One lawyer I spoke says he has no idea how idea how damages could be identified or quantified implying that there is no point in pursuing the case legally but offered to take it on with a $2500 retainer that could be refunded if we won anything. But he suspects his fees would eat up anything earned.
Another lawyer was well-recommended but he’s an hour from me and I haven’t even heard his take on it other than the fact that he’s willing to give me a free consultation. I’m not faulting either of these lawyers.
In general I don’t think using the government gang to get a remedy from the government gang is useful. It will eat up a lot of time and require a lot of obeisance on my part. The lawyer will tell me to stop talking about it and that will get in the way of my goal of making people aware of this egregious violation. The lawyer doesn’t really work for me anyway.
Filing a complaint with the FBI’s civil rights privileges section is a joke.
On Monday I filed a Pennsylvania Right-to-Know request for all of Plymouth Township’s records related to this incident. You can see the request here. [PDF] If I understand the law correctly, they must reply on or before Tuesday, October 20.
I’m still studying up on my other options.
Over the weekend the original article was visited roughly 8,000 times. It was discussed or blogged at around 5-10 other websites.
Feedback has been about 80% outrage and support and 20% doubting the veracity of my story or otherwise claiming not to understand why I wouldn’t submit to the cops like a good law-abiding citizen.
Meanwhile, I continue to securely and safely open carry my firearm everywhere I go. In fact I open carried into the Plymouth Township municipal building when I filed the Pennsylvania Right-to-Know request. I also took my son for another walk in the park but this time my wife accompanied us, promising to karate-kick any bad guys that show up. :D
Thanks everyone for your support and constructive comments.
11 replies on “Followup on My Assault at the Hands of Plymouth Township Cops”
Sounds about like what I would expect. Given that there were no recordings or witnesses to the incident that I know of, besides you or the cops, I doubt it would go very well even in a private court system. It basically comes down to your word vs. their word, and there was six of them to just you and your small child.
Too bad. I think this is why most open carry advocates suggest that a digital voice recorder is an essential accessory if you plan to open carry. You are going to have unfair attention from cops and you might as well bring your own “witness”. Flip it on when you see them.
How do you figure?
Lawyers are licensed by the government. Lawyers work for the State first, and their client second.
For example, if you’re frivolously accused of a crime, try getting a State-licensed lawyer to present a “jury nullification” defense.
If you hire a lawyer and pay him hourly, your lawyer gets paid whether you win or lose. The incentive is for the lawyer to advise you to pursue your claim, even if you have no chance of winning. The incentive is for your lawyer to drag things out as long as possible, maximizing his fees.
FSK, thank you. Exactly.
Hmm, I wonder how the police would have handled the situation if it had been your wife open carrying on a walk with your son instead of you?
Did you send a letter to the mayor and police chief? I doubt you will succeed at winning money from this. You can file a complaint with the department of justice. – no atty needed…
The police chief has reportedly already stated that he agrees with what his cops did. I am forming plans and will announce them soon.
I had a fairly similar incident in Vancouver, WA, although it didn’t include carrying a firearm. I had bought a piece of property from a guy who was being foreclosed on by both the water district AND Clark County for not paying his water bill or property taxes in about 5 years. Once someone found out that the guy had Cerebral Palsy, the sheriff’s office decided to investigate. Everything we completely on the up-and-up. The detective (Kevin Harper) told everyone involved that he didn’t think anything would come of it and everything would be fine. 6 months later, he showed up at my work, yanked me out, not even allowing me to tell my boss what was going on and threw me in jail for 3 days. He told several blatant lies in the “probable cause” report he used to arrest me, including several conflicting statements. In all those months before this took place, he was not able to convince the PA’s office (same as a DA’s office) to file charges, but thought that arresting me might push them into it (although he was wrong because he had no case at all). All the lawyers I talked to about it pretty much blew it off. Apparently, it’s perfectly fine to throw people in jail for days at a time without any evidence or reason other than the police feel like it. It’s like I’ve said for years, I love my country, but I FEAR my government.
Outrageous, Keith. So sorry to hear about that.
Hello,
I reccomend you join up with the alarmandmuster.com They are a like minded set of guys who are also tired of putting up with this kind of illeagle police actions. They have a large following in your state. I had to laugh at the one fellow who suggested a audio recorder. I bet that in a situation like this it would almost certanley get accidentley broken! Our group here in alaska is very active.
Keith
Hey Keith, thanks for that tip. I am checking that out now.