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Don't these pigs have any real criminals to hunt down????
Condemnation a last-resort tool against Scottsdale hoarders By Laurie Merrill The Republic | azcentral.com Tue May 14, 2013 2:37 PM When authorities last week slapped a “condemned” notice on the home of a man known for hoarding, it was a rarity for Scottsdale. Scottsdale condemns only about two houses a year, said Steve Gallant, the city’s building-inspection supervisor. “Getting someone out of a house has never been our goal,” Gallant said. “Our goal is to keep them in the home. But the home has to be safe.” [Reminds me of how the American military would justify burning down villages in Vietnam, by saying to save the village they had to destroy it.] Neighbors said the condemnation notice was more than a decade in the making. On May 6, officials descended on the stench-filled home in the 8700 block of Sage Drive. They removed 13 large tortoises, 13 exotic birds and a dog. [If Howard Mitchell was living there it probably was perfectly OK for him!!! Who cares if these jackbooted messy yard cops don't like the condition of his home. F*** em!!!!] Howard Mitchell, 70, a former doctor, had been hospitalized and wasn’t there to keep officials out. For the first time, authorities saw the way the recluse lived. “The house was uninhabitable,” Gallant said. Officials found no running water, piles of hoarded debris, animal excrement, distressed animals and exposed wires, Gallant said. [Hey, if they are going to seize the guys home for messy yard crimes, they have to demonize him with statements like these, so they don't look like the jackbooted government thugs they are] While officials were there, they smelled smoke in the kitchen, which firefighters quelled. Had no one been inside that day, firefighters would likely have later battled a dangerous blaze, police said. During a recent interview, Gallant and other city officials discussed the difficult decisions officials face when residents complain about neighbors. As a philosophy, the city would rather offer residents social services than oust them from homes. [How sweet! The messy yard cops would rather see him on the dole then condemn his home for messy yard crimes!!! Yea, sure!!!] On a practical level, hoarding is not illegal, so homeowners must violate other codes for the city to cite them. Officials also can’t enter homes without permission and often can’t judge the full extent of problems by viewing the front and back yards. [That's not what they said to me when they broke into my home. It was something like "Look mother f*cker" I got a gun and badge and can do anything I want!!!] Like any homeowner, hoarders have a right to privacy, said Mike Phillips, Scottsdale public-affairs director. If no one answers a knock on a door, officials don’t go in. “As long as they are not hurting themselves or others, we are not going inside,” Phillips said. Inspectors can view properties from public rights of way or the yards of consenting neighbors. Condemning a property is a last resort. [Government tyrants always say that when they terrorize the people they rule] But neighbors, who complained for more than decade about Mitchell, said they were stunned that it took city officials so long to take significant action. “Various members of our family have contacted the city over the years,” neighbor Rich Cleary and his parents said in a March e-mail to a Scottsdale City Council member. Hoarder cited At least once a year, the Cleary family contacted city officials, describing conditions outside Mitchell’s home. Like the rest of the neighbors, they had never been invited inside. At least twice a year, city officials responded to complaints about Mitchell, said Ruan Keagy, the Planning, Neighborhood and Transportation director. “Every time, we went out there and observed a violation,” Keagy said. In 2005, the city cited him for his overgrown front yard. In 2007, officials cited him for overgrowth and for having an inoperable vehicle in his driveway. Both times, Mitchell paid his fines and brought his property up to compliance, said Keagy, describing Mitchell’s problems as “cyclical.” Neighbors said any fixes were temporary at best. Lately, they said, the reeking had gotten worse. “It was the smell of death,” neighbor Ann Sespico said. “You couldn’t be in your backyard.” Scottsdale often refers cases to social-service groups, such as the Police Crisis Intervention Team. Police, Fire and Human Services departments had discussed the Mitchell case, Keagy said. “The bottom line,” Phillips said, “is we want to help people. [Didn't Hitler say the same thing about the Jews???] --------- Hoarder’s pets show signs of neglect The dog, 13 macaws and African greys, and 13 African tortoises the Arizona Humane Society removed from Howard Mitchell’s home show signs of lack of care, spokeswoman Britta Nelson said. The exotic birds were distressed, she said, and the discarded food in their cages was an inappropriate diet. Most of the tortoises are older and huge, she said. They “are not well socialized ... and will hiss at you.” Mitchell faces cruelty-to-animal charges when released from the hospital. He had 10 days to try to reclaim his pets from the Humane Society. As of Monday, he had not done so. [If you ask me the Scottsdale Messy Yard Cops don't want to help this man, but really want to put him in prison for the rest of his life and seize his home for trivial messy yard violations.] |
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