Lively man the definition of polite Canadian in angry confrontation with neighbour

“I woke up at 2:30 in the morning to the sound of a car revving its engine very loudly,” Reed said in an email. “I’m talking, jet-plane-in-your-backyard loud for the third time that night. I said to my wife, 'That’s it, I have to get that vehicle on camera.' ”

When asked why he would do something so dangerous instead of calling police, Reed said he felt he had no choice. He had contacted police in March about the snow machine, but after a lull, the incidents resumed.

“Since he continued to drive like this several times a week, I felt the police needed proof before they could do something about it,” Reed said. “We have had disturbances for weeks now (during the night.) For the month of March, it had been a snow machine that would drive very fast through the neighbourhood, revving its engine. I heard the snow machine shut down one evening and was surprised to discover the person driving it lived so close.

“There’s not much sense calling and reporting that there is a noisy vehicle going through the neighbourhood without any details, so I decided I would film the vehicle.”

A call seeking comment from Greater Sudbury Police had not been returned as of Friday afternoon. In the video, which he uploaded to his Youtube channel, Reed records the car, and the sound of the engine revving can be heard as he begins walking up the street to confront the neighbour.

He said he wasn't expecting trouble, and thought the neighbour would be contrite and that would be the end of it.

“I knew they were younger guys partying and I assumed they would just apologize and say they would keep it down,” Reed said. “When the younger fellow came out of the house screaming for me to get off his property, the thought definitely crossed my mind that he could get physically violent with me. It wasn’t a great feeling that’s for sure, but I didn’t let it concern me too much.”

What's remarkable about the video is how calm Reed stays, even as the irate neighbour screams obscenities and tries to intimidate him. In the thread, several people comment the video has a "Trailer Park Boys" feel to it at various points, with the behaviour of the neighbour reminiscent of the Canadian TV show set in a fictional trailer park in Nova Scotia.

At one point, for example, the neighbour screams, “Who the f—k are you?” As Reed tries to explain, the neighbour responds, “I don't care who the f—k your are!”

Reed, a native of North Bay, has lived in Lively for three years and teaches computer course at Canadian Career College. He loves his neighborhood, and said the incident is out of character with what he has experienced since he moved here.

He's gotten a lot of support on YouTube since he posted the video, with many commentators praising Reed.

“I have had several neighbours comment that they appreciate my efforts to talk with the lads and have them quiet down,” Reed said. “I have also received phone calls at home (from neighbours I don’t even know) thanking me.”

So how did he stay so calm and polite in the face of such an angry tirade? Reed said he's learned it's usually the best way to handle such a situation.

“If you scream at people, they’re not going to listen to you,” he said. “I try and look at it from all points of view. They have a right to party, as long as they are doing it in a respectful way. So I just wanted to let them know they weren’t being respectful at that time of night. The more sober of the two was polite, so there wasn’t any reason for my demeanour to change.”

After the encounter, Reed said the noise started up again around 4 a.m., so he ended up calling police to formally complain. An officer came to his house this week to tell him the man's mother was trying to force him to remove the video from YouTube.

“But (the officer) assured me that she was told there was nothing illegal about my actions when posting the video,” Reed said. “As I explained to him, my intent at the time of posting the video was to inform the neighbours.”

The video can be seen at www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_knsQNlNQw. Or do a search for 'kid's got no respect.'