Archive for the 'Police' Category

Via reader Mack, this from The Rutherford Institute, and written up at Richmond-Times Dispatch.

A Hopewell man who filed a federal lawsuit against a Hopewell police officer who had him arrested and detained at a peaceful public protest while armed with a rifle and pistol has settled the case.

The lawsuit was resolved to the “mutual satisfaction” of both sides, the two parties said in separate statements. Specific terms of the settlement were not disclosed; the lawsuit was formally dismissed last week.

The nine-page complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Richmond in 2014 said Brandon Howard drew the attention of Hopewell police on Aug. 26, 2013, when he was seen displaying a 6-by-4-foot sign that read “Impeach Obama” on an Interstate 295 overpass.

He had an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle slung over his shoulder on a strap and a .380-caliber Bersa pistol holstered on his waist.

Howard had been protesting lawfully for about 30 minutes when a Hopewell police officer pulled up to the area on the overpass where Howard was standing and parked his vehicle. Three to five police cruisers arrived a short time later with their emergency lights flashing, the suit said.

Six to eight officers then got out of their cars with their guns drawn and commanded Howard to drop his sign and get on the ground with his hands spread above his head, the complaint said.

After Howard immediately complied, Sgt. John Hunter stated to Howard, “What do you think you are doing threatening people on my interstate?” Howard replied that he had not threatened anyone and was simply exercising his First Amendment and Second Amendment rights.

To that, Hunter said, “Not on my overpass you’re not,” according to the suit.

The complaint says Hunter then handcuffed Howard, with Hunter advising Howard that he was being detained but not arrested after Howard asked if he was under arrest. Howard was placed in a police cruiser and taken to the Hopewell police station without anyone informing him of his legal rights or providing him “with any basis or authorization for his arrest and detention,” the suit says.

Howard spent the following 90 minutes in an interrogation room, with handcuffs still binding his hands behind his back, but was never questioned during his detention, the suit says.

He was then told he was free to go, his weapons were returned, and he was driven back to the interstate overpass.

The complaint said the police violated Howard’s First Amendment right to free speech, Second Amendment right to bear arms, and Fourth Amendment right to be free from a groundless arrest when they confronted him with guns drawn and ordered him to the ground on the unfounded belief that Howard was violating the law by being in public with a rifle slung over his shoulder.

Howard’s suit sought “nominal compensatory and punitive damages in an amount to be determined at trial.”

The settlement “resolved the lawsuit to the mutual satisfaction of the parties,” according to a news release emailed Friday by the Rutherford Institute, a nonprofit civil liberties advocacy group in Charlottesville that represented Howard.

Hunter said in a statement Saturday: “The parties have resolved this matter to their mutual satisfaction. As a gun owner, avid hunter and former Marine, I, John Hunter, respect and honor citizens’ Second Amendment rights. Similarly, as a citizen and former candidate for public office, I respect the rights of citizens to express themselves and engage in political speech as protected by the First Amendment.

“It was not my intention to compromise Mr. Howard’s rights under the Constitution. As a police officer, my number one priority was the safety of the public.”

Breitbart:

Police confiscated firearms from 74-year-old Ralph Gilbertsen, although he is not a felon or domestic abuser, and he has never been ruled dangerous to others because of mental illness.

Gilbertsen, who lives in Richfield, Minnesota, believes in Bigfoot and UFOs. And while he does receive treatment for a “mild” mental health disorder, the Star Tribune reports that a psychologist sent a letter to the judge in the case, stating that “Gilbertsen is compliant with his medications and poses no danger to himself or others.”

A former Marine, Gilbertsen is also a concealed carry permit holder, which means he passed the in-depth background check required to obtain such permit, and he was the proud owner of three handguns, until the police knocked on his door.

He came to the attention of authorities after individuals at his apartment complex reported that he constantly talks about the government watching him; he particularly voices concerns that the CIA is spying on him. The Hennepin Community Outreach for Psychiatric Emergencies (COPE) called police about Gilbertsen after his apartment managers expressed concern about a series of letters he had written on CIA spying. COPE handles roughly 13,000 cases–only a third of which are face-to-face–and they asked police to escort them to Gilbertsen’s apartment in 2015. His guns were subsequently confiscated.

Richfield Police Department spokesman Lt. Mike Flaherty said, “Officers are often forced to make snap judgments about an individual’s mental health.” He added, “The street cops nowadays have to be a psychologist. People don’t wear nameplates saying ‘paranoid schizophrenic.’ So the police have to go in there and make judgment calls.”

Lt. Mike Flaherty is a paid, professional liar.  Officers aren’t forced to do anything of the sort he mentions.  There is no law requiring police officers to make any kind of judgment concerning mental health, much less “snap” judgments.  Street cops don’t have to be psychologists – he is lying and he just made that up to sound intelligent and defend his officers.

No, people don’t wear nameplates saying anything, because that would be illegal and stupid.  Besides, mental health is not an indicator of propensity to violence – so says the mental health profession of which the officer fancies himself and his officers.  So I guess they aren’t such great mental health professionals after all.  Perhaps they should stick with policing rather than trying to add to their jobs by doing illegal things like confiscating property that isn’t theirs.

The victim isn’t a felon.  He isn’t a domestic abuser.  His property was stolen – stolen by the very people who are supposed to hunt those sorts of criminals.  Throw the cops in jail with the general prison population, give him his guns back, and fire all of his colleagues who helped him get away with this theft.

News from Massachusetts:

LOWELL — Police confiscated four replica guns from a 22-year-old Lowell man Saturday afternoon in the first instance of the new city ban on such weapons being enforced, according to police.

Officers were called to the area behind CVS at 1815 Middlesex St., Saturday at 2:53 p.m., after getting calls reporting a man who appeared to have a rifle, according to police.

Officers found Sharif Eltobgi and two females, whose identities were not released, on the train tracks that run under the Rourke Bridge, and Eltobgi had four weapons that are banned by the new ordinance, according to Capt. Timothy Crowley.

Police say what the rifle callers saw was actually a pellet gun, and that Eltobgi also had two BB handguns and a starter pistol that are covered by the ban.

“This incident is a prime example of the alarm that can be caused to the public when confronted with a subject armed with a replica firearm,” Crowley wrote in a press release.

The City Council passed the ban on replica guns with a 7-2 vote at its meeting on Feb. 9 to address police concerns about the confusion that can be caused by such weapons.

William Taylor is responsible for this, the very same one who wants to review your essay before approving your handgun permit.

This is the Lowell police at their finest, protecting the public from Islamic terrorism and Hispanic and Latino drug gangs.  Don’t you feel safer?

And how long is Smith & Wesson going to stay in this horrible state before relocating to America?

News from the great Northeast:

First came the rat — and then, the rat-a-tat-tat.

A Harlem postal cop, startled early Thursday by a rambling rodent outside the W. 125th St. post office, accidentally fired his gun while investigating a building alarm, sources said.

Both the rat and U.S. Postal Service Inspector Neville Harper escaped injury in the 12:35 a.m. shooting that came after the rodent bolted suddenly from a pile of garbage, the sources said.

Harper was doing a perimeter search of the building with his service revolver drawn when the rat appeared and the gun went off, sources said.

I’ve heard of those guns that just “go off” with no one pulling the trigger, mostly from cops under investigation when their gun “goes off.”  But in this case, this particular gun “went off” when the rat bolted.  That must be some sensitive trigger (trigger pressure of, oh, I don’t know, a nano-Pascal?).  Those changes in air pressure when things move, you know.

And remember kids.  Only the cops can be trusted with guns.

USA Today:

The owner of a dog shot and killed by police in 2012 will receive a $262,000 settlement from Commerce City in Colorado, according to a city spokeswoman.

On Nov. 24 2012, three Commerce City Police officers responded to reports of a “loose, vicious dog.” Police said Chloe, a 3-year-old dog, aggressively ran toward the officers. During the encounter, Officer Robert Price, shot and killed the dog.

The dog was first shocked with a stun gun and then shot multiple times. A neighbor took cellphone video of Chloe’s death, which was a key piece of evidence in the case.

The viral video showed Chloe cowering and trying to escape.

Price was found not guilty of animal cruelty charges in 2013.

The Animal Law Center says the $262,000 settlement is one of the largest of its kind.

Chloe’s owner, Gary Branson, was out of town when she was shot.

Okay, I have several comments after reading this, and after watching that horrible video in full.  First, dog owners should make arrangements for the dog at all times.  They are part of the family.  A loose dog when you’re out of town is unacceptable and irresponsible.

That said, the police are obviously guilty of animal cruelty and the one doing the shooting should have gone to prison just like Michael Vick.

The officer in the very first part of the video is an overblown, bloated fat ass, and doesn’t need to be on the police force anywhere.  The female officer is worthless, and doesn’t understand how to handle the dog.  As I’ve said before, “Voice commands are critical, and voice inflection, tonality and timbre (or tone color) make or break your communications with the animal.  Learn it.  Practice it.  Do it.  Take time with it, and if you live in a dense urban area where you cannot work with farm animals, travel on the weekends to a place where you can, or move permanently.  It’s that important.”

Within five minutes, I would have been petting Chloe and she would have been laying on her back with me scratching her belly.  The officers are hicks and goobers.  They know nothing.  They are worthless.

Just as bad as it pertains to future engagements, the final officer who shot Chloe – Robert Price – used his handgun with one hand, the other hand flailing wildly behind him.  No kidding.  Watch the video.  No, no, Robert.  Do it this way.

What the hell are they teaching these boys in Colorado?  Are they teaching them anything at all?  My God, I would hate to meet up with these morons, any one of them.  To me, they seem dangerous in their ignorance.  The dog was no danger.  The only danger was because of the idiot cops that day.  I hope all the cops in the Commerce City Police Department aren’t that stupid.

A final word about the settlement.  I hate it when the city suffers the financial harm for malicious acts of their cowardly police officers, but maybe with enough huge settlements of this sort, cities will begin to hire people who can think.

Robert Price should go to prison, and he certainly shouldn’t be allowed to have a gun.  How do you feel about costing your city $262K, Robert?  Pretty bad?  You should.  How do you feel about killing Chloe, Robert?  Pretty bad?  You should.

The Des Moines Register:

A Des Moines police officer accidentally fired his gun inside an office at the Des Moines International Airport while he was practicing his “quick draw.”

Officer Brady Pratt, 23, was inside an office at the airport Wednesday around 4 p.m. when he drew his gun from his holster to practice “his quick draw skills,” according to a police report. Pratt, who joined the force in 2013, “unknowingly” had his finger on the trigger and fired a round from the gun, the report states.

Another officer, Taylor Olson, witnessed the incident.

The bullet hit a ceiling tile above one of the office doors. It traveled through the wall and out into a hallway, landing in the hallway’s ceiling tile.

No one was in the hallway at the time, and nobody was injured.

Pratt reported the accidental shot to his supervisor, who then notified a lieutenant.

“Discipline is always a possibility when (officers) are negligent. The level will be determined by the circumstances,” said Sgt. Paul Parizek, a spokesman for the department. “There will be a very thorough review.”

Gosh, I hate it when that happens to me.  I remember the last time I was doing that.  I was in a shopping mall, with thousands of people around.  I didn’t shoot anybody, and I hope they go as easy on the cop as they did on me.  The police came and we all laughed, and laughed, and laughed.

SandyDog, who comments:

Anybody with half a brain can out-think a dog, and rare indeed is the dog that’s so vicious that a treat and a few kind words won’t turn it into a friend. As most officers own dogs themselves, only a psychopath would want to shoot one and have it die in agony right in front of him.

Shooting the dog when it was already confined in a cage is the height of needless cruelty, and a clear sign of a twisted mind.

Raw Story:

Police Chief Andrew Spencer resigned this week after it was revealed that he shot and killed an innocent dog that was in a cage and meant no one any harm. To make matters even worse, he took the puppy to a firing range and killed it there because he did not want to deal with finding its home.

Spencer found the dog and managed to get it into a cage using a catcher pole. He then wrote in his report that he had planned to take the dog to a shelter where it would be “destroyed,” but then he got another call about a car accident so he decided to do it himself.

The report said that he had planned to go to “the cheapest vet to destroy the dog at the cost of the city.” However, the report continued “Due to the higher priority call and the imminent destruction of the dog, I decided it was best to destroy the dog and respond to the accident.”

After the fact, Spencer claimed that the dog was charging at people in the neighborhood. However, he said that he did not believe that the dog bit anyone, otherwise he would have had it taken to the vet and tested for rabies.

Also, at the time the dog was shot, it was in a cage and thus not a threat to anyone. If Spencer just had a little bit more patience and compassion, he would have found that the family of the lost puppy was looking all over the town for him. Owner Elizabeth Womack said that her puppy Chase was extremely peaceful and friendly animal.

Womack wrote on her Facebook page how she attempted to contact the police and was lied to on several occasions about the incident. Eventually, she was told by the police Chief that he shot and killed her dog, and that they would be free to identify him if they wanted to go dig him up.

WSBTV.com:

The Clayton County police officer who put an unloaded gun to a recruit’s head and pulled the trigger will be demoted.

Channel 2 Action News learned Office Michael Lowe turned in his sergeant’s badge.

“I think that was a very bad decision,” the department’s interim police chief told Channel 2’s Mark Winne in an exclusive interview.

Chief Mike Register said Lowe will get his department-issued gun back, but soon he will holster it not as a sergeant, but at the rank of officer.

“I can’t tolerate that. I can’t have an instructor that creates an unsafe environment,” Chief Mike Register said. “I personally apologized to each recruit that they were exposed to that.”

The incident in a police academy classroom also led to a loss of Lowe’s instructor status at the department and major rule changes.

In a transcript the sergeant involved says, “At the time I felt that I was doing it for the right reasons, however my execution was very poor.” He added, “I knew that three days later, when I was sitting home. I was going, ‘That was dumb. I should not have done that.’'”

Gosh, I hate it when that happens to me.  I remember the last time I put a gun to someone’s head and pulled the trigger.  It was with one of my own kids.  The family didn’t like it much.  But at least the chief is better off with what happened than “the fam” was with me.  He said he cannot tolerate that, but apparently he can, just not with the guy being paid as much as he was.

Click2Houston.com:

ROSENBERG, Texas –Alonza Gonzalez was turning right near 59 and FM 762 several months ago but just recently received the dash camera video after he filed public records requests.

“Just because I have a handgun on me and a license to carry should not be a big deal, but that is what made it the turning point,” Gonzalez said.

In the video, you can hear Rosenberg Police Officer Schnacky say, “You got your drivers license with you and insurance?” Gonzalez said, “Yeah, what’s the reason you stopped me?”

The officer then said, “I’ll tell you in just a minute.”

Schnacky continued, “You have your handgun with you today? Where is it?” Gonzalez replied, “On me, on my right side.”

At that point, the officer called for backup, seemingly because the driver had a concealed handgun.

When the backup officer arrived, he was told Gonzalez was not being cooperative and then he pulled his gun out of the holster and walked up to the truck window.

Schnacky can be heard saying, “Mr. Gonzalez, get your hands up on the wheel, both of them. Appreciate it. Here’s what I want you to do. I want you to step out of the truck for me; when you do so I want you to keep your hands on the back of your head, OK?”

Seconds later, Gonzalez was arrested: “You’re under arrest for your traffic violations.”

Video is at the link.  According to Fox News, “an internal investigation concluded the officer who pulled Gonzalez over followed all proper procedures.  It also reported that the officer had resigned and was no longer on the force.”

I think the police are lying.  I don’t think this followed procedure at all.  I don’t think it’s procedural to unholster weapons for people obeying the law.  If so, the police can produce said procedure and prove me wrong.  If I’m wrong, why is the officer no longer with the department?  And if I’m wrong and the police are being honest, why do they have a procedure that orders (or allows) them to unholster weapons against peaceable citizens when there is no threat?