OK, fair warning here Venator... sit down and take some blood pressure medication. You're going to explode. Rather than typing everything out again, I'll just let the group read my letter to my police chief. I have gone from slightly annoyed to extremely outraged, back to annoyed, and now somewhere in between. OK, here it is:
Edit note: I have not sent this letter yet. Am I being too forgiving, am I being a whiner? Either way, I fear the police chief in Eastpointe will after this know me on a personal level for reasons less than ideal. Man, I'm just so pissed again!:cuss:
Dear Chief:
I am writing your this informal letter to express my concerns over an incident which occurred upon my property tonight at approximately 6:00 p.m. While the situation could call for a formal complaint, I am choosing to exercise a balance of understanding and cooperation just as I expect the members of your fine force do in their everyday tasks.
The situation as it played out is as follows:
Shortly after arriving home from work, I went to my front porch to smoke a cigarette as my wife is two months pregnant and I no longer smoke in my home. Being a warmer and rather exhausting day today, my cover shirt was the first thing to go as I started to wind down for the evening leaving my pistol partially exposed inside its holster. An officer on patrol came down my street and noticed my weapon. Many would say, and I would agree that it is a great thing that the officer took notice and looked into it. However, it is from here that a chain of unfortunate events took place.
1.) The officer came upon my property with his weapon already drawn. Now I understand how fast a situation can go bad, but also consider the fact that from the moment the officer put his patrol car into reverse gear, my hands never moved from my sides. Not a huge deal, certainly not worth writing a letter over.
2.) As the officer was walking up to my porch, he asked if I lived upon the premises, to which I answered yes. The events after this point are where I really start to take issue. The officer could have asked me for my address and see if I could provide it without looking at the house numbers. He could have checked the tags on either of my vehicles before he even approached my property to see if I gave the same name the vehicles were registered to. Rather, the officer came upon my property and requested my identification. Now, I do not have a problem identifying myself under almost any circumstance. But the events taken along with the process created more issues that could have been avoided.
3.) Because the officer needed my identification which would not be accessible without him having legitimate risk of me reaching my weapon, he chose to disarm me. I do take issue with this due to the fact that I had not broken any law or caused any grief. Most alarming was the method of the disarmament. I understand that officer can probably handle most any type of handgun safely, but the officer had come up to the edge of my flower bed, reached over it and up over the railing to remove the firearm. I feel it well worth making a note that given a worst case scenario, that moment in time could have been a serious disaster should I have not been an honest law-abiding citizen. The officer’s center of gravity had to have been compromised to some extent; it would have been an easy task for the person in that situation to launch a surprise attack on the officer. In addition, what if the officer lost his balance in the middle of lifting my weapon from its holster? Let’s just say everyone is happy neither situation occurred.
4.) So at this point the officer is assured of his safety and I am requested to go ahead and provide my identification which I did. Now, the next step was the clear cut, absolute no reason for it, outright violation rights. I was then asked to provide my CPL license. There was absolutely no grounds whatsoever for that. It had already been established that I was the legal owner of the property; even without a CPL I would not be in violation of any Michigan law carrying my weapon in any manor.
5.) While my last issue is not a violation rights, it is perhaps the most disheartening. I was advised that even though I was within my rights and the boundaries of law, I was perhaps exercising bad judgment. Well, if making provisions to protect myself and my family are bad judgment, then you can brand me an idiot.
It is my sincerest hope that this communication will be seen as an honest attempt to have a productive correspondence. It is my hope that perhaps some of the issues pointed out will be mentioned in future training sessions.
So that is the bad. However, I would like to also add that the officer, as well as all of the backup units that followed, were cordial and professional in their demeanor. Their investigation, partially unlawful as it may have been, was completed expediently and we parted ways with a wave goodbye. All things being said from my side, I would certainly be happy to hear your viewpoint on the subjects discussed.
In closing, I would like to again thank the entire force for the service they provide and the sacrifices they make.
Regards,
Jeff Sayers
