I Can't Afford A Lawyer, But I Think I Need One: Possible Police Harassment

Location: Texas.

My family and I have been experiencing ongoing harassment from law enforcement and the courts for years, but this past 4 weeks has caused my patience to thin a little too much.

Our neighbors, who are friends with the new police chief, complained to the city about our yard. The judge ordered us to burn off the fallen wood, but when we complied (which, burns are legal in our county even without the judge's instructions/permission), those same neighbors complained again (about the smoke being unhealthy). The police chief then issued the warrant three days before my dad's deadline issued by the judge, arrested my father, and called the fire department to extinguish the burn. The officer who came to arrest my Pa said he disagreed with the situation, clarifies there were no burn bans in effect, but said he was worried he'd be fired for voicing his disagreement to the chief.

In September, the police came to our home multiple times a day for weeks demanding my uncle's location and threatening us. I was personally threatened with charges if I didn’t give them information I didn’t have (not for obstruction, but for charges like trespassing and auto theft). In the end, my father was arrested on warrants that belonged to my uncle; however, he was released the next day after we informed them we had contacted a lawyer. My father’s truck was impounded without cause, but both the truck and my dad were released without need of payment. The lawyer was a family friend, and he said we had cause for at least harassment charges (but it would take a long time since it involved judges and investigating the police department as a whole). One of the officers (the same one who voiced opposition to the burn arrest) told me to look into getting legal help since the chief ordered them to do a search and seizure of the truck without a warrant (he said this was a civil rights violation).

The police have also threatened to charge me for parking my truck in my own yard because neighbors complained about the aesthetics. We own our property outright and do not live in an HOA, so I’m not sure what legal grounds they would have for such charges.

I’ve also been a victim of domestic violence where police refused to take my report or press the charges I requested. The police chief even threatened to “put someone else’s charges” on me if I didn’t leave my home and stop requesting they arrest the assailant (until I threatened legal action). The judge involved in this incident had pocketed bribe money to "erase" this arrest (I witnessed this personally since me and my assailant were both summoned to her office to talk everything out).

Friends and neighbors have experienced similar intimidation (including fines, false charges, and even being forced to sign over inherited property or face prison time on felony drug charges). It appears the new police chief is stacking fines and using her position to pressure old classmates she doesn’t like out of the county. She has been caught/found sleeping in the local gas station's gaming room while on duty (we only have one cop on duty at a time since the town is so small). Overall, it feels like revenge from someone who is disregarding the role of the badge. We don't know what to do since all of us witnessing this are likely to be disregarded as "witnesses" given our relationship/friendships with each other.

Unfortunately, our county doesn’t have an internal affairs department, and legal fees are too expensive. I'm not sure what to do. My father is sleeping in jail right now because he followed the judge's instructions. I plan on calling the judge tomorrow to discuss things, but I think it's getting to a point where we have to sell my grandfathers house and move towns. We wouldn't be the first ones chased out of town, but I'd rather take whatever legal action I can to make a last stand for our family home. I just don't know how to afford what is likely to be a large, drawn-out legal battle.

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edit: sorry for editing. I originally wrote this after my dad was taken to jail, so my mind was jumbled and I typed "the judge" instead of "the chief" in one (now edited) line.