• We are now running on a new, and hopefully much-improved, server. In addition we are also on new forum software. Any move entails a lot of technical details and I suspect we will encounter a few issues as the new server goes live. Please be patient with us. It will be worth it! :) Please help by posting all issues here.
  • The forum will be down for about an hour this weekend for maintenance. I apologize for the inconvenience.
  • If you are having trouble seeing the forum then you may need to clear your browser's DNS cache. Click here for instructions on how to do that
  • Please review the Forum Rules frequently as we are constantly trying to improve the forum for our members and visitors.

Open Carry court case: West Allis City Courthouse on Tuesday February 17th at 8 AM

Mike

Site Co-Founder
Joined
May 13, 2006
Messages
8,706
Location
Fairfax County, Virginia, USA
imported post

http://www.bootsandsabers.com/index.php/weblog/permalink/open_carry_in_court/

Open Carry In Court
From the email.


If someone disagreed with you about an article or story you published and then complained to the police who came into your business and arrested you for disorderly conduct, would that incident be newsworthy?

What if the police arrested you for disorderly conduct while you were exercising any other constitutionally protected right because someone did not want you to exercise your right? Would you want to tell the people of Wisconsin how fragile it is to exercise their rights?

Once arrested, do you think an employer or all your friends and neighbors would understand or would some of them want to maintain more distance with you? Unfortunately, being arrested is the same thing as being found guilty to many people in the court of public opinion. The police don’t arrest innocent people just for exercising a constitutionally protected right after all. That would be outrageous.

Or do they?

Please come (or send a reporter) to the West Allis City Courthouse on Tuesday December 16th at 8 am when this question will be answered in court.

On August 22, Brad Krause was planting trees in his yard, at least until police stormed his residence and arrested him. It turns out they received a call from a man who said he didn’t appreciate that Brad carried a gun, and wanted something done about it.

The West Allis police department sent two squads to investigate, and found Brad in his yard, minding his own business planting trees. From behind him, police rushed him, yelling, “Don’t move!” while bearing down on him with their weapons drawn.

They shortly discovered Brad had no criminal record and was lawfully openly carrying on his own property, but instead of releasing him and returning his weapon, they tried to figure out how to arrest him. A call to the supervising lieutenant provided the answer: claim his action of carrying a weapon is disorderly conduct, and haul him down to the station. His firearm was taken away from him without a receipt, and it has not been returned. The police have effectively banned his exercise of his right by disarming him.

The fact is that Wis. Stat. § 941.23 does not ban or prohibit the lawful carrying of firearms by citizens. By enacting the law, the legislature intended to force citizens to openly carry their firearms while in public, which is what Mr. Krause was lawfully doing (additionally, he was on his own property).

Mr. Krause is self employed as a property manager and this action by the City of West Allis has cost him long term business relationships. The police had him standing in handcuffs on his own property for 45 minutes with squad cars parked in front of his residence while they tried to figure out a way to arrest him. Fortunately, Mr. Krause had taken a friends advice and he had a voice recorder with him and the entire incident was recorded and it has been transcribed.

Civil rights are very important – all of them – which is why they are protected from governmental actions just like this. The media would be all over this story if a voter had been wrongly arrested while waiting in line to vote, or a worshipper had been arrested while attempting to enter their place of worship,

or a reporter was arrested while writing an article. The Wisconsin Supreme Court has said an otherwise reasonable exercise of police power cannot be invoked in a way that “eviscerates,” “destroys,” “frustrates,” or “nullifies” the constitutional right to bear arms, yet that is exactly what is being done by law enforcement departments all over Wisconsin today. In Wisconsin, constitutional rights do not expand the police power; they restrict the police power. See Buse v. Smith, 74 Wis. 2d 550, 564, 247 N.W.2d 141 (1976); see also Robert Dowlut & Janet A. Knoop, State Constitutions and The Right to Keep and Bear Arms, 7 Okla. City U. L. Rev 177, 185 (1982) (describing the general application of this principle).That is why this is such an important matter and I am asking for you to publically expose this unlawful use of police power.
If you can attend, please do so and support Mr. Krause
 

BJA

Campaign Veteran
Joined
May 4, 2008
Messages
503
Location
SOuth Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
imported post

Sounds alott like the "neighbor open carrying arrested while working in his yard" in wisconsin. Is it public could I possibly go I would love to come and see/support him.



Ben
 

hugh jarmis

Centurion
Joined
Jun 17, 2008
Messages
844
Location
New Berlin, Wisconsin, USA
imported post

From behind him, police rushed him, yelling, “Don’t move!” while bearing down on him with their weapons drawn.


Unbelievable.

Legal conduct warrants cops rushing you with weapons drawn. Shameful. I have rental propertyin West Allis. Perhaps a call to my alderman asking him to please provide me with assurance that the police department of west allis undertakes and investigate of the conduct of these officers?

Is anyone going on tuesday? Just brainstorming here, wouldn't this be a great opportunity to show up in mass? Quiet demonstration outside with signage?
 

Parabellum

Founder's Club Member
Joined
May 3, 2008
Messages
287
Location
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
imported post

BJA, he is one and the same. All court proceedings are open to the public, 6th amendment, In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial.

hugh jarmis, if I hadn't JUST got a job I would be there and support him myself.

December 16th is my birthday, Krause and Vegaswinningtheir cases that day would bea great birthday present.
 

Rick Finsta

Regular Member
Joined
Nov 19, 2007
Messages
232
Location
Saukville, Wisconsin, USA
imported post

I'm trying to switch some PTO around to make it for this, but I'm not sure it's going to happen; we have a minimum staffing, and around the holidays it's often difficult to find someone with whom to swap.

Keep your head up, Brad, and Godspeed.
 

Lammie

Campaign Veteran
Joined
Feb 18, 2007
Messages
907
Location
, Wisconsin, USA
imported post

So much for our cause. Sounds like we're already making excuses not to attend. Because of physical limitations I can't drive that far but I will be hitting the keyboard hot and furious to media such as Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Milwaukee Magazine (Samantha why don't you get involved?), talk show host McKenna. I'm also going to send notice to GOA, HighRoad and any other gun right groups I can think of. I wonder where the hell is the NRA at times like this?
 

hugh jarmis

Centurion
Joined
Jun 17, 2008
Messages
844
Location
New Berlin, Wisconsin, USA
imported post

Don't hand yourself a loss by blabbing strategy


I agree... I'm not interested in playing keyboard commando discussing strategy. I'm interested in showing up with enough people to get some television cameras interested and get some publicity regarding the infringement upon the civil rights of law-abiding citizens of the state of wisconsin.
And before you take off of work and appear at the courthouse, realize the trial may not even happen on the 16th.



Agreed... but it seems like a good enough time to show up with numbers and demand that wisconsin municipalities stop arresting and charging people who haven't broken any laws.
 

hugh jarmis

Centurion
Joined
Jun 17, 2008
Messages
844
Location
New Berlin, Wisconsin, USA
imported post

I placed a call to my West Allis alderperson. I assume the common council oversees the local police department and I'd like my elected official to explain to me if I as a property owner need to worry about police coming at me with guns drawn when I am not breaking any laws.
 

ManOutdoors

New member
Joined
Dec 12, 2008
Messages
2
Location
West Allis, Wisconsin, USA
imported post

Well, the word is getting out. I've seen the original post pasted on several message boards that aren't focused on open carry. And the people posting were from other states than WI.
 

hugh jarmis

Centurion
Joined
Jun 17, 2008
Messages
844
Location
New Berlin, Wisconsin, USA
imported post

I just talked to my alderman. He's going to get some answers on the police chiefs policy. IN addition, as the fire and police commission is put in place by the city council, and I believe they can direct the police chief in matters and policies such as this (I'm not positive) but I think that might be an alternative method of addressing these improper police responses to open carry.
 

hugh jarmis

Centurion
Joined
Jun 17, 2008
Messages
844
Location
New Berlin, Wisconsin, USA
imported post

I'm fairly certain I'll have time to stop by. Not sure how long I'll be able to stay but let me know if you are going to be there (shotgun) and I'll meet up with you. (and anyone else thats going)
 

Shotgun

Wisconsin Carry, Inc.
Joined
Aug 23, 2006
Messages
2,668
Location
Madison, Wisconsin, USA
imported post

bnhcomputing wrote:
Interesting side note: A search of WCCA doesn't show any open case regarding a Brad Krause.
Not surprising. I believe this is a municipal court appearance and not many municipal courts list their cases on the state system.
 
Top