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Olmos, TX police injure and arrest open carrier - President of Open Carry Texas

BB62

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OCT is planning something there on April 7th: https://www.facebook.com/events/1701444096542864/

Road trip? :eek:
WOW. The lawlessness runs deep in Olmos Park.

I just read the description of the event linked to above:

Olmos Park PD Chief Rene Valenciano has decided that he doesn't care about the law. He is actively telling his officers to detain and identify anyone carrying a firearm in violation of our rights and Texas law. They are drawing down on people with holstered handguns and forcing them to the ground (video here: https://youtu.be/Xf2ERvD4Am4).

On February 7th, 2018, Mike Thompson, a constitutional rights activist engaging in completely legal and constitutionally protected activity encountered officers from this police department. With absolutely NO INDICATION WHATSOEVER of criminal activity, their officers, AT GUNPOINT, detained, handcuffed and searched Mr. Thompson in violation of his First and Fourth Amendment constitutional rights. These facts were recorded on audio and video and are indisputable.

On February 10th, 2018, Jack Miller , a constitutional rights activist engaging in completely legal and constitutionally protected activity encountered officers from their police department. Mr. Miller was detained, handcuffed, disarmed and searched in violation of his First, Second and Fourth Amendment constitutional rights. This encounter was initiated by their officers under supposed violation of your city ordinance Sec. 24-85. - Unauthorized carrying of loaded rifle or shotgun. This city ordinance is in direct violation of TEXAS LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE Sec. 229.001, and is therefore rendered null, void, invalid and unenforceable. This was explained to the corporal in charge of the scene, during the encounter. All of this factual information was simply disregarded by their officers, and Mr. Miller was issued a citation for a violation that CANNOT OCCUR, because the ordinance it is based on is null, void, invalid and unenforceable. These facts were recorded on audio and video and are indisputable.

On February 20th, 2018 , Jack Miller , a constitutional rights activist engaging in completely legal and constitutionally protected activity encountered officers from their police department. With absolutely NO INDICATION WHATSOEVER of criminal activity, their officers ONCE AGAIN detained, handcuffed, disarmed and searched Mr. Miller in violation of his First, Second and Fourth Amendment constitutional rights. At some point during this encounter, after Mr. Miller was placed into a police vehicle, their officers realized their mistake, drove Mr. Miller several blocks away from the original scene and released him. These facts were recorded on audio and video and are indisputable.

Again on February 20th, 2018 , approximately 1 hour after the first encounter, Jack Miller , a constitutional rights activist engaging in completely legal and constitutionally protected activity encountered officers from the police department. With absolutely NO INDICATION WHATSOEVER of criminal activity, the officers ONCE AGAIN and AT GUNPOINT detained, handcuffed, disarmed and searched Mr. Miller in violation of his First, Second and Fourth Amendment constitutional rights. The officers, knowing full well Mr. Millers identity both by name and by sight, and knowing full well his intentions as a constitutional rights activist, surrounded Mr. Miller, aimed their rifles at him, threatened to shoot him and took him into custody with absolutely NO INDICATION WHATSOEVER of criminal activity. Mr. Miller was standing on a public sidewalk and exercising his RIGHT to openly carry his firearm. Mr. Miller was openly carrying his firearm in EXACTLY the same manner as thousands of activists at thousands of open carry protests, events and rallies have carried theirs, including individual activists exercising their right all by themselves. Yet, he was arrested under Texas Penal Code Sec. 42.01. DISORDERLY CONDUCT (displays a firearm or other deadly weapon in a public place in a manner calculated to alarm) and Sec. 30.05. CRIMINAL TRESPASS. Again, Mr. Miller was carrying his firearm in a manner calculated to educate the public, acclimate the public and to simply exercise his right to do so. Any "alarm" was an un-calculated-for byproduct of the personal political opinions of others. A side effect and nothing more. Also, Mr. Miller was standing on PUBLIC property. The officers were FULLY AWARE of all these facts and violated his rights anyway. These facts were recorded on audio and video and are indisputable.

On February 20th, 2018 , Joanna Ferguson, a constitutional rights activist engaging in completely legal and constitutionally protected activity encountered officers from the police department. Mrs. Ferguson was video recording the constitutional rights activism activities of Jack Miller during the second violation of his rights by the officers that evening. Although Mrs. Ferguson was 30 feet away from Mr. Miller and IN NO WAY interfering with the officers, she was instructed to "put that camera away" and assaulted by one of the officers in an attempt to intimidate her into ceasing her recording of the actions and behavior of the officers. Both of these actions violate Mrs. Ferguson's First Amendment rights and are in DIRECT VIOLATION of Turner v. Driver, a recent 5th circuit ruling REAFFIRMING a citizens right to record police activity. As recent case law, Turner v. Driver is something any competent officer should know in order to perform their duties properly and LEGALLY. As the officers violated Mrs. Ferguson's rights in direct violation of the First Amendment and Turner v. Driver, the only reasonable conclusion possible is that either the officers are ignorant of the laws they enforce, or the violation was intentional. These facts were recorded on audio and video and are indisputable.

Finally, on March 17th, 2018, Jack Miller , a constitutional rights activist engaging in completely legal and constitutionally protected activity encountered officers from the police department. With absolutely NO INDICATION WHATSOEVER of criminal activity, the officers ONCE AGAIN and AT GUNPOINT detained, handcuffed, disarmed and searched Mr. Miller in violation of his First, Second and Fourth Amendment constitutional rights. Mr. Miller was standing on a public sidewalk holding a sign and carrying a rubber training gun. While this rubber training gun appears to be a real firearm from a distance, Mr. Miller holds a valid handgun license and EVERY officer in the department is well aware of that fact. Additionally, holding a sign on public property is a symbolic protest, which is a right protected and guaranteed by the First Amendment. The officers were FULLY AWARE of all these facts and violated his rights anyway. These facts were recorded on audio and video and are indisputable.
 

hammer6

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You're wrong. First of all, while the 30.06 and 30.07 statutes have their problems, private property owners generally should be able to make rules, even if open to the public for business. That said, progress has been made on the front, like penalty reduction for violation. Additionally, the number of businesses who post doesn't appear to be many, so, likely, there are more important initiatives to prioritize.

OCT is not trying the same tactic expecting a different result. OCT's activism has been successful in many cases, so I would say they're continuing the same tactic expecting it to continue performing. The successes do not make the news, as we all know very well.



You are also wrong. Thousands of hours have been logged performing this sort of activism with positive results, yet you see a few minutes worth that result in assault and arrest of the OCer and pass negative judgement on the whole lot? Please...

This sort of activism absolutely did not "come very close to causing the TX OC initiative to fail" - this sort of activism WAS THE TX OC initiative. Without OCT and its activism, we would not have OC in Texas today.


IMO, the wrong people have found themselves in leadership positions within the organization. It is unfortunate. Sorry about your ban.

so you mean without 30.06 or 30.07 there's no way for a person to protect private property rights? You mean, they can't just put a sign up that says "no guns allowed, violators will be asked to leave. those who don't leave will be tresspassed"? They need actual legislation and code that enforces their will outright, above tresspassing, with full backing from the government and enforced by police? It's not tresspass, it's separate from tresspass. Is there somewhere in the Texas constitution that gives the government authority to allow a private citizen to establish their own "off-limits" place?
 

hammer6

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This is a good example of how NOT to rein in this police dept. An open carry walk does not consist of only two people. OLMOS PARK police have a total of 12 officers spread over three shifts, max 4 cops day shift, maybe. I know a couple of people that could organize a walk that would consist of at least 20 to 50 participants. Numbers matter.

And I've seen them complain about the lack of involvement. But they don't do a good job oforganizing and spreading information. It's highly emotional.
 

hammer6

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WOW. The lawlessness runs deep in Olmos Park.

I just read the description of the event linked to above:

Olmos Park PD Chief Rene Valenciano has decided that he doesn't care about the law. He is actively telling his officers to detain and identify anyone carrying a firearm in violation of our rights and Texas law. They are drawing down on people with holstered handguns and forcing them to the ground (video here: https://youtu.be/Xf2ERvD4Am4).

On February 7th, 2018, Mike Thompson, a constitutional rights activist engaging in completely legal and constitutionally protected activity encountered officers from this police department. With absolutely NO INDICATION WHATSOEVER of criminal activity, their officers, AT GUNPOINT, detained, handcuffed and searched Mr. Thompson in violation of his First and Fourth Amendment constitutional rights. These facts were recorded on audio and video and are indisputable.

On February 10th, 2018, Jack Miller , a constitutional rights activist engaging in completely legal and constitutionally protected activity encountered officers from their police department. Mr. Miller was detained, handcuffed, disarmed and searched in violation of his First, Second and Fourth Amendment constitutional rights. This encounter was initiated by their officers under supposed violation of your city ordinance Sec. 24-85. - Unauthorized carrying of loaded rifle or shotgun. This city ordinance is in direct violation of TEXAS LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE Sec. 229.001, and is therefore rendered null, void, invalid and unenforceable. This was explained to the corporal in charge of the scene, during the encounter. All of this factual information was simply disregarded by their officers, and Mr. Miller was issued a citation for a violation that CANNOT OCCUR, because the ordinance it is based on is null, void, invalid and unenforceable. These facts were recorded on audio and video and are indisputable.

On February 20th, 2018 , Jack Miller , a constitutional rights activist engaging in completely legal and constitutionally protected activity encountered officers from their police department. With absolutely NO INDICATION WHATSOEVER of criminal activity, their officers ONCE AGAIN detained, handcuffed, disarmed and searched Mr. Miller in violation of his First, Second and Fourth Amendment constitutional rights. At some point during this encounter, after Mr. Miller was placed into a police vehicle, their officers realized their mistake, drove Mr. Miller several blocks away from the original scene and released him. These facts were recorded on audio and video and are indisputable.

Again on February 20th, 2018 , approximately 1 hour after the first encounter, Jack Miller , a constitutional rights activist engaging in completely legal and constitutionally protected activity encountered officers from the police department. With absolutely NO INDICATION WHATSOEVER of criminal activity, the officers ONCE AGAIN and AT GUNPOINT detained, handcuffed, disarmed and searched Mr. Miller in violation of his First, Second and Fourth Amendment constitutional rights. The officers, knowing full well Mr. Millers identity both by name and by sight, and knowing full well his intentions as a constitutional rights activist, surrounded Mr. Miller, aimed their rifles at him, threatened to shoot him and took him into custody with absolutely NO INDICATION WHATSOEVER of criminal activity. Mr. Miller was standing on a public sidewalk and exercising his RIGHT to openly carry his firearm. Mr. Miller was openly carrying his firearm in EXACTLY the same manner as thousands of activists at thousands of open carry protests, events and rallies have carried theirs, including individual activists exercising their right all by themselves. Yet, he was arrested under Texas Penal Code Sec. 42.01. DISORDERLY CONDUCT (displays a firearm or other deadly weapon in a public place in a manner calculated to alarm) and Sec. 30.05. CRIMINAL TRESPASS. Again, Mr. Miller was carrying his firearm in a manner calculated to educate the public, acclimate the public and to simply exercise his right to do so. Any "alarm" was an un-calculated-for byproduct of the personal political opinions of others. A side effect and nothing more. Also, Mr. Miller was standing on PUBLIC property. The officers were FULLY AWARE of all these facts and violated his rights anyway. These facts were recorded on audio and video and are indisputable.

On February 20th, 2018 , Joanna Ferguson, a constitutional rights activist engaging in completely legal and constitutionally protected activity encountered officers from the police department. Mrs. Ferguson was video recording the constitutional rights activism activities of Jack Miller during the second violation of his rights by the officers that evening. Although Mrs. Ferguson was 30 feet away from Mr. Miller and IN NO WAY interfering with the officers, she was instructed to "put that camera away" and assaulted by one of the officers in an attempt to intimidate her into ceasing her recording of the actions and behavior of the officers. Both of these actions violate Mrs. Ferguson's First Amendment rights and are in DIRECT VIOLATION of Turner v. Driver, a recent 5th circuit ruling REAFFIRMING a citizens right to record police activity. As recent case law, Turner v. Driver is something any competent officer should know in order to perform their duties properly and LEGALLY. As the officers violated Mrs. Ferguson's rights in direct violation of the First Amendment and Turner v. Driver, the only reasonable conclusion possible is that either the officers are ignorant of the laws they enforce, or the violation was intentional. These facts were recorded on audio and video and are indisputable.

Finally, on March 17th, 2018, Jack Miller , a constitutional rights activist engaging in completely legal and constitutionally protected activity encountered officers from the police department. With absolutely NO INDICATION WHATSOEVER of criminal activity, the officers ONCE AGAIN and AT GUNPOINT detained, handcuffed, disarmed and searched Mr. Miller in violation of his First, Second and Fourth Amendment constitutional rights. Mr. Miller was standing on a public sidewalk holding a sign and carrying a rubber training gun. While this rubber training gun appears to be a real firearm from a distance, Mr. Miller holds a valid handgun license and EVERY officer in the department is well aware of that fact. Additionally, holding a sign on public property is a symbolic protest, which is a right protected and guaranteed by the First Amendment. The officers were FULLY AWARE of all these facts and violated his rights anyway. These facts were recorded on audio and video and are indisputable.



Wow- such great information that they should be using to drive motivation for their events. I am (was) an active member of their Facebook group, and didn't see any of this. That's not to say that it wasn't posted, it's just saying that if they did post it they didn't do an even decent job of making people aware of it. All these incidents and they're pissed off that CJ was tazed and arrested? Laughable. It should have been expected, and they should have planned accordingly. Local news should have been in attendance. Reporters. Heck, even a groupd of 25 people would have been enough! This is what I'm talking about- they need to switch tactics. It's tired.
 

BB62

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Would you really want to participate in an event with that organization that shows it's unorganized? You're putting yourself in danger by being a part of their get together. Not planned. Not well thought out. Not organized. No information. Tons of complaining.
Color of Law and I know one another well, and we know about activism.

If, and that's a very large IF, I/we were to drive the 20+ hours to participate, we'll take good care of each other. :cool:
 

hammer6

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Color of Law and I know one another well, and we know about activism.

If, and that's a very large IF, I/we were to drive the 20+ hours to participate, we'll take good care of each other. :cool:

Yeah, I get that. And it is assumed. My point was, the 20+ or even 1+ hours to get there would hardly be worth it.
 

BB62

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Yeah, I get that. And it is assumed. My point was, the 20+ or even 1+ hours to get there would hardly be worth it.
I'd definitely drive an hour or two, maybe three just to observe and possibly participate. To drive twenty hours plus though, gives me great pause.
 

solus

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WOW. The lawlessness runs deep in Olmos Park. snipp..

my daddy used to say, if it is on the books it is LAW and the time to dispute if it belongs on the BOOKs is in the court; not screaming at the nice LEs who might, just might, misconstrue your screaming and rants and actions as you are being man-handled by the nice LEs, as a threat to the good olde boys in blue's safety!

To push media about your illegal activities where by their own admission the violation is still on the BOOKs, with said nice LEs seems a bit strange. Ya don't see many drug dealers stating they got arrested cuz they violated a law on the books?

Texans must do things a bit backward down there, showing video of them breaking the law, publicizing the law is still on the books, then whining about being arrested for it?

guess they got $$$ out the wazho to pay them attorneys.
 

solus

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Color of Law and I know one another well, and we know about activism.

If, and that's a very large IF, I/we were to drive the 20+ hours to participate, we'll take good care of each other. :cool:


I'd go for help if they got in trouble...might be in Dallas before i stopped to ask for help, but by golly i do my part!:banana:
 

hammer6

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my daddy used to say, if it is on the books it is LAW and the time to dispute if it belongs on the BOOKs is in the court; not screaming at the nice LEs who might, just might, misconstrue your screaming and rants and actions as you are being man-handled by the nice LEs, as a threat to the good olde boys in blue's safety!

To push media about your illegal activities where by their own admission the violation is still on the BOOKs, with said nice LEs seems a bit strange. Ya don't see many drug dealers stating they got arrested cuz they violated a law on the books?

Texans must do things a bit backward down there, showing video of them breaking the law, publicizing the law is still on the books, then whining about being arrested for it?

guess they got $$$ out the wazho to pay them attorneys.

preemption. so the law really isn't on the books. so they say.
 

stealthyeliminator

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IMO, the wrong people have found themselves in leadership positions within the organization. It is unfortunate. Sorry about your ban.

I should have said, the Facebook group could use better management. But as far as the leaders of the org are concerned, there are more important management duties than the Facebook group, so, I do not want to criticize their leadership per se overall.
 

stealthyeliminator

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my daddy used to say, if it is on the books it is LAW and the time to dispute if it belongs on the BOOKs is in the court; not screaming at the nice LEs who might, just might, misconstrue your screaming and rants and actions as you are being man-handled by the nice LEs, as a threat to the good olde boys in blue's safety!

If you'll recall, this isn't the first rodeo. This scenario has been encountered (and defeated) before. This isn't new thing, it's just another place.
 

stealthyeliminator

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Wow- such great information that they should be using to drive motivation for their events. I am (was) an active member of their Facebook group, and didn't see any of this. That's not to say that it wasn't posted, it's just saying that if they did post it they didn't do an even decent job of making people aware of it. All these incidents and they're pissed off that CJ was tazed and arrested? Laughable. It should have been expected, and they should have planned accordingly. Local news should have been in attendance. Reporters. Heck, even a groupd of 25 people would have been enough! This is what I'm talking about- they need to switch tactics. It's tired.

There are too many events spread over too wide an area to rally high attendance and media coverage for every one. You can rally that much attendance and media coverage when the shtf.

Also don't forget that CJ called and spoke to the chief prior to this event to try to avoid any issues occurring. The chief essentially lied - you might even call it an ambush.
 

solus

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There are too many events spread over too wide an area to rally high attendance and media coverage for every one. You can rally that much attendance and media coverage when the shtf.

Also don't forget that CJ called and spoke to the chief prior to this event to try to avoid any issues occurring. The chief essentially lied - you might even call it an ambush.

uh, stealthy, this was the same CJ who got laid out with LE's guns pointing at him saying he talked to the chief, ah well now that makes everything ok then doesn't it!

last time i heard the mantra on this site when anybody pops out saying "Well i called the sheriff, police, state police., and asked them what the law is..."

Mantra regularly spewed by this membership: "NEVER ask them what the law is because they do not know, call an attorney after you look it up yourself!"

Sorry, as stated if you do stupid things to incite the nice LEs where they point their guns at you just to prove a point seems a bit reckless and if a bystander gets wounded or shot...CJ's antics now make him civilly liable!
 

color of law

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I don't get involved unless ALL proper notices have been sent to the proper officials. "Notice" not sent to just officials of some podunk town. They are a suburb of San Antonio TX. requiring notice to them. You don't need a call to arms so to speak. It is apparent these guys have no concept of what proper legal notice is.
 

solus

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I don't get involved unless ALL proper notices have been sent to the proper officials. "Notice" not sent to just officials of some podunk town. They are a suburb of San Antonio TX. requiring notice to them. You don't need a call to arms so to speak. It is apparent these guys have no concept of what proper legal notice is.

Not to be presumptive, written notices CoL, right?
 

hammer6

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There are too many events spread over too wide an area to rally high attendance and media coverage for every one. You can rally that much attendance and media coverage when the shtf.

Also don't forget that CJ called and spoke to the chief prior to this event to try to avoid any issues occurring. The chief essentially lied - you might even call it an ambush.

Right, but if they continually get harassed in that city, why go back unprepared as the great CJ Grisham representing OCT?
 
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