Legal Issue pertaining to CCL And right to defend oneself. Advice?

SGT Kevin Gardner — Thu, 13 Aug 2015 20:03:28 -0400

This is a very long read, and i know most wont want to read it but i ask that you do, and thank you.

Dealing with Legal issues that may arise and in my case have; has become a massive burden on myself and my family. Many of you know that I love to write many of the things I write about tend to be essays about our current national issues or about politics in general. This one will be no different however I will be explaining what I can see as a problem from a firsthand experience.

I am by no means trying to wine or complain about the unfairness of what has happened to me since being medically separated from the Army, after-all my troubles can be viewed from the simple stand point of what decisions I have been forced to take. Right or Wrong the situations are ones that have been forced on me to make a choice as to how it would affect me or those in my family. Let me start off by telling you about the troubles that have been placed on my shoulders.

I was medically separated January 20th of 2010 From FT Lewis WA, I had decided to move myself and my Family to Spokane WA so that we could be closer to my grandfather and my grandmother as I had hopes to be there for the two of them. Life like in all things is a hard thing to live especially when you have no Job and no real opportunities to obtain employment. Spokane being one of the hardest places for a Veteran to obtain employment. Lucky for me and my family we had friends who understood and did what they could to help. Sometime in 2012 the VA finally got around to finishing my Compensation paperwork that awarded me a total and complete rating.

Finally with some money in hand I purchased a house on the North-side of Spokane nothing fancy but someplace that provided shelter for me and my family. We were not there more than a month when my Neighbor Broke into our house with the intent to rob us. Lucky for my wife and daughters they were out of town visiting family when this happened, but I was there. I found myself defending my home from an intruder who I had been able to hold at gun point while we waited for the Spokane Police to arrive.

Upon arrival I was thrown to the ground my fire arm taken from me, and I was placed in handcuffs. I told myself this was a reasonable thing for law enforcement to do as I felt how could they know who had who other than the fact that I told the dispatcher that I had the perpetrator at gun point laying face down in my living room. After two hours of trying to clear up the confusion I was released, my neighbor was arrested and my firearm confiscated.

After weeks of fighting with the police department to have them return my fire arm I was able to speak with a desk sergeant who found the proper paper work for me and my fire arm was returned. The entire process from beginning to end has had me feeling as if I had done something wrong even knowing in my mind I did the right thing. Incidentally the person who had broken into my home had been offered a plea deal and was released with only having served fifteen days. After his release there was more trouble from him and his family as they kept retaliating against me and my family for getting their son arrested. The police never did anything even though property crimes had been committed.

The last straw for me happened on my way back from our grocery store that was a block up from the house. Not having a CCL at the time I opened carried as per Washington state’s open carry rights law. The people at the store knew me and knew me well and never had a problem with me entering the store with a fire arm on my side. After purchasing my items I left the store and was walking back to my house when out of nowhere a police car jumped the curb in front of me with an officer getting out pulling his gun on me and screaming at me to put my hands on my head.

Following all orders I did so, I was thrown to the ground my firearm was pulled from my holster and I was cuffed and stuffed as it were. The officer ran a check on my firearm found it was clean un-cuffed me and left me standing on the sidewalk as he drove off with my gun.

I called the same desk sergeant that had been willing to help me the first time and he was able to retrieve my firearm for me. A few weeks after this I applied for my CCL and waited.

I had started to talk to friends about moving and one of my friends found me a piece of property out in the country in Stevens county. I made a down payment on an owner contract, I signed a quick claim back to the owner of the house I had been buying forfeiting the forty-thousand dollars I had used as a down payment. My thought was that moving to the country would help with the PTS, as many of you know is an issue we have to overcome in order to live a better life than the ones we are living now.

We had been on the new property in Ford Washington for about a week, and we all know how stressful moving is. My wife who didn’t want to move in the first place, but understood the need to had let all of the stress get to her and we ended up in a shouting match. First off I want to tell you we never argue in front of our children hence why we were outside. It came as a shock to us two hours later when the Stevens county Sheriff deputy showed up.

We were told that the Neighbors had called stating that I had been beating my wife. Another thing I want to make clear I have never nor would I ever strike my wife. I explained to the Deputy that I had not stuck my wife that we had only been arguing because of the stress of moving. My wife told them the same thing and explained to them that I as in me had never once in the seven years of marriage ever struck her, and that I had not done it this time either.

Somehow my word or my wife’s word wasn’t enough for the deputies and I was arrested, booked and charged for domestic dispute. I had been given a public attorney and had been informed that I could not go home. My wife had to sign a paper to allow me home so after spending the night with a friend the non detainer had been lifted and I was allowed to go home. A week later my wife and I met with the public attorney we told him our story and I asked him if he could get the charges dropped based on what we had told him as well as what we had told the deputies. My court appointed lawyer told me that he didn’t care and that I as in me would take whatever deal he was able to make.

I fired him right there and reached out to a criminal defense attorney. While I was waiting to go to court on the charge for domestic dispute my wife had told me about the conditions her sister was living in Reno Nevada and how desperate her situation was. Before I continue let me tell you, never ever absolutely never allow someone to ever come stay with you! That advise I have just given I wish someone had given me.

From the first day she had arrived it was nothing but cause for trouble as her boys never listened, constantly kicked at my dogs, threw fits and basically drove me and my wife mad. In a rush to get my wife’s sister and her unruly little brats out of my house I reached out to a group that helped women in situations like my sister in law. I took her to an intake appointment they said they would help and that same day on the way home she asked me if she could borrow three thousand dollars. Looking back in hindsight I guess it would have been cheaper to just give her the money.

Once we got back to the house I saw my wife on the front porch crying, when I asked her what was wrong she told me that her sisters oldest boy and chased her through the house with a kitchen knife. My anger rose as I walked into the house, my sisters kid seeing me coming dropped the knife and smiled at me. I want to tell you now that little shit was seven years old so I restrained myself from throttling the little shit, my mouth on the other hand was totally different. I told that kid exactly what I thought of him, and when his mother stepped into defend him I told her to pack her bags that they were no longer welcome in my home. At that point she threw herself at me throwing fists and kicks like a rabid animal.

Knowing I would be in more trouble if I even so much as raised a hand to her I retreated grabbing the phone I called the Sheriff’s department even the 911 operator could hear the rabid intent of my sister in-law over the phone as she was beating on my bedroom door. Three hours latter law enforcement showed up my wife and I told the deputies what had happened, I know I mentioned something about not liking the idea of living a Jerry Springer episode, and that I wanted to press charges.

I found myself shoved to the ground handcuffed and tossed into the back of the police car. This was Aug 11 the day before my birthday and my daughters where watching for the second time in such a short period as I was hauled off to jail. My wife contacted my Lawyer as I was still facing the other charges and she told him what happened. According to my wife he told her that I would be released that Monday and that he wanted another six thousand dollars to handle this other issue. Me I wasn’t allowed out without posting a bond so I paid two thousand dollars and bailed myself out.

So the nice thing is if you are found innocent of crimes you have been charged with you are able to get refunded your legal fee’s. calculating what I had spent between my lawyer fees as well as court cost and travel I spend around seventeen thousand dollars total fighting the charges only to have them dismissed before a trial was set, forfeiting every bit of the money except for the money spent to post my bail.

Problems continued to plague us the after this we had been attempting to build a new house on our property and had purchased all of the required permits for doing so. Time and time again we were sent orders to stop work and were ordered to pay more for even more permits. Turns out its best to hire a contractor who can deal with the county and their damn buildings department. I found myself in court one more time after that over building permits that I showed we had but I had to hire another attorney to handle that.

We gave up and I found myself tossing good money after bad when I quick claimed the land back to the original owner, by now I have completely drained my savings exhausted any chance I had at building something for me and my family here in Ford WA. For the past two years we have been trying to find a place to move that offers economical stability as well as less state and federal oversight in an attempt to finally have a quality of life that doesn’t involve getting harassed by police officers.

With hardly any savings we are now renting in the same damn county that has been the problem since we arrived. Spokane has started to crack down on the meth heads, and now with the legal pot grows out here I fear for my children’s safety as last year there was a shootout between one Pot grower and people trying to rob him. To make matters worse Aug 11th of this year day before yesterday as I sit and right this I was walkig over to my friends house to let him know I would be able to help him the next day as I had a speech appointment for my seven year old. On the way over to his house a lady who has been told many time to slow down on the gravel road by other neighbors came flying around the corner spraying gavel at me. I yelled for her to slowdown she flipped me off, and stopped long enough in front of her property to tell her Tweaker (Meth Addict) husband that I had told her to slow down. For his part he jumped into his truck and ripped out of his driveway aiming the truck right at me with in my mind every intent to run me over. With no place to go and no-longer able to run away I held up my left hand indicating he should stop while at the same time I used my right hand to pull my shirt up enough to gain access to my firearm. For the drivers part he accelerated towered me even faster and I cleared my holster pointing my fire arm at his head. The truck came to a complete sliding stop about four to six feet in front of me.

Nothing is ever easy here in Stevens county after this incident I went back to my house when he went back to his house and I heard but could not be sure if I heard right ask his wife where his gun was. I called the sheriff I gave a verbal accounting to the dispatcher of what had transpired that I could hear her typing as I told her, she informed me that deputies were on their way. Two hours after I called they arrived now it was dark and they would not be able to take pictures of the gravel road and even if they could we have seen such a larger number of people out here as of late all evidence of the tracks were gone. I was asked what happened and I gave them the exact same verbal statement as I had given the dispatcher. I was asked if I would be willing to sign a sworn statement and I said yes.

Paper in hand I filled it out signed it and waited. After waiting an hour and a half the Deputy showed back up. I noticed right away the other two sheriff cars and realized right then that I was going to be getting the short end of the stick again by law enforcement. I handed my statement over to the Deputy and I was ordered to place my hands on my head. I complied and he proceeded to search my person finding my Gun he proceeded to attempt to disarm me except all that was happening in the process was me getting a wedgie all because he couldn’t figure out how to use the finger lock on my holster. Another deputy stepped forward and had to show him how to operate my holster.

I asked if I was under arrest or being detained, and my questions were ignored so I asked again at which time I was told by the deputy standing next to me that the one who disarmed me would answer my question when he was finished. I asked if I needed a lawyer, and the one who had started to run a weapons check replied with yea we are going to give you a lawyer.

I was arrested then spoken two about me not having the ability to recognize a threat. I told him I was a combat Veteran and that I have had plenty of experience and training in how to recognize a threat as well as when to exorcise restraint in dealing with a threat. Yes I know I should have kept my mouth shut but I saw exactly what he was attempting to do, by establishing that I had done something wrong and he had not mirandized me at that moment so I felt it prudent to inform him that I did in fact know exactly what I was doing at the time I felt my life was being threatened.

The deputy speaking to me said thanks for your service, and handed me a slip of paper (a ticket) Charging me with a gross misdemeanor for unlawful display of a firearm. I am now ordered to court on the 24th of August to plead not guilty to a charge I should never have received while the person who attempted to run me over with his truck gets off to perpetrate his crimes on the people who live down here.

What bothers me most about these incidents is right after all of this my ten year old approached me and asked why I teach her and her sister about respecting law enforcement when every time something happens I as in me get in trouble for doing the right thing.

I love my daughter and holy crap she is so smart and that question got me to thinking about everything in the media today. We have a police force in this nation that criminalizes the law abiding citizens. It’s the only answer I can come up with, the problems didn’t start over night they had to have slowly been building. I mean my older friends and most my friends are way older than me like in their seventy’s and eighty’s have all told me that they have watched the change take place.

New laws put on the books means more arrests means more numbers of prisons getting stocked up many of the people might actually be innocent citizens who like me couldn’t afford an attorney and had to rely on the wheeling dealing public pretenders. Families ripped apart this, this builds resentment. Officers specifically allowing an area to get out of control in the hopes that they will receive more money from the state and federal government. Creating more resentment as citizens watch their communities fall into crime ridden population centers.

The people who truly suffer are the law abiding citizens, because it happens more in (and I hate this because we are all Americans) minority communities, most of which are ran by democrats in the larger urban places. It’s like a shell game in the fact that you really don’t know where it’s going to happen or who it will happen to.

White, black, yellow or freaking green, I have a feeling it is happening more than people will say or at-least to a larger extent we only find out about it when people stand up and protest. Its not a black thing it’s not a white thing it’s an us against them thing except we have been lead to believe that it’s a nothing thing. What you have to take into account is the resentment felt by people in communities who have been dealing with something for as long as they have. And when something happens that they can hitch their wagon too comes along they waste no time in doing so even if it turns out to be the wrong thing you want pulling you wagon.

The clear cases of police over reach never really get the kind of play that it should, but things that deal with a racial slant do because it fits a narrative only it’s not the narrative we as a people or a nation need. How many of you ever heard about the janitor in Spokane WA that was shot at a connivance store? His name was Otto Zehm he was eating dinner at a convenience he had been accused of stealing money from an ATM (have you ever seen an ATM how the hell can you steal money from one?) Anyhow an officer named Karl F Thompson JR beat Otto to death for a crime Otto dint commit, there was video of the beating Otto received from security cameras at the store and they show everything. By everything I mean everything. It clearly shows that Otto did not resist not even to say boo. This is one of many examples I could point out of the many here in eastern WA that I know of, I encourage you to learn about Otto Zehm and how he had died and ask yourself, was the crime he was being accused of tantamount to him being beaten to death? Otto’s last words were “I only wanted a snickers bar”

The officer in question had been sentenced to four years in prison. I find the un-equal dispensation of the law a problem. If you or I had done something as heinous as that we would be looking at a life sentence. Let’s face it the example’s I gave don’t point to a systemic problem, however with the wonderful world of the internet search engine we can find more. Still one must be very careful in finding information on the web as it maybe polluted with political pandering or even outright lies but once you sift through all the BS look closely at the underlying issues if you can.

Let’s ask ourselves how do we as a nation benefit by allowing illegal aliens entry into our country. Short answer is; We don’t, well not you and I. Government, unions and businesses on the other hand do. They get cheaper labor, while the politicians on the other hand get more voters. Local governments end up receiving more money to provide for illegal aliens who have committed crimes in said counties to incarcerate and detain them. We could spend hours either arguing or even agreeing on this issue but facts are facts. It cost you and I as well as other tax payers money to keep criminals who are legal and illegal residents of the United States locked up.

Lately we have been finding out that Sanctuary city’s have been cutting these people lose to roam their city’s interacting with their citizens, only to be robbed, raped and even killed. It has become a narrative in and of itself. But it is only part of the problem. A problem both you and I have to realize is actually effecting our status as law abiding citizens.

How is it that a law abiding citizen is treated as a criminal by the local state and federal branches of law enforcement. You can say we are not but seriously let’s look at it here I will make my case that you and I are nothing more than criminals that have yet to be tossed into a cell.

Say what you will about the Patriot Act, many people believe it was a vehicle or rather a means giving the federal government carte blanch to arrest and detain American citizens on the suspicion of being aligned with terrorists. With its Highly controversial language it did just that extending guilt automatically by association. Look I am no conspiracy theorist and I do understand that there was a feeling of desperate need to protect our nation, however I do believe that they would and could have been a better way to go about this. There are seven year olds on the no fly list all because of the spelling of their names. We then had NSA snooping, and as I have stated before IRS targeting.

The problem is this we see these things and on the surface we pay no mind to it. Hell who wants to speak up for a terrorist? Not me I’d rather put a warhead in their forehead. But still the question remains what is becoming of our law enforcement. Sitting here thinking about it I would have to say it benefits someone to have people such as myself labeled a criminal, even when we are abiding by the law.

Case in point a disabled Veteran named Isiah James who had been injured in an IED blast, was witnessed parking his car in a handicapped parking place in Florida, Gary Wilson having seen the disabled parking permit still found it necessary to confront Isiah, stating that he didn’t look all that handicapped to him. Like any other Veteran I am not surprised that Isiah replied back stating that the Officer was not the arbitrator of his (explitive) Disability and at some point Isiah phone that he was using to record the confrontation was slapped from his hands.

Now I could say that Isiah might have been able to handle that situation better, but because of my many issues I outlined earlier I am finding it harder and harder to show law enforcement any respect. Yes we all understand that there are good cops and bad cops lust like everywhere else we look there are good people and bad people just like soldiers sailors airmen and marines. What this doesn’t take into account is the massive amount of people who by all rights are law abiding citizens getting caught up in legal issues that otherwise wouldn’t have been an issue had some Politian thought it might be a good idea to write a law.

But still even if there is laws to protect you from an over reach of justice you have still violated a law. Its enough to make your head explode when thinking about it. Now for every good officer who would refuse to violate a law abiding citizens rights there are those who would. That in and of itself is another problem because even if the good officer refused to stand up to the bad officer and instead decides to cover for him because heaven forbid he end up in a crappy situation during his career he doesn’t want to be the guy who has no back up when he needs it.

Law enforcement in the united states has gone from keeping the piece and being an example of honor and respect for the people you are charged with protecting, too policing the populous and revenue gathering to keep feeding the insatiable appetite of government. Chicago is a wonderful example of how a neighborhood or even entire section of the city has become ripe with crime. I am really feeling the need to understand at what point the cap blew off the bottle, Just Like Ferguson as well as Baltimore.

How many other cities and in my case rural areas are seeing the pressure build as officers are more apt to letting criminals keep doing what they are doing, while only focusing on the citizens who call for their help only to be financially destroyed defending themselves from the very people who are sworn to protect them. I mentioned earlier that it’s almost as if someone is benefiting from this, but who? And when you ask a question like that you start down the rabbit hole and everything you see becomes a conspiracy. You will never get any one answer because I don’t think there is one, we only see a few of the people who benefit, and we see that it is destroying the very foundation of right and wrong in our communities.

For me personally I have been destroyed financially by the county I live in from overzealous Deputies, and prosecuting attorneys, as well as an out of control buildings department, all of which I might add are all government. Something else I might add is that it’s not party specific. Many of the communities that have problems like these are in democrat held municipalities, and in my case it’s a republican held county. So don’t make any mistake that this is about politics even if I am sure there is a little of it involved.

The problem for those of us who live here in Ford WA that go about our lives not wanting or looking for trouble are forced to accept that if we call the Sheriff it is us who are going to feel the brunt of the legal system and not the ones who violate the laws. Just as long as those people who live here causing us these problems don’t go north to the more respected areas of Stevens county they are given all the room to rape, Kill and intimidate.

I can prove this as a man who lives close to us up in the mountains named Doyle went to Spokane one day kidnapped a thirteen year old child brought her back here rapped and raped her. As a father and hearing this was happy to know that she had managed to get away and get help, but as a father was extremely angry (that word doesn’t seem to convey what I want it to) to find out that the prosecuting attorney cut Doyle loose on the charges. After this I took it upon myself and check the sex offender locations for my area and found none listed. Several days later I was talking to one of the Reservation law officers and he showed me a print out of all the sex offenders in our area that Stevens county had been kind enough to share with the Indian reservation.

My disgust at finding out that we have registered sex offenders so close who are required by law to register and having done so was kept from those of us with children.

Aside from the body’s that have been found around the area we also had a neighbor come up missing several months ago by the name of William McNally. Well after searching for him for a few months he was discovered or rather his skull was discovered when his own dogs brought it back to his property. Needless to say we have a Neighbor who has been running around telling all of his Tweaker friends what he did and his Girlfriend showing pictures of the act, keep in mind I have not seen the pictures and everything I hear is hearsay to begin with. Still I figured it was something our law enforcement would want to know and forwarded the information as to who was saying what with explicit iteration that it was all hearsay. I was told by the deputy covering the case that there was no way the person claiming had the capacity to commit the crime, that he didn’t think he had it in him.

See that’s a problem as far as I am concerned to automatically dismiss something out of hand because you the investigating officer don’t think the person claiming to have done it could do it.

The problems don’t end there as we have had massive fires around our area due to meth Lab explosions as well as a whole host of other fire involved incidents, yet the people responsible for having committed these acts they are free to continue their reign hell down on those of us who wish to live our lives. The problem is none of us can call our sheriff without wondering if we are the ones who will be arrested.

I want to move I desperately want to get as far away from this hell that is Stevens county, and Washington state as a whole but for now I have to face another legal action that I can ill afford because we have a law enforcement who refuses to stand next to those of us who are law abiding citizens.

This isn’t a white or Black issue this is an issue that we all face. If you’re in a place that you don’t see it count your blessings, and yes they are blessings. I do believe that we are what we wish to be, and I do believe that we make and writ our own destinies, that any success we have in life is through pure determination to better your circumstances or your standings in life. That we only have ourselves to blame when the choices we make end up causing more suffering for yourself and your family. That does not discount outside influences that work against your determination to be better, have better and provide better for you and yours. There are many obstacles that I personally think are placed in your path purposely to force you to give up, I want to tell you that na matter how much of a fight you have to give you should never give up.

You should face your problems and hit them head on damned the cost to you, because like my brothers and sisters who served this great nation, fighting, bleeding and dyeing for it; there has to be a way for you to succeed. We should never lose what makes us who we are no matter what our elected officials say or do, no matter what the different branches of law enforcement will or won’t do on your behalf in the end we must find away to push back as hard as we can until everyone understands that We the People who make up this nation won’t stand by and be beat down and criminalized for being in support of the second amendment or anti abortion or for more simpler reasons to be able to go on living in a free society that puts an individual’s rights before the corrupt nature of man.

Yesterday I became a proud owner of a Conceal carry issuance policy, it won’t help me with my current legal issue, but if ever I am placed in another situation where my life is being threatened at least I won’t go broke trying to save myself from a corrupt legal system hell bent on punishing the right I have for defending my life. I reached out to the US Concealed Carry Association yesterday and signed up for their insurance.

I find it sad that I had to take this action to protect myself from the law who’s only concern it seems is to criminalize me for making the choice to defend my own life so that I am able to go home alive. I find it sad that we as a nation do not see the damage our very own law enforcement officer are inflicting on its citizens. But everyone at some point till have to equip themselves with the tools to defend themselves at least once in their life time. Unfortunately it’s much worse for people who live in less than or rather worse than ideal areas like Chicago Slums or Baltimore, Detroit Michigan (except I am told Sheriff Joe Clark is trying to turn that around.) Or even Rural communities such as mine like Ford Washington.

Every town has one and each one can be identified by a less than positive nick name, some call it the Hood, others call it felony flats or even poverty flats, even low rent housing complexes designed to cram as many people who can’t afford a way out like Cabrini Green that now stands uninhabited, something I bet would make a fantastic case study into how the pressure builds and builds until it becomes a never ending cycle of destruction for the people forced to deal with it because there is no way or they can’t see away out of their problem. When we look at ourselves as a society we should always look at what, and how we got to a point that we have allowed ourselves to not hold accountable those we have placed in positions of power to not have to account for their actions.

Presidents, Congressmen, Senators, city leaders, state representatives and so on. Right and left makes no difference, when we allow these people to divide us as a nation through fear or through color we have in effect allowed what is happening to allow to us all. it is only a matter of time before you have to face the mirror and tell yourself you are a-part of the problem and if you never do and you go on living in your bubble thinking nothing’s wrong it will be your children that have to face it.

Unlike those who refuse to see the problems of an ever increasing threat from law enforcement, I do and it mostly has to do with where I live that I get to witness it firsthand. There are tools out there you can use such as the insurance policy I stated I got yesterday as well as a conceal carry license, and I would say be leery of any place that takes that right away from you and says you can’t have a gun. Another tool you need is your right to vote, and when you cast your ballot always remember to cast it knowing any Politician who is will to give you something has every intent on taking something else away from you. You should be awake and paying attention to the people you vote for as they do not have your interests at heart. Instead they want power and influence most of them playing games with your happiness and your life.

Look at the laws being passed and ask yourself, at anytime will this law no matter how good it sounds now, will it cost me or anyone else their Liberty? If you don’t see the answer immediately, always keep in mind every law written has been perverted from its original intent to fit the needs of government to take something away from you be it a house a child such as in the case of child protection services and even your freedom like in my case with being charged for brandishing a firearm unlawfully, never mind the fact that I did so to protect my own life.

Response by SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL made Aug 13 at 2015 8:05 PM

SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL — Thu, 13 Aug 2015 20:05:17 -0400

SGT Kevin Gardner well said and articulately expressed.

Response by Maj William Gambrell made Aug 13 at 2015 11:50 PM

Maj William Gambrell — Thu, 13 Aug 2015 23:50:50 -0400

I agree with your topic that today's Gov't criminalizes the innocent while giving the criminals the beneficial treatment.

Response by PO1 John Miller made Aug 14 at 2015 4:24 AM

PO1 John Miller — Fri, 14 Aug 2015 04:24:18 -0400

I'm sorry to hear about your troubles! The more I read stories like yours, the less respect I have for government and law enforcement. I realize that they serve a necessary function, but if we're not careful we're going to end up living in an Orwellian society.

Police are often trained to say "If you've got nothing to hide you've got nothing to fear." I reply with "This is America I shouldn't be harassed in the first place unless I'm suspected of committing a crime."

Response by Cpl Mark McMiller made Aug 14 at 2015 6:14 AM

Cpl Mark McMiller — Fri, 14 Aug 2015 06:14:25 -0400

Consult an attorney who specializes in police misconduct. Because if what you said is true about how the cop confronted you at gunpoint on the street while you were open carrying, cuffed you, and confiscated your firearm, and you were doing absolutely nothing unlawful, you have a civil suit for, at a minimum, unlawful detainment. Over here in Virginia, unlawful detainment for open carry cases have been settling for a few thousand dollars. And who knows, a specialist attorney may see a pattern of police harassment with all of the other incidents. Just do yourself a favor and get some professional legal advice from someone who specializes in that area of the law.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Aug 15 at 2015 3:49 PM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Sat, 15 Aug 2015 15:49:40 -0400

Bad neighbors, friends, and family members are cancer because the proximity or relationship. There are two types of humans in the world, the ones who build things and those who destroy things. I have disowned family members who tended to destroy things. Did the VA consider you unemployable?

Response by PFC Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 9 at 2017 3:05 PM

PFC Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 09 Aug 2017 15:05:42 -0400

Damn! I am truly sorry that this has happened to you and your family. I hope by now everything has been straightened out. If I was in your shoes, I would start recording any interactions with neighbors, police, family(in-laws), etc. to cover your six.

I also hope you have moved from that hell hole as well. You as well as your family have the right to live in peace and not in fear. If you cannot move, get security cameras and alarm systems for your home.

If you have moved away from the area, great. I hope that you and your family are doing well. I will pray for you and your family though.

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 9 at 2017 4:59 PM

1SG Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 09 Aug 2017 16:59:59 -0400

I think the best course of action for you is to move, when you are able.
The mire you speak of tells me that this problem and ones like it will persist.
I wish you better luck than you have had finding a great place to raise a family and find peace for yourself.

Another possibility is to get the media involved. I know that they are much maligned these days, but a good investigative story motivates journalists to find and expose the truth.

Response by SFC Jim Ruether made Aug 10 at 2017 7:45 PM

SFC Jim Ruether — Thu, 10 Aug 2017 19:45:40 -0400

Sgt Gardner, I would suggest that you call Concealed Carry USA and talk to their legal department. They may be able to have many of your charges dropped and expunged from your records. How about moving in with your grandparents at least until you get back on your feet? Just an idea. I am sorry that you went through so much just trying to do the right thing. I would move if I were you. I certainly would look at some area with more and better law enforcement officers than who you have dealt with. I wish you all the best and hope that you update us as to your situation in the future God Bless you and your family!

Response by SSG Edward Tilton made Aug 10 at 2017 8:09 PM

SSG Edward Tilton — Thu, 10 Aug 2017 20:09:59 -0400

Your story was a lot longer than my 140 character attention span. You obviously need some kind of legal help. Is there some agency nearby that can help. Obviously Law Enforcement has issues with you and doesn't want to your constitutional arguments. Go see a Veterans Rep. Perhaps they can refer you to someone who can help you

Response by 1LT Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 19 at 2018 1:44 AM

1LT Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 19 Jun 2018 01:44:00 -0400

SGT Kevin Gardner - I am glad these difficult circumstances have been resolved - and you are now living a far happier life. Warmest Regards, Sandy :)

Response by CW3 Kevin Storm made Jun 22 at 2018 3:06 PM

CW3 Kevin Storm — Fri, 22 Jun 2018 15:06:06 -0400

I would humbly submit you take a writing course. While RP give you a voice to vent your frustrations, we the readers are left with a post that jumps all over the place, like someone who has ADHD and has decided to drink Starbucks dry in an hour. I am sorry you are having problems with the police, walking around with a firearm is going to do that to you. Every time the police visit you are getting more and more of reputation, their attitude is one day this guy is going to pop. This is normal for LE, defuse the situation, do you need to go to the store packing? Be nice to them, invite them out for police civic Friday at the local donut shop. Talk to your neighbors have a heart to heart with them about their son, about his actions that day, and have them understand what that was like for you and your family. Use a local minister to aid in mediating, don't go alone, you want a neutral party to aid in this. Just some suggestions, carrying in public is going to invite extra scrutiny, that by the sounds of it you don't need.