mourning the loss of a loved one on Father's Day. Again please help us remove this individual from the Leesburg streets, he is a danger to citizens, children and himself.