imported post
So, you want the whole story huh?? Well.. Here's a doozie for you all.
My husband and I were in the Independence mall today, you know, blowing money on a tuesday during the day- we HAVE to be drug dealers, right?? Well, according to the Independence police, absolutely.
So, we were there for oh, almost two hours (found nothing but crap btw)and as we were leaving, literally ten feet from the door, four officers quickly surrounded us. I forgot my firearm today, which is rare, but anyway, I wasn't carrying. My husband had his fobus with his PT111 in it, open to view from any direction. Didn't even have one in the chamber, BTW.
So, the LEO started off irate, demanding my husband's ID, and when I told him that he wasn't required to give it, he became more irate. I asked if he was detaining my husband and he said yes. I asked on what charges, he stammerred for a few minutes then another LEO said "criminal trespassing".. YES, criminal trespassing.. no kidding! My husband handed over his ID, BTW. More on that at the end of this post.
So, I pointed out to them all that FIRST of all, we hadn't been asked to leave, second, we did in fact look all over for a sign that said that firearms were not allowed, and we couldn't find any. Then they started in with "Do you have a CCW?" I said "huh?? Is he concealing??" At that point, I got our lawyer on the phone. Mr. LEO really got pissy then, and started screaming and making a scene. He then told another officer to "get her out of here". So, I asked what laws I had broken and he said "disorderly conduct".. Because I called our lawyer for legal advice???
Anyway, I started to walk out and he started in on my husband.. "You better tell your girlfriend to shut the hell up- she's gonna get you hauled to jail".. Girlfriend? I showed him the 2 carats on my finger, and said I'm not his girlfriend. So, he started to grab my arm and shove me out the door. I had my lawyer on the speakerphone and she told them they had no right to touch me. He promptly removed his hands. When I was outside, I asked the LEO to show me any signs that said firearms weren't allowed. He said "I don't know where they are, but you can't just have a gun out in the open like that"
huh??
I said "I bet you don't know where they are because there AREN'T any" so, after a while one of them got a mall security officer and they said they had a sign by the entrance- at the street! I'm not kidding here- just hang in for a few minutes. Too bad for us, we came from a side street and there were NO signs posted. We even had a conversation about if he could OC inside the mall or not. I insisted that he could, after all, there was nothing posted, and I just came back from Louisiana, where OC'ing is very welcomed.. everywhere.
So, I told them that I didn't see any signs where we came in, and we even went out of our way to find one. After about 5 minutes, they brought my husband outside. Apparent;y they had him inside making a big scene, then said he was causing a disturbance.. whatever..
So, when they got him outside and the LEO that was with me told them I asked where the signs were, they hauled my husband BACK inside (thought he was trespassing?) to have him READ a tiny sign with "code of conduct" on it. It was literally the size of a regular sheet of paper, and had size 10 fonts on it, with about 40 rules. They still couldn't point out where he wasn't allowed to OC, but I guess that wasn't the point.
Now for the kicker. They escorted us to our vehicle. I have 4 herniated discs and a bunch of other injuries from my time in the military. I'm handicapped, and have a placard because I can't walk very far. We got in the truck, and they pulled 3 cars up and blocked us in.
They demanded proof - yes PROOF- that I was handicapped, they said I "walked fine" to them. We still had our lawyer on the phone, and she said to tell them to write a ticket if that was their intention and bring her my pink slip showing I was handicapped, but not to give it to them. So, to make a long story short, they took my handicapped placard, wrote my husband a ticket, and THEN the Sgt. called ME a "bitch". I had my husband put his window up, and the LEO tapped the glass and said "get out ofIndependence NOW", and we left. Nothing more was said. My lawyer heard it all on the phone, and I used my camera on my phone to record the rest. They actually escorted us out of Independence. All the way to the city limits. I didn't know we could be banned from a whole city.. Wow
What about all of the houses we own there? Or all of the tax dollars they want us to pay for them? I think I'll disputeour property taxes on those houses this year for this reason....
Now, for the guy who asked about OC'ers that are bent out of shape. That's my husband
Usually, he gets upset, but in my opinion, he has every right to be when he is harassed about his decision to OC. People run around, displaying their political and religious views, their sexual orientation, and every other idea that pops in their heads, but when a choice is made to exercise their 2nd Amendment rights, it's a problem. That isn't right.
Today, my husbandwas very calm until they started grabbing me. The bottom line is this: We (the taxpayers) pay their salaries and I fully expect them to be courteous at all times. When they come up to us with a full blown attitude and are hostile, they can expect the same attitude from us. In a perfect world, it wouldn't even come down to that, but we all know this is not a perfect world and people are just jacked up when it comes to allowing others to exercise their rights.
You see, the issue is this: If the police make a scene, then you must be doing something wrong, right? Nevermind that they don't know what they are talking about, or that they may be biased because the guy OC'ing is a big black guy that doesn't fit their stereotype of what a 28 year old black guy is, you kow, his pants don't drag the floor, hedoesn't havea little white "girlfriend", and apparently he's pretty loaded but doesn't look like a drug dealer... and oh no- they're shopping in the middle of the workday?
Of course that was the primary issue here, I'd pay someone (a middle aged white guy, preferably) to go there during the workday, OC, and see what happens. I'd bet you there would be nothing to tell.
So, that's the story, minutes old. If anyone would like to educate these LEO's, I did get their badge numbers and would be more than happy to post them.
Does anyone think my husband should have produced ID to the officers? He did so because he thought he had to, even though I was saying that he was not required to. The officers claim that he was breaking the law by OC on private property and that there was a sign posted. While I agree that yes, one entrance did have a small black and white sign that said "weapons prohibited", we did not see any signs on or near the building.
I don't think he should have handed his ID over. If he was breaking lawsas they claim, why was he not hauled off to jail?? Please, someone!! Help me win this argument!!!
