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Reporter Herald - Loveland police face lawsuit for detaining legal open carrier

Mike

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Fairfax County, Virginia, USA
http://www.reporterherald.com/news_story.asp?ID=28907

SNIP

Publish Date: 7/28/2010


Gun owner sues city
Lovelander says his rights were violated during 2008 incident at Lake Loveland

By Pamela Dickman
Loveland Reporter-Herald

Loveland resident Bill Miller wants $100,000 and a policy change from the Loveland Police Department.
The 72-year-old man sued the city in U.S. District Court in Denver this week, claiming officers violated his constitutional rights in 2008 when they stopped him at Lake Loveland for carrying a gun.

“It’s not primarily about money,” said Miller’s attorney, Nelson Boyle. “It’s about his rights being violated.”


. . .

The civil suit and Boyle claim that officers walked on three intersecting rights — Miller’s right to bear arms, his right to free speech and his right against illegal search and seizure.

Police may have a duty to check out all reports and potential dangers, but they need a reason and evidence of a crime before they detain someone and take their gun — even for only 30 minutes, argued Boyle.

“He feels like he has been harassed, and they’ve told him, if he does it again, they’ll do it again,” Boyle said. “All he is doing is exercising his constitutional right.”

The city will have the opportunity to defend itself in court in the coming months.
 

since9

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Jan 14, 2010
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6,964
Location
Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA
Police may have a duty to check out all reports and potential dangers, but they need a reason and evidence of a crime before they detain someone and take their gun — even for only 30 minutes, argued Boyle.

“He feels like he has been harassed, and they’ve told him, if he does it again, they’ll do it again,” Boyle said. “All he is doing is exercising his constitutional right.”

The city will have the opportunity to defend itself in court in the coming months.

I concur. Stopping and detaining a law-abiding citizen peacably engaging in a lawful activity is harrassment, pure and simple. Would an LEO detain someone for operating such a violent and mutilagenic device as a lawnmower? Oh, think of the mayhem they'd prevent!

Nothing against LEOs in general (most are very upstanding), just the knuckleheads who've threatened to "do it again," meaning violating the civil rights of an honest, law-abiding citizen engaged in a lawful activity.

Anyone's assertion that it's "disturbing the peace" is pure bunk, unless that person is disturbed to begin with, and if that's the case, they're the one with the issue, not the one who's carrying. It's been upheld as a violation of civilian rights at the federal court level in several other states, and if it needs to be elevated to that level here in Colorado so as to ensure wayward LEOs are held accountable, then so be it.

How might I help. :)

I'm interested to hear how this case progresses. Please keep us posted! Thanks.
 
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