As long as the officer went home safe, nothing to see here, rare incident
- Halfcocked
And your point?
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As long as the officer went home safe, nothing to see here, rare incident
- Halfcocked
That isn't the case, his weapon, that he had a valid license for, was seized because officer Tackleberry didn't want anyone but him carrying on his beat.
The man's rights were trampled all over.
And your point?
My point was to make fun of Halfcocked, since he is the resident Police apologist.
After Schubert filed a citizen’s complaint against Stern, the Springfield police commissioner recommended that the officer be retrained on state firearms law but “found no specific wrongdoing’’ and recommended no disciplinary action, said the appeals court ruling.
Coyle said the retraining reflected no deficiencies on Stern’s part and was “just a review.’’
“All [Stern] knew was that he saw somebody with a gun, which was exposed when the coat hung open as he was walking to the courthouse,’’ Coyle said.
From the article:
So a middle aged man in a suit is carrying a gun near a courthouse. Did this guy not stop and think that maybe it was a detective from an outlying suburb? Really, these guy don't have bluedar or something, right?
Greg Schubert has been a criminal defense attorney in the Springfield courts for many years. That's why the cop knew his occupation. If I were a cynic, it might occur to me that he required some street justice after he mopped the courtroom floor with a few of Springfield's finest and demonstrated their faulty memories and creative discovery of evidence, etc. One of them just went to prison for swiping $2000 from a couple of farm workers during a traffic stop. His partner beat the rap in court, but resigned last week when asked to take a lie detector by the PD. They're not the first bad apples. Dealing coke out of a cruiser, getting freebies from hookers, etc., etc.
That said, most of the force is honest. The bad ones make their jobs harder. LEO's in my family, too. Not in Spfld., thankfully.
it sounds more like intimidation than anything else.
My LTC doesn't indicate my profession. Anyone have a clue what that's about?
Perhaps the real problem is requiring a license at all?
On second thought, the 4th amendment would have covered this. I miss that thing.
So a middle aged man in a suit is carrying a gun near a courthouse. Did this guy not stop and think that maybe it was a detective from an outlying suburb? Really, these guy don't have bluedar or something, right?
The importance of subtle differences in wording. This ruling was discussed earlier on one of the legal blogs, though I can't locate it at the moment. A key element of the decision was the wording of the law requiring a license in order to carry a concealed firearm. Since the law is worded to prohibit the carrying of concealed firearms, with an exception for those with the proper license, the officer was deemed to be justified in extending the encounter and in his subsequent acts of keeping the firearm because he couldn't determine whether the license was valid. Had the law been worded (as it is in some other states) to prohibit the carrying of a firearm without a license, he would have been required to assume that the license was valid as soon as it was presented and release the appellant, unless he had probable cause to believe the license was invalid.
Ken
"Concealed" isn't a part of Mass. law regarding carry, although it may come up in case law. Open or concealed is tlegally allowed with a Mass. LTC, although I wouldn't recommend open carry.
Greg Schubert has been a criminal defense attorney in the Springfield courts for many years. That's why the cop knew his occupation. If I were a cynic, it might occur to me that he required some street justice after he mopped the courtroom floor with a few of Springfield's finest and demonstrated their faulty memories and creative discovery of evidence, etc. One of them just went to prison for swiping $2000 from a couple of farm workers during a traffic stop. His partner beat the rap in court, but resigned last week when asked to take a lie detector by the PD. They're not the first bad apples. Dealing coke out of a cruiser, getting freebies from hookers, etc., etc.
That said, most of the force is honest. The bad ones make their jobs harder. LEO's in my family, too. Not in Spfld., thankfully.
... the crime is carry and having a license provides one with an exception. In this case simply carrying a gun establishes probable cause that a crime is being committed, allowing police to stop a person and detain him until they've verified that he has a valid license. ...
"Concealed" isn't a part of Mass. law regarding carry, although it may come up in case law. Open or concealed is tlegally allowed with a Mass. LTC, although I wouldn't recommend open carry.
Once "they" verify that, are they allowed to keep his gun? I thought that was the real question here.
Off. Stern seized the Plaintiff's handgun, ammunition and license and turned them in to his superiors to determine if the Plaintiff's license was valid and his conduct may impact his suitability to be licensed. He did so in large part because he could not within a reasonable time obtain confirmation of the validity of the Plaintiff's license from his cruiser. His actions were a reasonable exercise of discretion under the circumstances and were not “wrongful”, as required by the elements of the tort.
#1: No such law in MA.I had thought there were laws in MA and other states regarding "brandishing" which applied to poorly concealed guns.
It might be tough if the gun has been unconverted.It would be interesting if Schubert pursues his conversion claim in state court.
#1: No such law in MA.
#2: "brandishing" laws generally require the gun be pulled out or displayed in an aggressive or threatening manner, not just spotted due to imperfect concealment technique..
I had thought any accidental display could potentially be under the brandishing laws.
Can you cite an MGL on "brandishing"?
No, that's why I'm asking. Can you answer the other parts of my scenario/question?
#1: No such law in MA.
#2: "brandishing" laws generally require the gun be pulled out or displayed in an aggressive or threatening manner, not just spotted due to imperfect concealment technique.