Bellingham, WA man wins $15K settlement after open-carry incident

[Stevenav]

the training likely involved the chief bringing all the officers together in a room and saying "I'd like any officer who thinks it's legal for a civillian to carry a firearm openly to please raise your right hand. Okay, all of you can leave. The rest of you are numbskulls. Listen up... if you see a citizen open carrying a gun... leave them alone unless they are being a threat to others. now get out of here" Followed by officers asking each other "So did he say it's legal... or illegal... I'm confused. All he said was to leave them alone."

 

[ma96782]

Yup......or 5 mins of yada, yada, yada, prior to hitting the road.

Training is expensive. But, law suits cost too. Making a decision on how and where to spend the budget is for the guys on the top to decide. If the officers on the bottom fail, so do those on the top.

Aloha, Mark

 

[One-Eyed Ross]

Well, it's my understanding that this isn't the first lawsuit to involve BPD...probably won't be the last...

 

[Misterbill]

Public embarrassment and public scrutiny are the ONLY thing that seem to get LE to change their policies. (Plus lawsuits).

This wasn't an O/C jackass TRYING to provoke an incident. This was our poster-child for O/C, doing nothing wrong, being threatened with LETHAL FORCE for exercising rights LONG guaranteed under our STATE constitution and out state laws.
What's sad is that is was only $15k. 1.5 Million would have scarred the locals enough that this was NEVER going to happen again. $15k is so small that it's no deterrent.

Still, a victory, if a small one.

 

[Stomper]

Yeah, maybe a months pay (or less) for the Chief.

 

[mancat]

HE gets my thumbs up for OCing the highly underrated CZ-82

 

[One-Eyed Ross]

Hey now. I also have an 82 that I carry a lot. Nice pistol, fits the hand well. Okay, so ammo isn't as easy to find as it was, but that's true of all calibers.

I got mine back when they were less than $200. They're up to almost 300 now...

 

[Redcap]

I carried the CZ82 for a long time. Excellent little sidearm and very accurate. Still have it, too...thinking about converting it to .380ACP with an extended, threaded barrel and getting a can for it.

 

[unklekippy]

Hmmmm, so the $15k comes from where? You and I are footing the bill folks.

And that is the cost for allowing the militarization of our police. They think they can decide who has and does not have rights. There is no way I would let this happen to me and not sue.

 

[unklekippy]

I would spend the $15k on a Desert Eagle(or something equally "scary") and suppressor. I would then open carry it, while wearing a shirt that said "This Gun Purchased For Me By The Bellingham PD.". Then, after the next lawsuit, I would buy a full auto M-60 and set it on my porch.

The fascist is the one on the street pretending to be scared of a gun on a man's hip, while cops do it all the time. Since cops also beat more people than just about any criminal, why are people OK with them just running around with guns like it's no big deal? The individual that expresses outrage over a legally carried gun should be put in a public stockade for a few days so that his fellow citizens can see what happens when people infringe on the rights of others.

Anyone that thinks calling someone out for carrying a gun is any different than calling someone out for their skin color has no clue how the American Principle works. The BoR is there to protect the individual with the gun, not the insane people claiming to be "scared" of an inanimate object. Why is it OK to go against that right, but stopping women and blacks from voting is wrong?

What a complete croc of bullbubblegum.

 

[ZA_Survivalist]

Hmmmm, so the $15k comes from where? You and I are footing the bill folks.

It needs to come out of the on scene officer(s) and supervising officers own pocket, as should the lawyer cost for their defense. Because youre right, its a slap on the wrist and they dont even have to worry about the bills.

Let the leos lives be ruined like ours are when it comes to missed work with court appearances, trials, court and lawyer fees and fines..etc.

Then theyll feel the real pain from their dumb actions and having what ever little power trip they went on. We're held to that standard, they should be as well.
I can bet you they'd stop violating our rights in a heart beat.

 

[RoneKiln]

I know some of the BPD, and I'm surprised any of them bothered him. They get calls over people open carrying every other day and generally just tell the caller there's nothing illegal about it and they shouldn't bother police over it (most of these reports sound like a person loading a rifle in or out of their car).

Sadly, BPD are well known for not responding when they should. I've personally seen two incidences where someone drove off would-be attackers with their handgun (no shots fired) and the BPD refused to even file a report over the incident much less come out. That's disturbing to witness. But if there's a report of college kids drinking... instant over whelming response. It's often joked on campus that if there's an assault or rape, tell the 911 operator there's college kids drinking cause you'll get help faster.