Police chief on "code enforcement"

Here is the police chief's response to my column against "code enforcement" (with my comments in parentheses):

Some residents have bridled at the enforcement of the city codes while others
insist that it's long overdue.

("some residents", or only me?)

We've all seen cities in which there were no minimum standards for neighbors to
observe, where junked cars cause traffic hazards in the streets,...

(No, I have never seen a free city such as you describe. Where are these places? Why is a "junked car" more of a hazard than a 2011 Mercedes parked in the street? I can easily drive around either one, just as I do all the cop cars parked in the street at that one particular house in town. Why are these parked cop cars not a hazard to traffic?)

...where buildings lacking in repair drag down the property values of whole
neighborhoods,...

(So, buy them, fix them up, and raise the property values without using the threat of coercion against the owner. If they are dragging down property values, they should be very affordable. Right?)

...where mosquitoes breed disease,...

(I already addressed the real problems like this in my original article. Using voluntary cooperation rather than brute force.)

...and where homeless animals wander in hunger and misery through their short
and violent lives.

(So let people shoot or adopt the "homeless animals", once again solving the problem without spending one dime of stolen "tax" money or using coercion against anyone. If the animals truly are homeless they are the property of no one and these acts would not violate anyone's rights the way the city's methods do.)

A community like that is not were anyone would choose to live and not something
that the residents of Farwell would ever accept.

(Really? If that's true who are these "some residents" who have "bridled" over your enforcement emphasis? A free community, free of tax parasites who feel it is OK for them to trespass and violate property rights in others ways is exactly where I would choose to live and what I would enthusiastically embrace, not just "accept". Don't assume you understand me, or can speak for me, you tyrant.)

The codes of any city are not designed to establish a dictatorial rule over
citizens, nor would there be any benefit to the city if they did.

(They may not be "designed to establish a dictatorial rule", but that is the real world result, isn't it? And there is a benefit to "the city" at the expense of the residents: money and power. You wouldn't be doing it if this were not the case. And don't lie and claim that isn't true.)

Farwell's officers are only attempting to perform the minimum duty of any
government, that is to ensure that every individual can live in peace and
harmony with his neighbors.

(That is NOT "the minimum duty of any government"; protecting the rights of everyone from being violated by anyone is the minimum duty AND also the maximum duty. It is the ONLY legitimate duty possible for any government. This "code enforcement" nonsense actually violates that duty. Plus, using coercion and threats of violence are not ways to promote peace and harmony. Respecting property rights, and all other rights, of all individuals, even when they do things that are within their rights but that you don't approve of, are the only way to ensure peace and harmony. Your rights end where someone else's begin, no matter what you want. Your enforcement results in suspicion, discord, and could even result in actual violence.)

The citizen who finds a neighbor is intruding onto his property through his
failure to observe even the minimum level of repair or hygiene that might be
expected should not have to deal with the problem himself.

(Why not deal with it himself? That's his job, and no one else's, if it is something that should legitimately be dealt with. Some people might just need to grow up and either take responsibility for themselves or live with their cowardice. And a big part of being a responsible human is accepting that there are some things that are absolutely none of your business.)

Residents can be assured that code enforcement is intended to accomplish no
more than that level of law and order and mutual respect that are the foundation
of any happy community.

(No thank you. I have seen the results of "law and order" and the mass graves that result, and I want no part of it. There can be no mutual respect as long as one party thinks programs such as this are acceptable and OK.)

Farwell Police Chief LK [name withheld to protect the guilty]