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Neighbor arrested for open carry in his yard

ar10builder

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Hello all:

New to the forum - found this site after doing a bit of research in light of yesterday's events.

I'm new to the neighborhood (just moved in with my fiancee), and saw (3) police down the block yesterday. Not wanting to be the nosey neighbor, I stayed out of the way, but later found out that one of the neighbors was arrested for open carrying in his fenced (wooden slat) yard. Apparently he was planting trees, the police received some sort of complaint, and they came over. I do know that a third squad appeared after some time (there were (2) squads initially) before all of the police disappeared (with the neighbor).

Anyway, I apologize for not having more details, but will collect more information as I can and post it here, just for your information.
 

Doug Huffman

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Welcome to the forum!

I pray that you inform your neighbor of our existence and willingness to offer some advice based on collective experience. We also advise retention of an attorney and some closed-mouthedness until the attorney allows otherwise.

If you and he will read a bit here and of Wisconsin statute law then y'all will see that there is likely a cause of action against some West Allis officials.

Our best wishes to your neighbor and to you.
 

lockman

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There has got to be another side to this story, otherwise the police are going to increase someones income by a considerable sum in the coming months.

Were the trees he was planting an invasive species? Was he bearing more than arms?

What else is going on here?
 

pkbites

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How about giving us your neighbors name so we can track the case.
If he was arrested, the case and his name are public information anyway.
 

ilbob

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I bet there is more to this than merely OC of a firearm in his own yard.

It looks like westallisnow.com prints police reports weekly. The last one was 8/20. This incident could be up on 8/27.
 

Doug Huffman

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To: mmaley@cninewsonline.com
Subject: West Allis news comments, tips and questions

A correspondent reported a police action on 22 August 2008 in West Allis in which a resident was

"arrested for open[ly] carrying [a firearm] in his fenced (wooden slat) yard. Apparently he was planting trees, the police received some sort of complaint, and they came over. I do know that a third squad appeared after some time (there were (2) squads initially) before all of the police disappeared (with the neighbor)."

I hope that you will post the details so that we can know that this was not another example of an overzealous police department's overreaction to a legally armed citizen.

Thank you.

Doug Huffman
State Researcher,
OpenCarry.org
Washington Island
Wisconsin

ps. http://opencarry.mywowbb.com/view_topic.php?id=15318&forum_id=57&jump_to=250361#p250361
 

1FASTC4

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I would like to look up the record, what department has it? I am curious as to what happened and do not want to jump to any conclusions
 

Brigdh

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lockman wrote:
There has got to be another side to this story, otherwise the police are going to increase someones income by a considerable sum in the coming months.

Were the trees he was planting an invasive species? Was he bearing more than arms?

What else is going on here?
probably the West Allis PD taking cues from their neighbors in Milwaukee
 

pkbites

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1FASTC4 wrote:
I would like to look up the record, what department has it? I am curious as to what happened and do not want to jump to any conclusions

If the person is charged with a state crime, the case can be looked up on CCAP IF you have a name.

If the person is charged with a local ordinance violation then you can check with the West Allis municipal court. Once again, you will need a name. Very few municipal courts are on the web.

Disorderly Conduct (the most common charge in O.C. cases) can be charged as a state crime or a local muni cite.

ilbob is right about checking the police posting. That usually doesn't give a name or full details though.


http://wcca.wicourts.gov/simpleCaseSearch.xsl;jsessionid=412526D2E5D5D9E70BD2D23EAE51B96F.render5
 

ar10builder

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Due to the sensitive nature of this, I have been asked not to make any further comment on this. The person is aware of this site and of this thread.
 

Shotgun

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CCAP also allows one to do an advanced search that doesn't require a name. However if this gentleman is subjected to the same hesitation by the DA as in Parabellum's case, nothing will appear on CCAP for a long long time, if ever.

Nobody will be convicted of a crime based upon what others write on a web forum regarding it. It would be interesting to know whether the single issue surrounding this "arrest" is mere open carry on one's own property.
 

1FASTC4

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Well that's the conclusion I'm trying not to jump to as well. I find it somewhat doubtful that the guy was arrested for carrying on his own property. It seems like some information is missing.
 

hugh jarmis

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Any more info on this? I still own a house in West Allis and am very curious (in general) if someone was arrested for OC'ing in their own yard.

I would think that I should be able to call the PD and ask shouldn't I?

If I said "I'm a property owner in West Allis and I heard that someone was arrested for OC'ing in their own yard." "Without discussing the specifics of the case am I as a homeowner at risk of arrest lawfully OC'ing on my own property in West Allis"
 

Doug Huffman

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Police reports are subject to the Open Records Law, even to http://www.wisfoic.org/faq_police.html

Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can I make an open records request for police records, such as daily arrest records or records involving an investigation? What about a district attorney's investigative files?

A: Police records are presumed public and, like all records, their release is subject to the common law balancing test.

In many cases, the police department withholds records claiming their release may interfere with an ongoing investigation. See Wis. Op. Att'y Gen. 42 (1988) (OAG 7-88).

The Wisconsin Supreme Court, however, has held that, at a minimum, daily arrest records are open to the public. Newspapers, Inc. v. Breier[/url], 89 Wis. 2d 417, 428-29, 279 N.W.2d 179 (1979).

The court opined that "[t]he requirement that arrest books be open to the public is to prevent any 'secret arrests,' a concept odious to a democratic society." Id.

But, in State ex rel. Richards v. Foust[/url], 165 Wis. 2d 429, 433-34, 477 N.W.2d 608 (1991) the court held that district attorney files are not subject to public access, even after the trial and all appeals have been concluded.


Disclaimer: The Frequently Asked Questions and Answers on the Wisconsin FOIC website are provided by Godfrey & Kahn, S.C. (LaFollette Godfrey & Kahn is the Madison office of Godfrey & Kahn, S.C.).
 

mvpel

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I bet there is more to this than merely OC of a firearm in his own yard.
Why, given the behaviour of police officers all over the country with respect to openly carried firearms, would you make a bet with such long, long odds stacked against you?

A man in Manchester NH was accosted in his own yard by three cops for open carry less than three weeks ago.
 
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