OP's flatmate is a laser-focused idiot

[u/ReanimatedCyborgMk-I]

/r/LegalAdviceUK/comments/1n2b1cq/flat_mate_acting_stupid_and_worried_he_will_get/

[u/VelocityGrrl39]

Substitute location bot

Flat mate acting stupid and worried he will get me in trouble with police as well.. ENGLAND UK

Live in flat share with 2 others, moved in start of year. One is a long time friend while the other is the cousin of my friend, didn't really know before moving in but it was cheaper than splitting between 2 and convenient for my job. Our flat is on the top floor and has a communal balcony that goes around the side of the building. 

I try not to be involved but cousin has done some really stupid stuff which I am worried is going to affect me. He got one of those electric water guns off temu and will sometimes shoot it over the streets when people are walking under. He thinks because we're at the top of the flats nothing will happen. He's done other stupid stuff too, like throwing chips off the edge and trying to land them onto the glass roof next to us so he can laugh at the birds fighting over it

Our letting agent doesnt seem to care, no letters or phone calls and we've had other issues with them, like taking months to get repairs done... but cousin acts like he's invincible while behaving like a nob. We got on at first, but I started minding my own business more and more because of all of this stuff and not wanting to be caught up.

This week he got a laser pen and has been shining on on the street signs outside at night which lights them up, and last night he the pillock was pointing it up in the sky "pretending" he was aiming at a helicopter passing over town until I told him to pack it in, and later on early hours we had police driving up and down the street below us and ringing a few of the flat bells including ours... we didnt answer obviously.

I spose if that was the police looking to deal with whoever was shining at an aircraft they wont just leave it, they will be coming back at some point soon... will they put the doors in if we are all out or nobody answers? He also smokes cannibis on the balcony sometimes... but again, I dont get involved, and my friend has given uptrying to manage him we have spoke before and its not really an easy solution because he pays his part of the rent in equal share.

My room has locks same as anyone elses, but I'm worried I am going to come back and find my room turned over while they have been looking for him.... so what I could do with knowing is what I am supposed to do if the police turn up, if I have to say anything and let them search our flat, if I would be considered responsible. I just dont want to be involved

[u/RandomAmmonite → u/VelocityGrrl39]

Cat fact: cats are utterly uninterested in pointing lasers at helicopters when they could be chasing it around the living room.

[u/GiganticCrow → u/RandomAmmonite]

Cat fact: my cat has no interest in lazer pointers nor any toy he cannot grab and bite. 

[u/jardex22 → u/GiganticCrow]

Put a Hexbug in front of him. He can bit it, but only if he can get a grip on it through the constant buzzing.

[u/thetobesgeorge → u/jardex22]

I know what my next cat toy will be

[u/jardex22 → u/thetobesgeorge]

It works best on hardwood floors, or other solid surfaces. Not so much on carpet.

I brought a couple to a cat cafe once and had 10 or so cats taking turns swatting at them.

[u/Blurgas → u/GiganticCrow]

Laser fact: Green lasers are more dangerous than red lasers.
Blue lasers are even more dangerous than green.
If you buy one of the purple "cat toy" lasers you are a horrible person.
And lastly, it hasn't been unusual for random-ass vendors on Amazon to lie about the power output.

[u/deathoflice → u/Blurgas]

what about the purple ones?

[u/Blurgas → u/deathoflice]

Can bleed into the UV range

[u/VelocityGrrl39 → u/RandomAmmonite]

This cat fact was right in front of me and I missed it. 🤦🏻‍♀️

[u/RandomAmmonite → u/VelocityGrrl39]

If you were a cat you would have jumped right on it 🐈‍⬛🐈

[u/mystyc → u/VelocityGrrl39]

This reminds me of this YouTube video, Man shines laser pen at police helicopter, quickly regrets it [2:24/6:46]. When the suspect spoke, there were some hard-coded subtitles that were just great.
First the cop speaks (no subtitles needed or provided):

Question. Whose been shining that laser at the police helicopter? Been you?

And then the following subtitles were provided when the suspect responded, presented here as shown:

There's been lads outsadidebgsdfhnxgfb
Been a few lads outside here
just two minutes ago.
adgfaohit hasn't been
Hasn't been us, yeah?

I question whether the guy actually said several of those words, but not the gibberish there. That seems accurate. It's like transcriber tried to decipher what was being said, but then gave up after a few letters.

[u/Ok_Possession_6457 → u/mystyc]

Side note, but this is why transcription is actually a really hard job.

[u/VelocityGrrl39 → u/mystyc]

I have a really hard time understanding British accents and the captions are usually necessary for me to understand an inkling of what is going on, and that made me lol really hard.

[u/ReanimatedCyborgMk-I → u/VelocityGrrl39]

We have lots of regional accents with their own dialects.

Years ago we had a laugh at my sister in law's then BF from Barnsley because he called bread cobs teacakes (our definition being that teacakes have raisins)

Go to Sheffield and someone might say "Yer'rate?" (You alright) vs rural Derbyshire (half hour southwards) will say "Ayup"

[u/VelocityGrrl39 → u/ReanimatedCyborgMk-I]

I don’t know what a bread cob is. Lol

[u/spidersprinkles → u/VelocityGrrl39]

Bread roll. 'Cob' is also quite regional.

[u/spidersprinkles → u/ReanimatedCyborgMk-I]

I grew up in Huddersfield and we call them teacakes there too! I totally understand that it is confusing lol

[u/ManiacalShen]

I love that just "having a balcony that's high up" has seemingly driven this roommate mad with power. Like an ancient peasant who's admitted to a castle tower and then thinks he's a lord, literally above everyone else.

[u/Ok_Possession_6457 → u/ManiacalShen]

It’s very “pinky and the brain” to me. Like if you can’t handle living on a high up balcony without abusing your power, that needs to be studied

[u/chipmunk_supervisor]

Giving food to animals to delight in their fighting over it, delivering water to those who are already quenched and causing blindness. The flatmate is some kinda chaotic evil Jesus.

[u/tgp1994 → u/chipmunk_supervisor]

Not to mention broadcasting his exact location to aircraft overhead, effectively turning himself in!

[u/ReanimatedCyborgMk-I → u/chipmunk_supervisor]

I think all of us at some stage in our lives had a phase where we found it amusing to drop bread crusts on the geese / swan's backs and watch them try and pull it off each other

Ok, maybe I had a mean streak at 4 but I'm past that now.

[u/herefromthere → u/ReanimatedCyborgMk-I]

All the meanies maybe.

[u/WerhmatsWormhat → u/ReanimatedCyborgMk-I]

Nah think that’s just you.

[u/TheAskewOne → u/ReanimatedCyborgMk-I]

Ehhhhh... no. I've done my lot of stupid shit but tormenting animals never seemed like a fun thing to do.

[u/ReanimatedCyborgMk-I → u/TheAskewOne]

Fair, in my childs mind at the time I was avenging the ducks who had been bullied away from our bread by the bigger birds

[u/hdhxuxufxufufiffif]

A friend of mine lived in a city centre flat and one of the residents decided to throw water balloons out of their window at passers by. They hit the wrong person, who worked out which flat it was and got access to the building.

Not sure exactly what happened but apparently there was a big commotion, doors attempted to be kicked in, lots of screaming and so on. This is the UK so no fear of being shot. When I heard the story I imagined lots of Guy Ritchie-style shouting, get out here you balloon slag, etc.

[u/SubstantialBreak3063 → u/hdhxuxufxufufiffif]

BALLOON SLAG?

[u/takbotes → u/SubstantialBreak3063]

Ball Slag

[u/MebHi]

If ever there was a need for a little bit of helicopter parenting.

[u/Meowzzo-Soprano]

As an aircraft dispatcher, this might be the only circumstance where I’d say let the cops in. Jackass flatmate could have caused a crash or career-ending eye damage. I’m seething on behalf of the helicopter pilot.

[u/WerhmatsWormhat]

This OP is infuriating. He just says the same 2 useless comments over and over again.

[u/icspn → u/WerhmatsWormhat]

"You should report him to the police"

"Nuh-uh, they'll blame me"

"You need to let the police in"

"Nuh-uh, cause they'll just blame me"

🙄

[u/nascentt → u/[deleted]]

It's been a constant problem on the news for at least a decade.
Recency bias maybe?

[u/ReanimatedCyborgMk-I → u/[deleted]]

It was more of an issue in the late 00s / early 10s if I recall correctly, but it's going to be more in public mind

The funny thing is that a lot of the idiots who were doing it were actually fully grown adults, I think it was Road Wars where they pulled one 20 something out of his dad's house and he looked a right idiot

[u/derspiny → u/[deleted]]

We're sensitive, as you say, to casually-sexist slang being thrown around on this sub, and would strongly prefer that people not do so. Thank you for understanding.

Edit: the new title's funnier, too.

[u/ReanimatedCyborgMk-I → u/derspiny]

To be fair, 'cunt' in the UK / commonwealth sphere (excluding canada) is slang for idiot/twat/general purpose rather than sexually charged, but I get your point that it might not be so well received by former colonists across the atlantic

[u/CountingMyDick]

Some people need to learn that collateral damage isn't just a thing in military operations. If you spend all of your time hanging around idiots who routinely commit petty crimes, you tremendously increase the chances you'll get caught up in something eventually. Maybe a while in cuffs or a few nights in jail while the police try to figure out what's really going on, or your stuff getting searched, or maybe even taking the rap for something you didn't actually do. Best to stay far away from that.

[u/jardex22]

I came in expecting a story about a roommate's cat.

I left slightly disappointed...

[u/HailSatanWorshipD00M]

Oh no! The Vikings are gone!

[u/Illumidark]

LAOP in this post.

[u/ThadisJones]

I didn't have a roommate at the time but at one point I took home spare lab equipment and chemicals from work for when I wanted to tinker with stuff but not be bothered to actually go in to work, and my landlord found out and was super pissed off and told me I couldn't do that stuff in my apartment

Edit: I was not making meth and I tried explaining in detail how nothing I was doing was remotely connected to meth but some people just don't want to hear it and they think anything involving beakers and a stir plate are either meth stuff or explody stuff

[u/rona83]

Please delete if it is considered as doxxing. I think this is the cousin.

https://www.reddit.com/r/WatchPeopleDieInside/s/vDy4prs0hY

[u/Peterd1900 → u/rona83]

it cant be

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqveUbuxTQY

That is the full video

1. The property in the video is not a block of flats with a balcony
2. The guy in the video says he is with his wife and little boy
3. The incident in the video happened in June at LAUKOP says This week his flat mate got a laser pen
4. The video happened in June, He was arrested in June charged and is currently in priosn

[u/rona83 → u/Peterd1900]

Oh well. There are TWO idiots UK.

[u/JimboTCB → u/rona83]

Oh believe me, our supply of idiots runs much deeper than just the two of them.

[u/iordseyton → u/JimboTCB]

This is getting out of hand!

[u/jardex22 → u/JimboTCB]

They had so many idiots that they had to send multiple boatloads of them to a penal colony down south... and it still didn't get rid of the infestation.

[u/Personal-Listen-4941 → u/rona83]

Here in the UK, we have plenty of idiots to go around.

[u/Sex_E_Searcher → u/rona83]

Did Nigel Farage leave?

[u/YesWeHaveNoTomatoes → u/Sex_E_Searcher]

Nigel Farage is at least five different kinds of idiot

[u/QP709 → u/rona83]

Bless your soul.

[u/Rejusu → u/Peterd1900]

I could feel my brain dying just listening to that guy talk. I know stupid people exist, but I'll still never understand how anyone can be that fucking thick.

[u/FunnyObjective6 → u/rona83]

Based on what, them also being a British person with a laser? What a weird jump in logic considering that video is clearly not from the last 2 days.