Dana Bradbury, as has been reported on this blog, is building a home with his wife in the Cottage Home area -- the first new construction since the Near Eastside neighborhood was declared an historic district in 2007.

Good stuff, yes? A spunky little Eastside enclave that's getting a new lease on life, plus its historic creds. Bradbury thinks so, too. He's been in the Cottage Home area 12 years, and he grew up Downtown, in Lockerbie. Now an IT consultant, he's a product of IPS schools (Tech High) and he is dedicated to urban living. He and his wife are raising their family in Cottage Home.

He doesn't deserve points for any of that, he says. But he does expect to be treated civilly by police officers in the city where he lives, and expects that civility to be extended to all residents.

Bradbury's world view was rattled on April 18, when an elderly neighbor's complaint about a pile of bricks escalated into a visit by a hostile police officer that left Bradbury in handcuffs, feeling threatened with violence inside his own home and rattled to his core about police/citizen relationships.

Now, Bradbury and some of his friends and neighbors are asking not only why this particular police officer took a minor situation and made it much worse, but whether "the (Indianapolis Metropolitcan Police) department does not recognoize the systemic problem some folks feel exists."

Here's an abbreviated account of what happened with Bradbury, his neighbor and the police, as told by Bradbury and submitted in a formal complaint to the police. Bradbury has also sent his concerns to Mayor Greg Ballard, Director of Public Safety Scott Newman, Indiana Rep. John Day, the police of chief and others. Yes, he wants this story to circulate.

"The following incident occurrred Saturday, the 18th of April, 2009, between my neighbor, a police officer and myself, and has damaged the relationship between my community and the police.

"Sometime mid-morning, I had a friend comb the dirt pile behind the house at 1126 East 9th Street (the address of Bradbury's new house) to remove bricks in preparation for grading the yard. I had the bricks stacked ....on grass next to the city alley. They were not blocking traffic and were to be picked up later that day by another neighbor.

"That afternoon, my elderly neighbor to the west, Florida Wilbur, whom I have known for years, emerged from her house to yell at me for dumping the bricks on her yard. She was obviously upset as I tried unsuccessfully to explain the situation to her. As further attempts...were useless, I returned to work on my house."

Twenty minutes later, says Bradbury, the elderly woman's daughter and son-in-law arrived. "Uninvited and unannounced, the son-in-law entered my house and proceeded to yell at me without allowing me to explain...A few minutes later, a police officer arrived."

The officer entered Bradbury's house without "asking permission or introducing himself." Rather than allow Bradbury to explain, says Bradbury, he told Bradbury he had to remove the bricks. When Bradbury tried to say that's what he was planning to do, the officer, he says, accused him of having an attitude.

Bradbury acknowledges he was frustrated and annoyed. But his concern is that "this officer simply could not let the situation settle."

The policeman told Bradbury to step outside the house and show some ID. Bradbury says he asked if he needed ID in his own house, and was told he did. "When I turned to go into the house to retrieve my wallet, he pushed me against the door and handcuffed me." The officer told Bradbury's friends that, when Bradbury tried to enter the house, he was resisting arrest.

When one friend asked the officer for his badge ID, he, too was threatened with arrest.

By this time, several neighbors and friends of Bradbury's had gathered, in addition to those who were there initially helping him. They pleaded with the officer on Bradbury's behalf. Bradbury remembers the officer said that one woman's defense would probably "save me."

Bradbury cannot get over the irony of the confrontation: the police officer would not permit him to talk, yet when Bradbury attempted to retrieve his ID as requested, the officer accused Bradbury of ignoring him. It was a lose-lose situation.

"He allowed communication to completely break down," says Bradbury.

Because Bradbury was never arrested, there is no police incident on file. However, one of Bradbury's friends did get the officer's badge number and they later learned his name -- No. 2126, J. Walters.

"In a very short time, this man damaged the critical communication and trust that must exist between law enforcement and civillians. Now every time I see a police officer...I look the other way, hoping to avoid any interaction."

The incident also destroyed was what formerly a good neighbor relationship with the elderly woman, says Bradbury. "This could have been avoided. The officer had a chance to help us resolve what was essentially a misunderstanding. He could have acted as a mature mediator and calming force to help us resolve the issue in a respectful manner to all..."

An isolated incident? Bradbury has been talking to neighbors and other East Side residents, and he does not believe so. "These sorts of encounters are increasing and are making life worse for all of us, citizens and police alike. The people in our community are becoming more distrustful of the police, and this will lead to more dangerous encounters as the police face an increasingly anxious citizenry."

For the record: Cottage Home is in the Northeast District for IMPD, although it's still referred to as the East District. The neighborhood is bounded by 10th, Oriental and Michigan Streets and I-70.