“It’s not for everybody, it’s not even for me.” – The Roof Ninja
I sometimes watch police bodycam videos for amusement – someone gets pulled over for a minor infraction, then escalates the encounter into multiple felonies and jail time.
This one intrigued me.
Midland Michigan Police were called to evict a woman who had been living on a grocery store rooftop in a sign access space for about a year. From the YouTube description:
On April 23, 2024, police were dispatched to the Family Fare grocery store in Midland, MI, to investigate a suspicious incident. The store manager reported that a contractor working on the roof had stumbled upon a 34-year-old woman, known as the ‘roof ninja,’ residing inside the store’s rooftop sign. The sign had been transformed into a mini-apartment, containing items such as a printer, pantry, desk, and coffee maker. It was subsequently discovered that she had been residing there for quite a while.
The policewoman was impressed, noting that the attic was clean, and she could smell a whiff of garlic. The Roof Ninja offered the officers some non-alcoholic ginger root beer before leaving most of her possessions behind in the attic. The police presumably issued a trespass (that if she returned to the property she’d be arrested) and her possessions were ultimately returned.
Full video:
https://youtu.be/osTeKSTvtC8?si=91JjrkvAB3FHb7Zh
Short version:
https://youtu.be/R28ZSY2Sc2A?si=NUE1UjX37TDwZ6fK
Tacky Raccoons 
I immediately loved this story and followed it!
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After posting I found that the story had made national news. Most of the stories were echos, appeared to focus on the fact that she was homeless. They presumed she needed financial help even though she had a job and turned down $10K of donations. She’s not helpless – she’s rogue!
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exactly!
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Rogue? In the good ole days of our forefathers she’d be hailed (if she was a man) she’d be termed that I guess. in today’s world I’d say she is savvy, creative, resourceful, inventive, a trend-setter (you watch), shows great aplomb….what we now call ‘thinking outside the box’. I applaud her. A Woman, worthy of that appellate!
Was she trespassing? Likely. Was she causing distress etc? No. Vive la Femme!
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Maybe rogue wasn’t the best word choice, but I meant it as a compliment, better than “feral”. Somewhere in the vid someone mentioned that she owns a car, but who the hell wants to live in a parking space? She has some great urban survival skills.
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I wonder how she got up and down? I don’t think that ladder was there all the time.
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The police asked her, and she replied, “I prefer not to say.” Then she asked them how they got up.
I’m guessing mountain climbing gear.
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