A Mysterious Man Standing in the Middle of a Shopping Street: Is It Okay to Call the Police on Someone Who Is Doing Nothing?

The other day, I was walking through a shopping street near a train station.

A strange-looking man was standing in the middle of the road.

His clothes were in tatters, and he looked unmistakably homeless. His eyes were vacant, and he was simply standing there, doing nothing.

For some reason, he also had one hand raised.

He was not waving to anyone or trying to hail a taxi. He was just standing there in a daze with one hand in the air.

The people around him were clearly suspicious too, walking at a distance as if to avoid him.

I did the same.

The first thing that came to mind when I saw him was footage of people addicted to fentanyl that I had seen in overseas news reports.

In the footage, they seemed to lose consciousness while still standing because of the effects of a powerful drug.

I could hardly imagine encountering someone addicted to fentanyl in a residential area in Japan, but his appearance was strangely similar.

Perhaps he had consumed a large amount of alcohol, or perhaps he was ill. I had no idea.

All I knew was that he did not look as though he was in a normal state.

I quickly put some distance between us.

A wise man does not court danger, as the saying goes.

Is It Okay to Call the Police on Someone Who Is Doing Nothing?

After leaving the area, a question occurred to me.

Would it have been all right to call the police in a situation like that?

The man was not bothering anyone or acting violently.

He was merely standing in the middle of the road with one hand raised.

I could not imagine that being prohibited by law.

But his eyes were vacant, and it was doubtful whether he was even aware of his surroundings.

He might suddenly collapse or wander into traffic. More than anything, he looked unwell enough to make me worry about his condition.

When I looked into it later, I learned that the police do more than arrest criminals. They also have a role in protecting intoxicated people and those who are unable to protect themselves.

In other words, even if no crime has occurred, it can still be appropriate to contact the police depending on the circumstances.

In Japan, you call 110 if there is an imminent danger. If you suspect a medical emergency such as impaired consciousness, you call 119. For a non-emergency police consultation, there is also the #9110 hotline.

I see. You do not have to wait until an incident occurs before calling the police.

But How Would I Explain It?

The problem is what to say when you actually make the call.

“There is a suspicious-looking person in the shopping street.”

“What is he doing?”

“He is standing in the middle of the road.”

“Is that all?”

“He has one hand raised.”

“Is he signaling to someone?”

“No, I am not really sure.”

“Anything else?”

“His eyes look vacant.”

…None of it sounds particularly decisive.

Adding, “He somehow looks like someone addicted to fentanyl,” would probably make the conversation even more complicated.

Still, if I were speaking to the police, it would probably be better to describe the specific situation—his vacant eyes and the fact that he had been standing in the middle of the road for some time—rather than simply saying that he looked suspicious.

In the End, I Did Nothing

In this case, I simply walked past him.

The people around him were also keeping their distance, but I do not know whether anyone called the police or what happened to the man afterward.

Still, the experience taught me that you can consult the police even when no crime has occurred.

It would be wrong to report someone merely because of how suspicious they look. But if someone is clearly in a dazed or semiconscious state, there may be good reason to make a call simply to have someone check on their safety.

Even so, what on earth was going on with that man?

Was he drunk, unwell, or simply an eccentric person?

There is no way to know now.

The only thing I know for certain is that I still cannot come up with a single explanation for why he had one hand raised.

Perhaps even he did not know.