I work at a coffee shop in a small down on the coast of California. Recently there has been a middle aged man coming into the shop and verbally harassing my co workers. He has been banned from other businesses around town for similar kinds of behavior, including ours now apparently. There are more stories about him stalking some people and just generally showing a lot of red flags.

He came by today while I was working and didn't come inside, just was pacing the street. My co-workers got worked up and were talking about how they will call the police if he comes in. They always say "I typically don't advocate for calling the police but..." or "Fuck the police", but in situations like this where there isn't even an apparent emergency or something serious going down, they instantly resort to the police without a question. I am curious how people who believe in police and prison abolition feel in these cases. I hate the fucking cops and am in full support of abolition, but I just don't know how to act or feel in a situation like this in a small town where we don't have a lot of options. There aren't any alternative crisis intervention lines to call; there are emergency hotlines, but they don't send anyone to help. Does anyone have any input on this?