Police roust OC meal at Old Country Buffet

imported post

An OC outing at OCB got ugly tonight when police showed up. They ordered everyone with firearms outside where they demanded ID and ran everyone's serial numbers.

Pa. Patriot stated he would verbally ID himself, but would not produce identification. He was arrested by Dickson City PD. Full details are still emerging and can be followed along with on PAFOA:

http://www.pafoa.org/forum/298674-post-146.html

imported post

Someone in the group must begin to document EVERYTHING that takes place.

Interview the individuals, keep track of phone calls, emails, names, times, dates, everything.

Sounds like a police power struggle to me - how very un-American!

imported post

I hope someone had some audio recorders going.

imported post

Just got word that Rich was "unarrested" and released at the scene after schooling quite a few officers on quite a few points.

I'm sure many more details will be forthcoming when Rich has a chance to collect his thoughts.

imported post

longwatch wrote:

I hope someone had some audio recorders going.

Click to expand...

There is video footage of some of the events.

imported post

I just got through reading the pafoa thread looks like the situation while unpleasant is in hand, good to see video is available. I'm sure it will be a tums moment as I have Tonys flashbacks watching it.

imported post

Why don't those police do something productive and go out to Berkeley and arrest all those loud, nasty, disruptive Code Pink hags for exercising their 1st Amendment right to harrass our military men and women and leave the LAC quietly and peacefully exercising their 2nd Amendment right the hell alone.

imported post

To the best of my knowledge, PA has no law which requires anyone to possess any state issued ID, much less be required to produce it upon request. Does anyone have knowledge of what basis they hang the arrest on?

imported post

But I thought the police in PA didn't do this sort of thing to the citizens and are always polite in this sort of situation!

imported post

Aran wrote:

But I thought the police in PA didn't do this sort of thing to the citizens and are always polite in this sort of situation!

Click to expand...

That is largely true just as it is in VA but we still had the Tony's 7 and the Staunton event. The good news is that these events can be turned into some GREAT educational events for law enforcement.

Just like Rosa Parks refusing to go to the back of the bus, PA Patriot (and all who were there) stood up for his rights and this will ultimately result in a better world for all PA gun owners. Thank you sir!!!

On the topic of general LEO attitude in PA, I was talking with a PA police officer who was staying at the same hotel last week (he was conducting motorcycle training for officers).

Anyway, I asked him how that they were trained to deal with open carry and he said that they are made very aware that open carry is legal but that they are also made very aware that this does not extend to vehicles unless you have a LTCF.

Overall, he seemed very pro-gun and ambivalent about OC.

Again, way to go guys!

imported post

Aran wrote:

But I thought the police in PA didn't do this sort of thing to the citizens and are always polite in this sort of situation!

Click to expand...

Well at least you did not get a Philly beat down, In that town the police treat you like a King(Rodney King).

No offense directed to LEO229, as I realize the Philly situation is not the norm.

imported post

I read the PFOA thread including this morning's updates. I agree with the sentiment of many in there stating they were glad that someone so very knowledgable about his rights was present and front and center in the matter.

I think that situations like this answer a lot of the LEO questions we see on this forum. The next time an LEO asks why the animosity or derision from certain members, this would be a great situation to point them towards. Think of PAPatriot's two small children. Seared into their memory is the image of their father being harrassed and then arrested for doing nothing even remotely illegal. They will grow up with the knowledge that the same people arresting and citing them for an infraction and telling them "ignorance of the law is no excuse." themselves have a great ignorance of the law and guns and handcuffs to enforce their ignorance.

And it's not just his two kids, but all the other children present and the children of millions of others who have shared this type of experience. How will they view LEOs when they are teenagers and adults? When LEO ask what happened to respect for the men in blue, we ask what happened to "policemen are your friends"? When did they instead become advesaries to the law abiding citizen doing his best to live within the letter and the spirit of the law? I find situations like this sad on many levels. I don't mean to paint all LEOs with a broad brush, however, situations like this make it difficult to think of LEOs as being on our side.

I hope that those who frequent the PAFOA forum keep us updated on this event.

imported post

jpierce wrote:

Aran wrote:

But I thought the police in PA didn't do this sort of thing to the citizens and are always polite in this sort of situation!

Click to expand...

That is largely true just as it is in VA but we still had the Tony's 7 and the Staunton event. The good news is that these events can be turned into some GREAT educational events for law enforcement.

Just like Rosa Parks refusing to go to the back of the bus, PA Patriot (and all who were there) stood up for his rights and this will ultimately result in a better world for all PA gun owners. Thank you sir!!!

On the topic of general LEO attitude in PA, I was talking with a PA police officer who was staying at the same hotel last week (he was conducting motorcycle training for officers).

Anyway, I asked him how that they were trained to deal with open carry and he said that they are made very aware that open carry is legal but that they are also made very aware that this does not extend to vehicles unless you have a LTCF.

Overall, he seemed very pro-gun and ambivalent about OC.

Again, way to go guys!

Click to expand...

Yeah, that was sarcasm there, should have made it more obvious.

This situation mirrors my experience with police here in PA in regards to open carry.

imported post

deepdiver wrote:

I think that situations like this answer a lot of the LEO questions we see on this forum. The next time an LEO asks why the animosity or derision from certain members, this would be a great situation to point them towards.

Click to expand...

We already have several socumented events like this, the Tony's 7, the Champs incident, TJ's getting splayed out on the sidewalk in UT, Renegade getting roughed up in Norfolk while his wife and kids were left on the street with no car keys, on and on it goes.

Some people have their minds made up and no number of examples will ever sway their minds. It's like arguing with an anti.

imported post

Read the whole thread as well, sounds like this 'Rich' fellow is going to go all out on the police department. :celebrate

imported post

Unfortunately, Panera Bread uses Sonic Wall blocking, which has categorized pafoa.org as a forbidden site for "weapons", so I'll have to wait until I get home to read the thread.

When Sonic Wall blocks a website, it provides a link to comment on the blocking action. I went to the link and asked them re-categorize pafoa as a political advocacy site instead of a scary weapons site, explaining that they are blocking political discourse and so on. I suggest you guys go there and also leave a message explaining why it shouldn't be blocked. The URL to the comment site is:

http://cfssupport.sonicwall.com

and the url you want to cite is, of course,

http://www.pafoa.org

imported post

Holy Crap!!! I hope that PA Patriot is able to get a big lawsuit filed because there is no way that he could lose it. God speed.

imported post

Wow.

This particular police department picked the wrong person to harass... go get 'em, Rich!

imported post

Folks - what do you think about holding a protest march outside Dickson City City Hall this week - like maybe Wednesday or Thursday?

We could stand outside with signs saying "FREE THE GUN!" or "HABEAS ARMA!" etc.

How many folks could make a say 2-3 PM protest??

imported post

The "confiscated" firearm issue may well be over with by Monday; I believe that's when Pa. Patriot is going to meet with the police chief.

In any event, regardless of the meeting, the fallout from this will be widespread, especially considering how many peaceful citizens were rousted for conducting no illegal activity whatsoever.

The PAFOA discussion on this is already up to 38 pages, and shows no sign of slowing down. There is much behind the scenes activity to take care of, tying up loose ends, formulating an attack plan, getting all one's ducks in order, etc., etc.

The fireworks have only just begun. Best we all sit back, observe, and let the affected players proceed with their 400-pound gorilla.

Of course, you realize this means another OC dinner at OCB in Dickson City....